Breville BCG450XL Manual Burr Grinder
- Type: Manual
- Grinding Method: Burr Grinder
- Capacity: 0.031 oz.
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User ReviewRead All Reviews »
Recommended with reservations.
Pros
Several settings for different grinds; accurate results; solidly built.
Cons
Expensive; timer not useful; hard to maintain & clean.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
An expensive well built grinder that does a good job of grinding but with flaws that make it more difficult to use than necessary and hard to clean and maintain
Before purchasing the Breville Conical Burr Grinder Model BCG450XL, I was using a cheap Cuisinart blade type grinder for my coffee. Burr grinders are much more efficient at grinding coffee then blade types, but I’m not sure if this Breville model is the best choice.
For one thing, this grinder is very large in size, measuring 11 inches tall by 6-1/2 inches wide and about 5 inches deep. It takes a pretty large footprint on your countertop. It is solidly built and the housing is made of stainless steel and black plastic. The clear plastic bean container grinds cup is made from a sturdy plastic. The unit has non-slip feet and a handy cord storage built into the base. The bean container holds up to 5 ounces of coffee beans and there are several markings on the container to set for different types of grinds, including Coarse, Medium, Fine, Extra Fine and Super Fine. These settings correspond to the type of coffee pot you are using, such as percolator, French Press, filter, espresso and Turkish. There is a noticeable difference detected in the various grinds that are produced, so I would suggest that these settings are fairly accurate.
After using the grinder a couple of times, the removable burr grinder with the black plastic frame would not reseat properly which made it very difficult to replace the bean container without pushing very hard downward on the container. I called Breville customer service and they arranged to send me a shipping label so I could return the machine for what appeared to be a manufacturing defect. In the meantime I discovered that by turning the bean container all the way to the right until a click was heard, the burr grinder reseated properly and I did not have to return the unit for repair at this time. So far, I have been using the grinder every day and that particular problem has not arisen again.
The feature that I am not a big fan of on this machine is the timer dial which is designed to grind for a certain number of seconds. The idea is to keep the bean container full of beans and set the timer dial to the appropriate number of seconds based on the amount of cups of coffee you are preparing. The problem with this method is that if the number of cups desired changes frequently, as in my case, then you need to remember the seconds required in each case. Because of this feature, I do not keep the container full and instead measure out the amount of beans I am using each time and just grind them until completed. I would have preferred that the machine was designed to grind according to the amount of cups you are making, rather than by time.
Another complaint I have is the need to clean out the grinding chamber frequently to prevent the build up of caked grinds around the grinder. It is difficult to remove these grinds without turning the machine over and tapping it against the counter to loosen them. I have also noticed that the area around the container that receives the ground beans gets a lot of grinds and this also has to be cleaned frequently.
The bottom line is that this conical burr grinder does a credible job of producing different types of ground coffee from beans, but is not the easiest machine to maintain and clean. The very large size is also somewhat of a drawback because of the space needed on the countertop. There is a 1-year limited warranty and a toll-free customer service number to call with questions or problems. The instruction booklet that comes with the unit is adequate but could have been more detailed. I paid $90. for the Breville, which is a bit expensive and I will be doing more research into other machines for my next purchase down the road. At this time I can recommend the Breville Conical Burr Grinder, but with some serious reservations.
For one thing, this grinder is very large in size, measuring 11 inches tall by 6-1/2 inches wide and about 5 inches deep. It takes a pretty large footprint on your countertop. It is solidly built and the housing is made of stainless steel and black plastic. The clear plastic bean container grinds cup is made from a sturdy plastic. The unit has non-slip feet and a handy cord storage built into the base. The bean container holds up to 5 ounces of coffee beans and there are several markings on the container to set for different types of grinds, including Coarse, Medium, Fine, Extra Fine and Super Fine. These settings correspond to the type of coffee pot you are using, such as percolator, French Press, filter, espresso and Turkish. There is a noticeable difference detected in the various grinds that are produced, so I would suggest that these settings are fairly accurate.
After using the grinder a couple of times, the removable burr grinder with the black plastic frame would not reseat properly which made it very difficult to replace the bean container without pushing very hard downward on the container. I called Breville customer service and they arranged to send me a shipping label so I could return the machine for what appeared to be a manufacturing defect. In the meantime I discovered that by turning the bean container all the way to the right until a click was heard, the burr grinder reseated properly and I did not have to return the unit for repair at this time. So far, I have been using the grinder every day and that particular problem has not arisen again.
The feature that I am not a big fan of on this machine is the timer dial which is designed to grind for a certain number of seconds. The idea is to keep the bean container full of beans and set the timer dial to the appropriate number of seconds based on the amount of cups of coffee you are preparing. The problem with this method is that if the number of cups desired changes frequently, as in my case, then you need to remember the seconds required in each case. Because of this feature, I do not keep the container full and instead measure out the amount of beans I am using each time and just grind them until completed. I would have preferred that the machine was designed to grind according to the amount of cups you are making, rather than by time.
Another complaint I have is the need to clean out the grinding chamber frequently to prevent the build up of caked grinds around the grinder. It is difficult to remove these grinds without turning the machine over and tapping it against the counter to loosen them. I have also noticed that the area around the container that receives the ground beans gets a lot of grinds and this also has to be cleaned frequently.
The bottom line is that this conical burr grinder does a credible job of producing different types of ground coffee from beans, but is not the easiest machine to maintain and clean. The very large size is also somewhat of a drawback because of the space needed on the countertop. There is a 1-year limited warranty and a toll-free customer service number to call with questions or problems. The instruction booklet that comes with the unit is adequate but could have been more detailed. I paid $90. for the Breville, which is a bit expensive and I will be doing more research into other machines for my next purchase down the road. At this time I can recommend the Breville Conical Burr Grinder, but with some serious reservations.
