This is the one!

After intermittent research over the course of several years I decided to buy a Capresso 560 last year. All the reviews I had found for grinders under $250 were mixed, and I didn't want to pay that much. I had so much trouble finding a grinder I wanted to buy, that I am prompted to create an Epinions login just to report that I have had unqualified happiness with this grinder.

I am a detail oriented person, and have had no problems whatsoever with this grinder. No annoying buzzing or behavior. The grind is consistent, the burr is high quality, and there is no problem with static electricity holding coffee particulates in the grounds catcher. One hard rap over the sink and it is clean.

The timer that determines how long the machine will grind is not an ultra-high precision device, but it succeeds in meeting the requirements of what it should do. The way this is designed, you can store your coffee in the hopper if you like - you simply need to learn what timer setting grinds the amount of coffee you want. If you don't store your coffee in the grinder (like me), you will be glad to know that there isn't a lot of waste. You can switch to a different bean and expect the grounds to be 98% new bean. (i.e., The path the grounds follow from the burr to the grind catcher is short.) It is also easy to clean if you have the urge to purge that tiny bit of leftover coffee grounds from the last batch.

I have the black plastic version of this grinder. It does not feel flimsy or cheap to me. Close examination of the heavy, precision metal burr assembly would probably help soothe any feeling of cheapness you might experience if you are prone to that.

I use this grinder for very coarse French press pot grinding as well as extremely fine grinding for a vacuum espresso maker. I also bought one for my parents last year, and they have had no problems with it at all. They use it for drip brewing. If they had had any problems, I have no doubt they would have switched back to the blade grinder they had grown comfortable with over the last 10 years.

Maybe it is just me, but it seems that $90 is still too much for a grinder. However, since this grinder is much cheaper than the other quality alternatives; it is resoundingly a Best Buy!