Braun KSM2-BLK Aromatic Coffee Grinder, Black
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Our Price: $149.95 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $55.50 (click here) Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Braun KSM2-BLK Aromatic Coffee Grinder, Black
Customer Review: Flippin' good grinder
Summary: 4 Stars
Pros:
-- Price - a great value for the joy of drinking fresh ground coffee in the morning.
-- Quality - I've owned my grinder for a few years now, and it has been very consistent in it's ability to grind beans.
-- Storage - if you'll notice the picture - there seems to be a small disc below the grinder. This is actually a sort of column to wrap the power cord around. Takes up about as much space as a can of lysol.
Cons:
-- Only one, she can be a messy booger sometimes.
The great thing about having your own grinder is that you get to decide how fine the grind is. Sometimes, I want an especially strong and textured coffee, and so I'll make something close to or beyond what might be an espresso grind (the consistency is something like dust). Sometimes, I want a regular grind for my drippy coffee maker. Either way, with your own coffee grinder you are not bound to the limits of mass produced, pre-ground coffee!
The grinder has a knack of compacting some of the finer grinds below the blades. I've found that this may be fought via two avenues (I know folks have their own remedies, but here's my two cents).
The first is to hold the measuring cup tight on top of the grinder while holding the entire product upside down. Then, beat the bottom of the grinder (the disc I mentioned earlier)with the palm of your hand.
The other remedy is to vary your grinding. What I mean by this is to pulse grind your coffee instead of keeping your thumb on top of the device. The result is that the grinds themselves are sort of whipped around and knock the coffee below the blades loose.
Regarding my one con - my coffee grinder tends to leave small grinds and coffee dust on my counter. Understandably, this may be a result of my beating my grinder with the palm of my hand repeatedly.
Customer Review: It Gets the Job Done
Summary: 3 Stars
Giving it 3 stars so that you'll be more likely to read my review.
I've read several other reviews here and want to address a few misperceptions.
Cleaning is easy:
I've cracked the lid by tapping it to shake out coffee residue. That's my mistake, not Braun's. I've learned that you can clean it easily with facial tissue, even the bowl area where the blade sits. You do this with the grinder unplugged! My method is to ball up two pieces of tissue and use a rotary motion - the blade moves with the tissue, so there's really very little risk of cutting yourself. You can remove just about all of the residue this way. There are some "corners" that you'll miss - I don't care about that, but you could use a toothbrush to get the grinder clean as a whistle.
The switch mechanism can get clogged with fine resiude (after years of use). I've been able to clear this up by alternately tapping and working the switch with the grinder unplugged.
Quality of grind can be controlled:
For my drip pot I use short bursts of power (10-12) to avoid producing espresso dust, and I believe that this also produces a more even grind.
Got mine as a Christmas present over 10 years ago, and have been using it 2 to 3 times a day. This is the only electric grinder that I've ever had. Used to do it with a hand grinder.
It's a simple little cheap machine that can produce a nice drip grind if you know how to use it.
For what it is, I'd give it 5 stars, but then you probably wouldn't be reading this.
Customer Review: awkward shape, okay medium grind
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this to replace my Krups after a decade of service.
Plus:
-cord length can be adjusted within base
-grinds a decent drip (medium grind)
-fewer stray powdery grinds (more even grind)
-cheap
-black color doesn't look dirty
Minus:
-asymmetrical shape awkward to hold
-shallow lid cannot be used to hold grounds once finished.
-less powerful motor takes longer to grind
-doesn't grind as finely as krups.
-need to shake it or bigger grounds collect in nook and crannies
The Braun takes twice as long to grind as the Krups, and it does not grind as finely. The plus of this is there are fewer fine stray grounds: things are more even. At the end of grinding you have a medium grind. This produces as good if not better drip coffee; but if you want to be able to go between coarse and fine the Krups is better.
I found the "arty" asymmetrical shape awkward to hold in my hands. Also the lid is too shallow. To transport the grounds to another counter or beyond the range of the cord you can't use the lid as with the krups, you need a bowl.
I realize these are little things, and each person may have a different reaction.
Customer Review: small, neat and efficient
Summary: 5 Stars
When I received a bag of coffee beans in a gift package, I decided to do what every coffee lover eventually does, get a grinder, and enjoy the marvelous aroma of newly ground beans, and the freshest of coffee in my cup.
I've always had good luck with Braun appliances, so chose this sleek and easy little grinder, which is simple to operate and clean; it only has one lever, with the fineness of the grind determined by how long you press it down, and the progress is visible through the clear top. For an extra fine grind, use less beans for best results...there is a warning to not "overheat the motor", which would probably be the result of grinding too many beans at one time for too long.
Cleaning is a snap: The top rinses out, and a swipe with a paper towel cleans out the grinding cup, which is part of the motorized section, and the bottom has a handy spool for use as a cord wrap.
Now my little kitchen area is permeated with the smell of fresh coffee, my lattes taste better than ever, and I have the new adventure of trying out different types of beans, and delight in the wondrous world of gourmet coffee !
Customer Review: Good value, great reliability
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been using it for fine drip, coarse press and extra-fine Aeropress, but it always leaves a combination of dust and extra-coarse granules regardless of how I shake it or how long I run it. After grinding and dumping there is residual buildup that needs to be scraped and brushed off to prevent staleness in the next cup. To prepare a bag of grounds for taking to work or camping requires grinding a few small batches.
Still, this is MUCH better than pre-ground coffee. I would prefer a no-brush grinder with consistent grounds size, but even the expensive conical burr grinders have issues!
For those of us that love good coffee, the loudness isn't as much of a concern weighed against the quality of brew, but there are those that might find that the grinder sound wakes them up.
Edited to add: 2 years later and it's running like a champ. I actually expected that the clear plastic cup would have cracked within the 2 years, but it has not cracked at all! The machine has accumulated a lot of scratches and dings, but ~800 cycles later it's running as well as ever.