It has a pair of 40mm stainless steel conical burrs, as do most of the other cheaper grinders on the market. So if you're looking at the Wilfa Svart, Gaggia MD15, Baratza Encore, etc., when it comes to particle uniformity in the medium to coarse grind sizes, it's unlikely that we're going to find much of a difference by going for the Smart Grinder Pro instead of the Wilfa Svart, which is just under half of the price. This is why blade grinders and also the cheapest burr grinders I mentioned earlier that have these flat “grinding wheels” aren't ideal, as both of these options will (from my experience) create a wild range of particle sizes. If you obliterate a bean by crushing it with flat, mainly blunt wheels, the bean will break into much fewer uniform pieces than with specifically designed burr geometry created to ensure a smaller range of particle sizes.

I didn't want an espresso specialist grinder, because I did quite a bit of manual brewing too and I couldn't afford to buy a second grinder for brew, I wanted an all-rounder. I'd ruled out blade grinders, my coffee knowledge definitely wasn't what it is now, but I knew enough by that point to know that while blade grinders are better than nothing, it was a burr grinder I needed.I'd seen the Dose Control Pro from Sage, the slightly cheaper sibling of the Smart Grinder Pro, which was tempting, but I just really liked the look of the Smart Grinder Pro, and I'd seen that the power of the motor was slightly smaller on the Dose Control Pro (130W Vs 165W). Remember, at this time I knew nothing about grinders, and I knew very little about espresso making in general at that point, I'd mainly brewed manually up until not long before getting the Smart Grinder Pro as an upgrade to my manual (Hario Skerton) grinder and cordless drill setup. But I was up and running instantly, without even bothering to look at the instructions. I just want to give a little bit of attention to the hopper, as I realize that a lot of people look at the hopper and hopper capacity etc., as being an important part of their research. So what I'd say about the hopper, is it's great, but I'd highly recommend temporary use only.

The other thing I wasn't quite sure about was grind time or grind amount. What this relates to is dose, which means the amount of coffee we “dose” into our espresso basket, Aeropress, or V60 filter, for example.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. Most of us are familiar with cordless drills, which usually give you a numbered selection to decide how much torque you want the motor to be able to apply. If you're drilling a hole you'll have the torque limit (via the slipper clutch, although most of us probably don't realize this is what it's called, I certainly didn't) much higher than you would if you were using it in screwdriver mode. 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 will have to have change the grind as you make the first espresso and alter it either finer or coarser to brew the perfect espresso. It comes pre-set to 6, and theoretically, this is the optimum setting, and the idea of being able to adjust is mainly so that over the years as the burrs wear you can take it finer to keep grinding at the same fineness. In reality, though, I find that at the factory pre-set 6, there's a bit more fine grinding range to be had by dropping it to grind size 5 if you find you need it. Just keep in mind, though, that if you go finer than that you're not actually achieving anything. If you’re looking for the best coffee grinder, you've come to the right place. Our electric coffee grinder models with stainless steel conical burr grinding mechanism is are designed to minimise grind heat and protect essential oils where fresh coffee flavour resides. verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ This is a low-cost grinder, the burrs alone in some commercial grade grinders cost more than this grinder, and some of the grinders at around the one to two thousand pounds mark, or above, will usually, hopefully, produce more consistent particle size.LCD DISPLAY A clear and concise LCD screen shows grind setting, grind time and number of shots or cups you have selected. Don't make the mistake I did, initially, by the way, by thinking that you need to just choose whatever dose the machine wants to give you. You'll see a default grind time come up on the display, you can simply adjust this with the grind amount knob, to get your desired dose. Included Accessories: Portafilter Cradle–Small 50-54mm Portafilter Cradle–Large 58mm Grinds Container with Lid and Sealing Cap Conical Burr Cleaning Brush

Anyway, this question is ringing in my ears as it's asked so often, and there is no right answer. The optimum grind size will depend on the beans you're using, the brew method you're using, the particular espresso machine you're using for example, and even specifically what baskets you're using. Dialing in is about bringing out the best flavours that your coffee beans have to give. Older supermarket beans, in my humble opinion, lose lots of their flavour by being roasted to a crisp (as these kinds of beans are usually roasted particularly dark) and any delicate flavour notes remaining are likely to be given up to the oxidation process over the period of time that passes before they're used. If you're looking for a more in-depth review, though, carry on reading :-). Sage Smart Grinder Pro Review – 7 Years Later I know this grinder inside out, I very much doubt there could be any question about this grinder that I haven't answered many times, so hopefully, I'll cover all of your questions, and more, in this review, but if I haven't done, please use the “comment” feature at the bottom of the post to ask, I always respond to comments. Sage Smart Grinder Pro Nutshell Review The Smart Grinder Pro is an all-rounder grinder, It'll grind for manual brew methods such as Aeropress, pour-over, stove top & cafetiere, and it will also grind for espresso, with traditional or pressurized baskets.When you hear people talking about “performance” where grinding is concerned, what we're mainly going on about is the consistency of the grind or the size of the range of particles at one grind size. This is actually quite complex, and it's a hotly debated subject, but most experts agree that the most important element of coffee grinding is the consistency of particle sizes.