With up to 60 intuitive grind settings, Breville's programmable coffee grinders maximize the potential of any brew. Choose a grind setting between 'cups' for French Press or filter and 'shots' for Espresso to get the right dose for the coffee you're brewing. Grind directly into a portafilter or an air-tight container.

Grind particle size should be slightly coarser than typically used for paper filter drip brewing, with 70% to 75% of the particles passing through a U.S. Standard size 20 mesh sieve. The best grind size if you are extracting your coffee as an espresso for both the dose control and a smart grind is somewhere between 8-13. When grinding your coffee for a particular method, there will inevitably be particles that will be smaller or bigger than the range. Don’t worry though, as the range is not intended to be the boundary of coffee particle distribution, but where the majority of grounds should lie.It's true that the hopper lid on the Smart Grinder Pro has a gasket, and this is good mainly because it keeps some of the decibels of the grinding from escaping from the top of the hopper, so it dulls the sound slightly, but what it doesn't do is stop air getting in. Don't forget, coffee grounds can get out of the bottom, and the air is infinitely smaller than the smallest particle of ground coffee ;-). It's not just about letting your beans go stale, it can mess with your shots too. The Breville Control Pro grinds directly whether you’re using a portafilter, a filter basket, a gold-tone filter basket, or a paper filter. It’s a versatile grinder because it allows you to use various filters of your choice. The grind size is separate, there’s not one programmable setting for dose and grind size. I usually start off at 12, and go from there based on flow rate. I’m looking for 36g of espresso from 18g of coffee, in 28-32 seconds. So if it flows faster than that, I’ll go slightly finer – and if it flows slower than that, I’ll go slightly more course. But if you’re not weighing your beans, you’re not in full control of the dose, which is an important factor for getting the desired extraction. Another factor is tamp pressure, try to keep the tamp pressure the same each time. Cold brew is a method of brewing coffee using cold or room temperature water over and extended period of time — anywhere from a few hours to over a day. The V60 is a popular pour-over coffee brewing device that was created by the Japanese company Hario. Its name comes from its V-shaped 60 degree cone design. Made of either ceramic, glass, plastic, or stainless steel, the inner walls of the dripper has iconic spiral grooves that allow for a slower and controlled water flow that facilitate a more even extraction.

It's been more than a few years now ;-), and my opinion now is that this is one of the most reliable grinders you're likely to get at this price point. My Smart Grinder Pro is still fine, I actually lent it to someone recently but up to that point it was still going strong, and I was still using it mainly for manual brew. The grind settings are programmable on the Smart Grinder Pro. So, when you find grind settings that you want to repeat, you can save the settings by pushing and holding a button. The AeroPress was invented by Alan Adler as a more compact, portable and convenient coffee maker. Since its release in 2005, the AeroPress has gained immense popularity, and has become a staple product for coffee lovers. Different brewing methods, like the inverted brewing technique has allowed for coarser grinds. New accessories, like metal filters, funnels, special cups, and even attachable pour over cones have been designed by independent enthusiasts.

Features & Benefits

If spending a few hundred pounds on a coffee grinder is a bit over the top for your budget, there are some lower-cost options that will produce a good cup of espresso and will combine well with any machine that doesn't have an integrated grinder. This article explains more in detail: The Smart Grinder Pro offers the additional feature of Dosing iQ technology. Precision Digital Time allows you to adjust and program grind time in 0.2 - 1 second increments, giving you total control and a perfect dose every time. Turkish coffee is an immersion brew method, without the need for separating the coffee and water before drinking — so any disadvantages normally associated with grinding too fine, such as clogging in an Aeropress or channeling in an espresso machine, are not limiting factors for Turkish coffee. If you've not used a grinder before, you might be slightly intimidated when you first get any coffee grinder out of the box, as grinding coffee beans seems like quite a geeky & complex thing to do, to the uninitiated. Looking at all the dials and buttons on the SGP I must admit did set the alarm bells going, to begin with, but I soon discovered how simple it is.

You can brush out whatever residue you can see with the provided brush. Being an expensive gadget, we would recommend that you clean your grinder every month. Durability – 3.5/5 In the realm of first impressions, Breville has clearly put thought into the unboxing experience, understanding that it sets the tone for every brew thereafter. Design Precision Digital Time allows you to adjust and program grind time in 0.2 second increments giving you total control and a perfect dose every time. Measuring grind size is difficult. Not just because particles are tiny and numerous — but because any grinder on any setting produces a range of particle sizes and shapes. A single value cannot be an accurate description of every particle. I was using the double shot basket, so it was obvious to me that I needed to press the 2 shots button. By the way, the reason the text “shots/cups” appears under this button, if you're grinding for espresso the digital screen will display “shots” allowing you to toggle between 1 and 2 cups, for the single or double shot baskets, and if you're grinding for manual brew methods this will change on the screen to “cups”. Have I mentioned how smart this grinder is!? 😉

Overview of the Grind Control

This narrow grind size boundary is clearly defined by the fact that the creation of espresso involves more extreme processes and mechanisms relative to other brew methods. Because espresso machines push water through coffee at such high pressures, any slight deviation in grind size from common practice will either result in over-extraction or under-extraction at a higher proportion than other brew methods. Time is of the essence, especially in the morning rush. The built-in timer ensures that you get the exact amount of coffee you need, every time. No more guesswork, no more wastage. Just set the timer, and the grinder does the rest. Instead of setting your grinder to a vague recommendation, you can use this tool to set a good starting point, to then begin dialling-in to the perfect setting for your particular brewing method. With the Smart Grinder Pro (and the dose control pro, and all of the integrated grinder machines from Sage) the outer burr has a thread, which enables you to shim it by simply adjusting it to one of the numbered settings, from 1-10. You can also use this tool to find your next potential coffee grinder, as it can show you the approximate range of the grind size the machine can produce, and the number of setting increments it has. With this knowledge, you can find the right coffee grinder that matches the brewing methods that you use at home. Notes