Customer Reviews

BUNN BCG-B Professional Quality Home Coffee Grinder, Black

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Feeling a little sticker shock? If your coffee grinder shopping experience is running anything like mine did recently, you are clutching your chest and feeling around for the smelling salts, mumbling "Is that what coffee grinders cost nowadays?"

The husband and I take our coffee drinking seriously, pots a day, but have simple needs. We don't make fancy coffee. We don't drink espresso. We've never frothed our milk, half n half is just fine for us. Our coffeemaker is a Bunn BT-10, a replacement for a Bunn B-10 which lasted us 8 years before finally giving up the ghost. We use Dunkin Donuts whole beans which are excellent but, yes, simple.

So, when our Capresso Burr Grinder went up recently, and I went coffee grinder shopping, I was more than a little shocked at how much a good coffee grinder costs. When I bought our Capresso 8 or 9 years back, burr grinders were just becoming popular and it cost me all of $50.

My shopping experience was confined to Amazon, being pressed for time, and my initial purchase was not for this grinder but for a Capresso 565.04. I ended up having to return that model (see my review there, if you like), and decided to spend the extra $20 on this Bunn Grinder as a replacement. ($140, $160, it's all the same, right? If my husband ever finds out how much I spent on a grinder, he's going to have me committed.)

I love this Bunn!

First of all, it's easy as pie to use. Switching the grinds is a bit cumbersome as you have to reach inside the hopper to do it, but being simple people, we don't need to switch the grinds. The initial factory drip setting turned out to be just perfect to go with our Bunn Coffeemaker and our normal beans.

Next, the unit is compact. The Capresso I ordered orginally was a monster, and an odd shaped monster at that. This Bunn does not take over my countertop, but is still holds a generous amount of coffee and feels substantial.

It is reasonably quiet. Reasonably. Burr grinders are pretty darn LOUD by nature, but this model is quieter than my old Capresso grinder, which is a blessing. Nonetheless, you still get a jolt of noise in the morning before you get a jolt of java.

The hopper, the hopper, the hopper. This is my favorite part. A rectangular hopper seems like a much better design choice than conical. The new Capresso I purchased and then returned had a conical design which drove beans down into the machine as soon as they were poured. Hated it.

Cleanliness. Cleaning the grinder is easy and cleaning up after it is no shakes. The grinds stay where they are supposed to instead of spilling out all over the counter.

Finally, my simple coffee tastes better than it did before I bought the Bunn Grinder. As neither my coffeemaker nor my beans have changed, I'll make the logical leap that the extra credit goes to this grinder.

$160 is still a lot of money to spend on a coffee grinder. If the product holds up the way that I expect based on my track record with the Bunn brand, it works out to about $20 a year, or 35 - 40 stops at Starbucks overall. Worth it, yes, but just don't tell my husband I spent $160 on a coffee grinder.

I bought this grinder about 2 years ago and still running strong!Only thing that went wrong is the rubber seal on grinder cup wore out.I called bunn company customer service and they sent me whole new cup with new seal AND sent me extra rubber seal....Now thats service!!!

There is a lot to like about this grinder. Its strong low RPM motor never bogs down and there is almost no static electricity to deal with like my last grinders. It's a very clean machine to use, does not make a mess on your counter top and stays in place while grinding. I have owned this machine for about a year now and I expect it may be the last grinder I will have to buy. I grind for drip only and that's what this machine is made for, will not grind fine enough for espresso. The removable solid steel grinding burr is extremely well made, very heavy and very sharp. The grind is extremely consistent. Should it become necessary to replace the burrs they are very easy to remove and replace Bunn's customer service is top notched and it has a 3 year warrantee. The sound level is quiet tolerable. The grind adjustment is inside the hopper, while that might be a hassle for some who change the grind a lot or keep the hopper full, it's no problem for me as I only add enough beans for a pot full at a time and once I established the right setting I have left it there. I clean the machine about once every six weeks. I would recommend that you buy a can compressed air at Wal-Mart or a computer store. A blast of air down the chute makes cleaning less of a chore. The only other negative points I would make are if you only add enough beans to grind a pot full at a time the chute should be a little steeper. Those last few beans take a while to grind. I wish it had an on/off switch besides the timer which I must reset twice as I grind. There are many grinders on the market however in its price range, great customer service and 3 year guarantee I believe this grinder is by far the best choice. I love Bunn Brewers to, please read Happy Camper review if you are in the market for one because they require a little tweaking.

It is worth the money. It grinds the beans into consistently-sized particles, unlike my old grinder. It is easy-to-use. Mine is over two years old and has been trouble-free. As far as some others' comments about the noise, it is a coffee grinder, so it is not going to as be quiet as a toaster. My old grinder was also noisy, except that it made a very annoying high-pitched noise. Static electric charge is almost non-existent. Its rectangular shape requires miminal counter space.

And finally, it is nice-looking - a rare thing these days when almost all small appliances are ugly and look like medical devices!

I did considerable research before I ordered the Bunn grinder. I knew I was not about to spend $200 plus for a grinder to make primarily drip coffee so my selection choices were limited. I decided on the Bunn and it has been everything I expected. It is not too large or too tall. It's heavy enough that it does not jiggle or move when grinding. And, best of all, it produces even, consistent grinds with no mess of coffee grounds or dust left around it on the cabinet. With the three year warranty, you can't go wrong.

Fantastic coffee grinder that lives up to the Bunn name. We have had ours for a year now and could not live without it. A perfect compliment to a Bunn coffee pot or anyone who loves coffee.

Got this grinder 6 months ago and thought I would give it some time before reviewing. So far it is working great. Love the cup setting dial. Just turn to how many cups you are brewing and it grinds the perfect amount (for us using a Bunn coffee maker, your strength needs may vary). The only reason I rate it 4 stars is because of the noise. This thing is very loud. If there are other people in the house sleeping you might want to grind your coffee the night before to avoid disturbing them. All in all a good coffee grinder.

I have nothing but respect for Bunn, usually. We swear by their coffee makers. But it's hard for me to believe this grinder is from the same company.

The dial on the front -- which regulates the amount of coffee you grind -- feels fragile and flimsy, as if it might snap off.

The dial for fineness of grind is inside the coffee bean chamber... UNDER the beans. If you want to adjust the grind once the beans are in there, you either have to empty the chamber, or feel around to turn the knob without being able to see where it's pointing.

In our case that hardly mattered, because the grinder produced huge particles no matter what setting we used. I'm not talking about the coarse grind needed for French press -- rather, the pieces were about 1/8". Clearly, it was defective.

As others have mentioned, it was unusually noisy. Coffee grinders tend to be loud, but this one was abnormally loud.

After reading reviews on Amazon, I decided to significantly upgrade our coffee grinder to this one from a Cuisinart. Love the fact that this grinder doesn't set our teeth on edge from high-pitched whine like our other grinder, and it does a very good job grinding our beans. I'm surprised that I need to clean ground coffee off our counter every morning, though. No one else mentioned this problem that I remember. A small leak lets grinds out where the bin meets the grinder during grinding. That, combined with the static from the plastic means a wet paper towel clean-up every time we grind. Annoying from a grinder that costs this much.

I just received my Bunn Home Grinder from Amazon a couple of days ago. The package arrived very quickly after ordering, much quicker than expected! Kudos to Amazon shipping!

As for the grinder itself, I have no complaints. I read several reviews before buying this model, and considered other brands. I am glad I chose Bunn. This machine is built to last, and the workmanship shows. The grinder is easy to load, easy to unload to a coffee maker, and easy to clean. A cleaning brush is even included, with detailed instructions!

As other reviews have stated, the grinder is loud, but no more so than other grinders. It is, after all, a coffee GRINDER! It grinds the beans slower than other grinders, but the uniform grind is worth the wait. The consistency of the grind is also easy to adjust from inside the top of the hopper. Even with the hopper half full of beans, the adjustment can still be made with no problem.

The collection bin is designed extremely well. It fits snugly within the machine, sealed with a rubber gasket. No grinds escape before, during or after grinding, which means no mess on the kitchen counter. The static is minimal, so there are no problems in transferring the ground coffee from the bin to a brewing basket.

The knob on the front of the unit is a light plastic, and could be designed a little better. It would also be nice to have a simple on/off button in addition to the automatic timer. Still, the grinder works great.

I have had a couple of Bunn coffeemakers, and the service has been outstanding. I have no doubt that the service behind this grinder will be the same. Replacement grinder parts can be easily ordered, and an electronic version of the owner's manual is readily available on the Bunn website. Also, whenever Bunn customer service is called, a real, live person answers the phone, rather than just an automated voice prompt!

I've seen the reviews and am aware of the hype for other coffee grinders. From my experience though, you just can't beat a Bunn!