Customer Reviews

Black & Decker CBM210 Stainless Steel Burr Coffee Mill/Grinder

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(20)
1 star:		(74)

 

 

Paid $19 at Target and was dismayed at the random grind it produced. Realized it was a good design, just poorly executed. Here is how to fix it:

1. Pop out the top grinding head as per the cleaning instructions.
2. Carefully unscrew the two screws securing the grinding head to the plastic insert.
3. Trace the circular grinding head on a business card.
4. Cut this out to make a gasket that will fit between the grinding plate and the plastic insert.
5. Re-assemble and insert into the hopper as per the cleaning instructions.

Now it will grind your coffee beans consistently to whatever degree you want.

I'd give it 5 stars for value, but it should have been made right in the first place!

I should have known better than to pay less than $50 for a burr grinder.

This machine, though compact and aesthetically pleasing, lacks the ability to produce uniform grinds which, really, is the only reason to buy a burr grinder. The first time I dumped beans into the hopper and held down the power button, I was dismayed at the resultant coarse-looking grinds. I thought I'd made a mistake and set the grinder wrong, but I wasn't.

Moreover, when I closely inspected the grinds container, I found grinds ranging from Turkish coffee-fine grinds to percolator-coarse grinds. Unacceptable.

If you're looking for a quality grinder (and you probably are if you've graduated from blade to burr), then don't look to spend less than $50.

I bought mine at Target for $22.xx yesterday.

What this is not: a highly precise burr grinder with a wide range of grind settings

What this is: a very good alternative to a blade grinder that grinds at a lower speed (as all burr grinders do), and thus won't burn the beans and is relatively quiet

I think it's safe to say that the manufacturer didn't intend this grinder to compete with high-end burr grinders, like the great one from Kitchen Aid. This grinder sells at the same price point of blade grinders, albeit with a slight premium. And, for good reason.

This grinder provides a relatively consistent grind size (there's even a mod listed in these reviews that promises to help). The size of grind on the smallest and the largest settings really is not that different - it clearly does not have the range of a serious burr grinder. But, as a casual burr grinder, this thing is great.

I think that the manufacturer intended this to be used in drip machines instead of a french press or an espresso (the grind size on the smallest and largest settings looks pretty close to the grind size of, say, Maxwell House). I usually use a french press, and made a pot this morning with the grind setting on the largest size. My cup of coffee was pretty great. There were no floating particles in my cup; the coffee turned out the way it always does. I also would not hesitate to use the grinder set on the smallest setting to make coffee in my moka pot.

If you need an occasional grinder, like if your friend gives you beans occasionally or if you want to get started in grinding without a large investment - this grinder is a great value. If, however, you want a grinder capable of grinding coffee beans into the almost-flour-like espresso and the large almost-pebble-size-grind for your french press, and you expect this grinder to do all that - what are you thinking?

This grinder costs $20-30, which is less than 20% of the cost of Kitchen Aid's burr grinder. If the old adage "you get what you pay for" is true, then get serious. If you want a serious burr grinder, then "cowboy/cowgirl-up" and spend the +$100 that serious burr grinders cost.

This, however, is a great value if you take it on its own terms - a burr grinder that is great for a drip machine, or a french press or moka if you don't mind the grind size not being ideal. I think if you acknowledge the manufacturer's intentions with this machine, you will be really happy with it. If you expect it to be something it's not, then you will set yourself up to be disappointed.

PS - this is also a clean grinder - the hopper the ground coffee is shot into is fully enclosed except for the small opening the ground coffee enters through. There's no place for the coffee to go instead of either in the hopper or in the place where you dump the beans into. Twenty bucks? Great value.

Sorry to say this, but the American manufacturers still don't get how to make quality coffee products for a reasonable price.
This is a burr grinder, but you won't get a fine enough grind for espresso or even permanent filter drip coffeemakers.
I returned mine to the store.

I am now looking at a Krups- twice as expensive, but from experience, they know what it takes to make good coffee.

Rather disappointing to say the least....
Shankar.

A coffee aficionado friend who roasts his own coffee once told me that for uniformity of ground size, mill grinders generally were considered best, followed by burr grinders, then blade ones. Not wanting to spend over $100 for a mill, when I saw this Black & Decker burr-mill grinder at a reasonable price, I figured, "Why not?" My current blade grinder was old; was it time to upgrade to a better grinder? This does look a lot better on a countertop than the round conventional blade grinders. The answer, I discovered, in summary, is "No," because THIS IS A DISASTER MASKING AS A COFFEE GRINDER.

I've learned that with my blade grinder I get the most uniform grounds, as fine as I want, by holding and shaking it while grinding, counting to a given number, depending on the amount of coffee. Usually about 20 seconds is sufficient. Leaving it on the counter sans shaking still gives decent grind uniformity, but I am a perfectionist where possible, so I suspend and shake while grinding. With this burr grinder, it takes 30 seconds to grind 4 rounded tablespoons of beans, about 60 seconds plus for making enough for a pot of coffee. As with all home grinders you have to hold the switch on. Say a prayer while waiting for this to finish grinding.

With the Black and Decker Burr Mill Coffee Bean Grinder, I ran several test grindings, with the adjustable grind control on various settings. I learned quickly that the only usable setting is on the "finest" grind, because the other settings made a grind so coarse as to be unsatisfactory even in percolator coffee makers. The knob and adjustment no doubt was put there to improve marketability of the product.

READ THIS: with the B&D burr mill grinder a UNIFORM grind is impossible, regardless of fineness. A FINE grind is impossible; a MEDIUM GRIND without uniformity requires a second pass of the first grinding. It does, however, do a great job of making a non-uniform medium-coarse grind. Thus, the grounds will work OK in a percolator coffee maker, which uses a coarser grind. Do you use a drip coffee maker? Forget it.

What's more? Convenience and cleanliness. Never thought these would be issues with a simple machine? They are. The grinder comes with a brush, NEEDED to clean the spout and the dust particles that stick to the insides of the deep receptacle for the grounds. If you don't use it, the spout will ultimately clog with old grounds, and, even if it doesn't clog initially, per the instructions the oils in the residual grounds around the spout can become rancid. Moral? Cleaning is necessary. Further, the grounds receptacle is in two parts. Thus, to use the grounds you have to take the cover off and not misplace it. When you do, often a few grounds find their way to the countertop. Ergo, cleanup. Remember that you have to keep track of the brush and store it, also. More? Yep. The manual says the receptacle for grounds must be hand-washed; it's apparently not top-dishwasher safe.

I'm returning mine, mainly because the manufacturer needs to get a message that whoever approved this for making and marketing should have tested it first. Maybe he or she should be fired.

Finest grind is too coarse for expresso, coarsest grind is too fine for French press. Actually, we don't see much difference between the finest and coarsest settings. We also didn't notice that it had no timer, our bad. You have to stand there pressing the grind button until it's finished grinding.
Looks nice, though.

Over the years I had heard that conical burr grinders are much better than blade grinders, but I always thought it's proponents to be gullible. My blade grinder worked just fine. It didn't "overheat" my coffee as far as I could tell, so what did I care if it used a blade or a burr? In fact, what the heck is a burr? But then I got into roasting green coffee beans myself, which puts one immediately in touch with the very upper-class coffee snobs. I soon started to get ridiculed by my fellow roasters: "What, you roast your own coffee but still use a blade grinder?" So, being the cheap fool that I am, I went to Walmart and bought one of these inexpensive Black and Decker burr grinders. It took me about a half hour with it to discover that even on it's finest setting it can only obtain a very very course grind and therefore results in a very thin, blah cup of coffee. So I stuck the brand new Black and Decker in the garage and put my old blade grinder back on the kitchen counter and my coffee tasted good again. I would never have bought another burr grinder myself, but my brother ended up giving me a Solis Crema Maestro burr grinder for my birthday. Well, I love it. I think the coffee does taste better, but who really knows since every pot of coffee tastes different to me anyway. But this Black and Decker thing is not to be taken seriously. It's a step backwards, not forwards. Don't make the same mistake I did. Keep using your blade grinder until your brother gives you a real conical burr grinder or you save up for a real conical burr grinder. Or just keep using your blade grinder; it's ok, I won't tell anyone.

This product is useless as it will not create the fine grind required to make good espresso. In fact, the finer setting produces a grind that is very coarse and irregular. Do not waste your money.

Just as previous reviewers said, does not grind finely. Also, not easy to clean up. Looks great, doesn't perform as well.

This grinder is a waste of money.
It does not grind with any uniformity, large chunks mixed with fine grounds
Not suitable for espresso or Turkish, or any fine grind requirements.
Spend a bit more and get a quality product with good reviews
I wish i had stayed at home........