Customer Reviews

Braun KSM2-BLK Aromatic Coffee Grinder, Black

5 star:		(77)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

As a coffee addict, my Braun coffee grinder is one of my favorite small kitchen appliances. It grinds quickly and evenly, and has lasted me for years already. Although a teaspoon or so of grounds gets packed into the bottom, a quick rap on the side generally frees them. The grinder is fairly small (a little over seven inches high) so it does not take up much counter space, a big plus for most kitchens.

If you like freshly ground coffee, you can't go wrong with this simple and efficient grinder. Package this with a pound of whole beans, and you've got a great gift.

We received this coffee grinder as a gift about 5 years ago, and it's still going strong. It's fairly loud but quite fast: in only a few seconds, you can have aromatic, finely ground coffee, and nary a bean in the mix! It's true that the capacity is small, but I've never found this to be a problem, especially since the best coffee requires freshly ground beans. And although the unit is not dishwasher safe, I've never had a problem with cleanup either, as I just rinse out the plastic cup and use a damp paper towel to wipe out the interior. This inexpensive, easy-to-use tool is a perfect addition to your kitchen!

I've owned this grinder for 10 years plus and use it frequently for grinding coffee and spices. It does the job well. Yes, it's loud, it's a grinder with hard beans flying around in it!

When I want to grind spices I clean it out first by grinding white rice in it and then wiping it out with a slightly damp paper towel. (Unplug it before wiping it out.) Cleans up very nicely. The lid can be washed out with regular dish soap. Cloves can be a little tough to clean off the inside of the lid, they have a lot of oil that seems to stick more than other spices. Still, I love using fresh spices, so a little extra clean up effort is ok by me. If you want to grind cinnamon in this, break up the sticks first. I don't grind nutmeg in this grinder. I imagine the large nutmeg pods could reek havoc on the blades.

All in all, I'm very satisfied with this product.

When I received a bag of coffee beans in a gift package, I decided to do what every coffee lover eventually does, get a grinder, and enjoy the marvelous aroma of newly ground beans, and the freshest of coffee in my cup.
I've always had good luck with Braun appliances, so chose this sleek and easy little grinder, which is simple to operate and clean; it only has one lever, with the fineness of the grind determined by how long you press it down, and the progress is visible through the clear top. For an extra fine grind, use less beans for best results...there is a warning to not "overheat the motor", which would probably be the result of grinding too many beans at one time for too long.

Cleaning is a snap: The top rinses out, and a swipe with a paper towel cleans out the grinding cup, which is part of the motorized section, and the bottom has a handy spool for use as a cord wrap.
Now my little kitchen area is permeated with the smell of fresh coffee, my lattes taste better than ever, and I have the new adventure of trying out different types of beans, and delight in the wondrous world of gourmet coffee !

Pros:
-- Price - a great value for the joy of drinking fresh ground coffee in the morning.
-- Quality - I've owned my grinder for a few years now, and it has been very consistent in it's ability to grind beans.
-- Storage - if you'll notice the picture - there seems to be a small disc below the grinder. This is actually a sort of column to wrap the power cord around. Takes up about as much space as a can of lysol.

Cons:
-- Only one, she can be a messy booger sometimes.

The great thing about having your own grinder is that you get to decide how fine the grind is. Sometimes, I want an especially strong and textured coffee, and so I'll make something close to or beyond what might be an espresso grind (the consistency is something like dust). Sometimes, I want a regular grind for my drippy coffee maker. Either way, with your own coffee grinder you are not bound to the limits of mass produced, pre-ground coffee!

The grinder has a knack of compacting some of the finer grinds below the blades. I've found that this may be fought via two avenues (I know folks have their own remedies, but here's my two cents).

The first is to hold the measuring cup tight on top of the grinder while holding the entire product upside down. Then, beat the bottom of the grinder (the disc I mentioned earlier)with the palm of your hand.

The other remedy is to vary your grinding. What I mean by this is to pulse grind your coffee instead of keeping your thumb on top of the device. The result is that the grinds themselves are sort of whipped around and knock the coffee below the blades loose.

Regarding my one con - my coffee grinder tends to leave small grinds and coffee dust on my counter. Understandably, this may be a result of my beating my grinder with the palm of my hand repeatedly.

I have ground 6 tsps of a coffee a day everyday of the week for the past 8 years with a Black Braun Coffee Grinder. My father does the same thing but his 10 years old. The beans come quite even and is very easy to dump or pour into the coffee filter. The cord is very easily wrapped up - no need to unplug it like others (Krups). No maintenance is required just wipe the inside with a damp paper towel whenever you change flavors.

A little over 6 months ago we read about the benefits of grinding flaxseed and eating it with cereal, and decided to try it. So we bought this grinder for the purpose, and it worked reasonably well.

However, while staying at a friend's house we tried the same thing with a Krups grinder, and found that
1. it ground the flaxseeds more thoroughly (we think it is because of the oval shape), and
2. it was quieter

We like the Braun's space for cord storage, and the Braun seems sturdy enough, so it's not a bad unit. But we bought the Krups 203-70 and have been using it for a few weeks now, and prefer it.

I've had this grinder for about three years now and it's slowly dieing. I tend to use it about once a week and have noticed that it's starting to slow down so it must be on its way out. I just thought I'd mention it since there were some reviews saying they had theirs for 15+ years.

It's a little loud, but you are grinding hard beans not jelly beans so that should be expected. So as to not wake the baby, I wrap mine with a hand towel and that's usually all that's needed.
It also does a nice job of quickly making a fine ground.

All and all, it has been a good grinder. I may buy the same one again, but I would like something that lasted a little longer. Still three years for fifteen bucks isn't bad. I may lean towards the Bosch since I really like the brand and have read that their home appliances are some of the best, but that's still to be determined.

We make a lot of Asian food. For some salads, we use peanut and dried shrimp powder. We have this machine for more than 4 years grinding powder of dried shrimps, peanuts, other nuts, roasted cumin, red pepper, black pepper, etc., everything other than coffee though it's quite small. I'm not a coffee lover so I don't grind coffee with this machine. I use instant coffee if I want to drink coffee. After grinding, I just washed it with soap and water carefully not to get wet outside of this grinder and wipe dry. No smell of earlier items left (such as from cumin), I can grind coffee if I want, without mixing smells. It takes only a few seconds to grind dried shrimps. Just to pause between presses of the "press button." If you've large dried shrimps (expensive ones), just put small amout at a time.

I also tried Cuisinart DLC-2ABC Mini Prep Plus for grinding powder but it didn't even grind panuts and had to return it. If you want to grind powder for Asian food, this is a life saver.

This little grinder is GREAT! I got it for a wedding gift 15 years ago. I have used it often and I grind all sorts of specialty coffee beans. BUT this also works GREAT for FLAX seeds! So you can do more than just coffee. I highly recommend THIS grinder.