Customer Reviews

DeLonghi DCG59 Retro Burr Grinder

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

My wife and I would probably be considered coffee addicts; over the years we have refined our appreciation for "Heaven's Brew" to focus on quality rather than quantity. We like a rather strong, dark, rich but non-acidic, non-bitter cup to get our hearts started in the a.m., and to get there we found we had to grind our own. The blade grinders were OK, but you had to be careful or the coffee would be too fine, too coarse or just plain bitter from the heat of the blades. This grinder looked cool, so we decided to try it, and here's what we found:

1.) It's easy to get the perfect, uniform grind every time with the adjustable grind selection from superfine to extra coarse.

2.) The automatic timer (based on how many cups you'd like to brew) is absolutely perfect. If you can count up to 10 or know your ABC's and can turn a dial, you'll master this the first time.

3.) The bean reserve container holds a substantial amount of beans; we fill it twice a week and it stays fresh.

4.) The grounds container - with a graphic showing the suggested grind time per cup, in case you forgot - is easy to remove, easy to clean and seems to minimize the "coffee dust flux" we used to get from our blade grinders. You can seal the grounds container to keep some grounds in it, but we grind fresh every time.

5.) The machine seems bombproof. Good quality materials with no apparent weak parts to break off.

OK, is there anything negative? Well, it's kind of noisy. Not as noisy as a blade grinder, but you definitely know it's in operation. Here's a clue: you have very hard materials (beans and grinding stones) being forced together to the point where the harder material crushes the other. Turns out that might make some noise. The wonderful smell emanating from the process more than makes up for any noise you'll have to bear for a minute or so. Hey ... some days you're the bean, some days you're the burr!

Do yourself a favor and buy this machine. You'll like it.

The features of this grinder are:

1. Burr grinder creates a consistent grind with less heat than blade grinders
2. 8 settings, from extra fine to coarse
3.Tablespoon timer grinds exactly the amount of coffee needed
4. Removable holder with lid for storage

Burr grinders are supposed to do a better job than blade chopper style grinders in keeping the delicate oils in the coffee grinds. We did find that the grinds are fluffy, indicating some oils must be on the surface. But "coarse to fine" is misleading; this grinds fine and finer. For press pots like the Bodum Chambord that require a very coarse grind, this grinder is not suitable. And the "tablespoon timer" is a bit silly; it's marked in LETTERS not numbers, which is dumb as you want to measure cups of coffee, not recite the alphabet.

However, for the money, if you want a burr grinder with storage of beans above and a cup for grinds, this really is an excellent price-value. It works fine. Just make sure you know whether you need a coarse or fine grind in your coffee machine of choice.

I purchased this grinder for my first "burr grinder". It didn't take long to see it's flaws. The lid to the grounds container has an insert that lets you close the lid. Unfortunately, during grinding it blows grounds right into this insert and they get jammed in there. It almost seems as if this clogs up the grinder, backs up the grounds and grinds the beans finer than the chosen setting. I had to clean this insert after every use because it was PACKED with coffee powder. I ended up absolutely hating it. I think it's one of the reasons I chose a different coffee maker as the grind was so inconsistent, it clogged up the filter. Too many fines. I thought it was the coffeemaker.

They didn't need that insert as one should only grind as many beans as they want for that use and not save grounds in a container to sit and get ranced. Since the machine will not work without that lid, I have no idea if the burrs work well. And was it noisy! The high pitched noise sound like a plane taking off. I won't even give this grinder away. It would be mean. It doesn't even deserve one star, but that's the lowest allowed.

I purchased a Capresso Infinity as soon as I had a bit more money and was blown away at the difference. The Capresso has extremely consistent grind, did not clog, and made a huge difference in the quality of our coffee regardless of what brewer we use. Just save another $30 and you can get a great grinder that delivers what it promises.

I bought this grinder recently, and absolutely love it. It has 8 different grind settings, and gives perfect espresso coffee at the 'Extrafine' setting. I tried another Delonghi model grinder before, but that would not grind the coffee fine enough for espresso. So I returned it to the store. This grinder also has timer so that just the right amount of coffee can be ground each time. This is a little pricy, but definitely worth the price. If you are looking for a coffee grinder for espresso, go for it!!

Just one thing though, before the first time use, I washed the coffee container, and the grounds container with warm water as recommended in the book, and some water got trapped in the bean container. The water must have gone inside when I was washing it from outside. It took me quite an effort to shake off all that water. So watch out not to run water over the outside of the bean container. Just clean the inside with a wet sponge or towel, then you would not get into the problem I did. have fun!!

Whoever designed this was strange. Two examples for your reading enjoyment:

1) There is no visual indicatiion of the gind fineness. You have to count the "clicks." Silly

2) You choose the amount of coffee by picking a letter. B=about two tablespoons; D=about four. REALLY silly.

The machine also requires an occasional punch on the top to get the coffee to feed properly.

I would NOT buy this unit again.

I have to admit I'm just a TAD bit addicted to gadgets, and can be talked into buying things I'll use a couple of times and then no more, but when my sister got me a present of whole coffee beans -- she knows how much I like good coffee and was surprised I didn't have a grinder of my own -- I got this one. I've had it for close to a year, grind two cups' worth every morning, and couldn't be more satisfied. The upper container holds about a half pound of beans, and keeps them fresh. The lower container receives the ground coffee. There are two dials -- one for fineness/coarseness, and one for quantity. It doesn't take much to figure out either. First time user suggestion: Measure your normal amount of ground coffee into the lower container and make note of the marking. Then in the future, use that setting for the timer. Some have commented on noise. I really don't expect a grinder to be QUIET, but this is not exceptionally noisy. I watch/listen to the morning news in the same room, and don't have to adjust the volume. And the coffee.... It's wonderful! And that's the point.

I purchased this grinder 4 months ago and have used it daily. Today it died. I have never been happy with the grind it provided. Even the coarsest setting produces a powder-like grind that does not permit proper brewing in a drip coffee maker (I use a Bunn so the problem "ain't" with the coffeemaker!). The measurement settings are not accurate either. Sometimes a 12 cup setting will give you a full hopper of coffee, sometimes a half. It depends on how recently you have taken it apart and cleaned out every crevice of the machine, apparently.

Despite the glowing reviews here, I will not even bother to have this one repaired or replaced. It's a piece of inadequate junk and not worth having. I'll find a better, more suitable grinder to replace it.

Cleaning this machine has always been a pain. It clogs up easily and the burr disk has frozen repeatedly even on the very high quality (and expensive) beans I purchase. You can't empty the holder without getting coffee powder all over the place.

Quite honestly, the Braun blade grinder I previously used did a better job than this machine. Though I do plan to stick with a burr grinder for obvious reasons, it won't be another DeLonghi - of that you can be certain!

This is a great great grinder for people just starting to get serious about their coffee or espresso quality.

8 grind settings! The extrafine makes perfect espresso.
Egg-timer style dial lets you grind as much as you want, but dont go by the little embossed symbols (you have to use it to learn how much it will grind). Still, it's nice to set the thing to grind and start on other coffee-making procedures instead of holding down a button.

All in all Im very pleased. It's an aesthetically pleasing machine that matches most other kitchen appliances. BUY BURR GRINDERS ONLY. Blade grinders are horrible and ruin what might be a perfect cup of coffee.

I've used those cheap blade grinders for years, they truly are garbage, put timers on then make them big and cool looking, it doesn't matter they are all basically as good as the simple 8.00 dollar blade grinders. I bought this sharp looking grinder, you get a perfect UNIFORM grind EVERY time, why drink a crappy cup of coffee if you under or over grind your beans by like 4 seconds etc. I can't stress enough how important grind size is. Bite the bullet and get one, I wished they had them up in Canada years ago, if you have a good coffee machine and a lame grinder, don't live that way, life is to short, this grinder can grind beans, to as small as icing sugar. My new Delonghi Bar42 Retro coffee machine and now, grinder makes perfect coffee EVERY time.

The good and the bad...

Pros: Good for even espresso and drip grinds. Small, cheap for burr grinder.

Cons: This machine does NOT grind coarse enough for a french press. Do NOT use for this purpose.

The price of this was pretty nice for a burr grinder. I love
the size of it - small, shapely, looks real nice. I suppose it would be a good grinder if you were only doing espresso or drip pot coffee, but for press pot (which is supposed to be the best way these days) it's horrible. Unless you like drinking sludge with your coffee.

The grind is just not course enough. They tell me that if you use a french press, you need to have a very even grind and very coarse. Approximately the size of the coarsest setting on your pepper grinder. As other reviewers have stated, this grind goes from fine to superfine, which is just not varied enough.

I'm having to return this based on the fact that it just doensn't do what it says. It is totally insufficient for the french press. False advertising? You decide.

But if you're wanting a well-designed, decently-priced grinder for espresso or drip pot coffee, then this is a good bet.

However, please look elsewhere if you're looking to make your coffee with a french press. If this is your purpose, don't waste your time and money.