Customer Reviews

KitchenAid KCG200MC Model A-9 Coffee Mill, Metallic Chrome

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(37)

 

 

brought me here. I ordered this coffee mill after many frustrating experiences with cheap, plastic grinders. I have tried them all, always becoming discouraged at the poor quality and difficulty of use--I have tried Capresso, Braun (twice), Black and Decker. They are all made of plastic, the Black and Decker just broke apart, the plastic in the collar of the hopper degraded so fast and became brittle. The actual metal burr in the Braun broke off after a year, and dropped inside the thing, and it wouldn't grind enough. I had to turn it on four times to get enough grounds for one pot. The Caprersso has such a narrow neck that feeds into the burrs that I had to clean it out almost every other time.

Don't even get me started on the little nut grinders that they market as coffee grinders.

The Kitchen Aid is an excellent product and I am very happy with it. I was worried at first as the cup that catches the coffee is not directly attached to the mill, and I have problems in the winter with static electricity making coffee grounds fly everywhere--always a problem with the plastic ones. My to my delight this doesn't happen with this machine. It is heavy and the glass hopper is dishwasher safe. The grind is easy to change as well, with simple settings for coarse, medium and fine. So far, I would say that this is worth the money and easy to use.

I have the Tangerine color. It's gorgeous and very tough--it's so nice to be able to store a whole pound of beans in the jar and flip the switch until the perfect measure of coffee comes out. I use it with either my FrancisFrancis Espresso machine (in a superior orange color) or my french press and it makes perfectly uniform grounds every time. I used to sell kitchen stuff and remember explaining to people, based on conventional wisdom, that a burr grinder is head and shoulders above the ubiquitous blade mills. People would buy the cheap one anyway and come back complaining that it wasn't uniformly ground; we'd tell 'em you should have gotten the burr grinder, but since you have that one, you just need to try and shake it up and down while you're grinding in order to make it more uniform. A few years ago, I got my own kitchen and didn't even buy a grinder until I could afford one of these--it's better to use the grinder at the store and sacrifice freshness than to fight that little noisy plastic cylinder.

It's quick. It's easy to keep clean. It's storage and grinding in one, with the flip of a switch--no measuring or pouring before you've had your morning coffee. I've recently seen their pro line's burr mill and it doesn't hold as much coffee and takes up almost as much counter space as one of their mixers--this one is the best.

We've had our KitchenAid coffee mill now for several weeks and couldn't be happier. No more fumbling around pouring beans in every morning, just place the glass under the door and flip the switch. Unlike our Cuisinart blade grinder, this mill makes perfectly consistence grinds EVERY TIME on any setting, and along with our Bunn BT10, results in the perfect brew. More impressive than the great grinds is the overall quality of the mill itself. Now I can see why KitchenAid decided to reintroduce the product unchanged from the original version. It ranks up there with their legendary quality similar to their counter top mixers. Everything about the mill is heavy duty. The hopper, lid, switch porcelain finish and even the measuring cup are first class. Need I mention classic looks also adds a retro feel to the kitchen? Two thumbs way up !!

This is an awesome grinder short of spending a ton more cash. It says right in the manual "DO NOT USE FLAVORED COFFEE" and every complaint I have read was from people using "FLAVORED COFFEE"! DOH! Read the manual FIRST! In my opinion any real coffee drinkers should not be concerned as they do not drink flavored coffee. Also I would not use flavored coffee in any mill, even a blade grinder because getting rid of the flavored oils is impossible and will become rancid and ruin future coffee. Why not just buy the oils by the jar and add them after, or not use them. Shouldn't coffee be drank for the flavor of.....ummm...lettttsss seee.....COFFEE! Also do you really need flavored coffee to be fresh ground?
Anyway I have had mine for over a year with absolutely no problems. Works way better than any of those plastic junk grinders I have tried and there is no comparison to any blade grinders. My sister and brother both have one and love them too. I use mine for a french press and espresso.

We are quite serious about our coffee. We roast our own beans and finally upgraded to a burr grinder. After studying the costs, quality reports and manufacturer reputations, we opted to purchase the Kitchen Aid A-9. It is a handsome machine. It's heavy, built from metal and glass, not plastic, and has numerous choices for grind selection. The ground coffee tastes terrific, both from a French Press and a drip machine. The only problem we encountered was that the door covering the spout MUST remain closed during the grinding process. If left open, you will experience the condition described by a previous reviewer, coffee grounds everywhere. The instruction manual does not warn of this, we suppose the manufacturer believed it would be self evident. We, however, made the same mistake and had a mess the first time using the machine. A call to customer support took care of our problem (and, although not trying to, made us feel foolish). Anyway, we can do nothing but give this machine the highest of ratings. It fully fits into Kitchen Aids slogan of quality, design, and ease of use.

This is more a tip for current owners.

The problem: Many note how the grinder periodically begins shooting out coarse bits of beans instead of grinding properly. Mine too did that quite often. The problem with mine--and I imagine this is the design flaw to which so many reviewers allude--is that the bottom cutting burr became loosened from the metal base that spins it. I would venture that this means that the motor cannot get enough 'traction' on the beans, and consequently the burrs slip and slide across the bean surface rather than grinding into it. Owing to the high speeds at which the burrs roate, the slipping and sliding propels the bean fragments outward at tremendous velocity, but doesn't actually grind them much. (I don't know whether my burr came loose from grinding, or was shipped loose from the factory, or both.) I cannot generalize to all grinders, but the other reviewers had experiences so similar to mine that I think this really might be the cause of many folk's headaches.

The promised tip: To remedy this, disassemble the unit as per the instructions in the manual, then take the bottom burr into your hands and twist the top and bottom parts in opposite directions. If they move back and forth, then you must use a screwdriver to tighten the two screws that fasten the burr to the bottom part that spins it. Reassemble the unit as per manual instructions.

[Potential buyers: this is easier than it sounds. Actually, it is only one more step than cleaning the burrs, which you have to do anyway once in a blue moon. A *lovely* unit once one takes this flaw into consideration. Others note that it manages to both store and grind beans whilst occupying little counter space--and they are right. The grind is also superb, and the retro design elicits envy from guests. Really.]

Bonus tip, also for owners: many complain about the stray grounds that come out. If your unit is working right, there will indeed be a few errant grounds each grinding (especially if you bother to clear the spout after each grind as I do). I deal with this by placing a soup plate under the unit--fits perfectly, but it quite detracts from the stark elegance of the machine.]

My husband purchased for me this lovely red Kitchen Aid coffee mill for Christmas. It grinds coffee with excellence but it is a bit messy. The way it is designed has coffee shooting out of a spout. If the spout clogs...which happens frequently, coffee sprays everywhere.

In an attempt to keep things clean, I have learned to turn the unit on, let it grind for about 10 seconds and then turn it off and clear the nozzle repeatedly until I have all of the coffee I need. There will often still be some debree to clean up dipite my attempts at controlling the flow of coffee. My old Krups grinder was much neater and cleaner.

On the plus side, the Kitchen Aid grinder has multiple settings and you can really tell the difference in taste from a heavier grind to a finer one. If it wasn't for the hassle of the mess, it would be the prefect coffee grinder. In all other respects it is great!

When first looking at buying I thought the price was a little steep. But after reading the technical and other buyers responses decided to take a chance. I have never ever written a response on a product my whole life, but I will have to say this one deserves my time in doing so. I have no regrets on paying this much for such a quality item. When I recieved and unpacked item of course I had to try it out so I poured in a 1lb bag of beans, left the setting on medium, flipped a swithch, turned it off and had a great great great cup of coffee. Now every morning coffee making is easy and fantastic. The measuring glass is perfect. You will not be sorry on this item, looks cool to setting by the coffee pot.

KitchenAid's "Hassle-free Replacement Warranty" wasn't. I love the grinder, but after two months of use it quit spitting the coffee out of the grind spout. I called the KitchenAid Customer Satisfaction Center two times. Below is the letter I sent to KA regarding the experience (hey, they asked for comments).

The first time (02/24/05), the KA Rep tried to play a game of "Gotcha." She asked, "What kind of bean [did I] grind?" I didn't get the question. "Whole?" I answered. She repeated the "What kind of bean did I grind?" question several times, never altering her question to help me, to clue me in on what information she wanted, which made me feel that the reason for the question was not to be helpful but rather to be tricky. I finally figured it out. Not flavored, never flavored, I answered. But again, "What kind?" This parlay went on for a while, the KA Rep becoming more and more antagonistic. We finally established that I used, horror of horrors, French Roast from Starbucks and Wegmans. These are oily specialty beans, the Rep said. I should run rice through the grinder. My husband did this already, I said, but I would try it again.

After running lots of rice through the grinder, I got about half a pot's worth of coffee out before it quit. The problem was not solved by rice. I placed a second call (02/28/04) and explained all this to the KA Rep. She asked how much rice I used. She asked what level of grind I used. Half of pound bag--eight ounces. The grind--I don't know, the right grind for an electric drip I thought. She said I needed to grind the rice at a coarser grind. At this point I felt, and told the Rep, that this sounded like a way to get me off the phone once again. The first Rep I spoke to never mentioned a need to grind the rice at a certain level. I examined the coffee grinder and confirmed it was set at medium. This should be coarse enough, I said. The rice went through fine. The COFFEE is not coming out. My coffee grinder was "working as it should," the Rep said. The specialty beans from Starbucks were the problem. From this point on, the specialty beans mantra was repeated in some variation in almost every sentence. My fault was using specialty beans from Starbucks. They are oily. If I used a supermarket bean like Folgers (or Maxwell House, I can't remember what the Rep suggested--and do these brands even come as whole bean?) I wouldn't have this problem. This problem is due to my use of specialty beans. Excuse me, I said. People who pay over $100 for a coffee grinder, I told the Rep, do not get it to grind Folgers coffee beans! I have used Starbucks beans for a decade! And a coffee grinder that does not provide ground coffee is not "working as it should." (Who on earth would define this transaction as hassle-free?!!) I read the manual cover-to-cover and the troubleshooting section suggests I make sure the unit is plugged in, I said. NOWHERE does it say ANYTHING about STARBUCKS FRENCH ROAST. Or rice for that matter.

You get the picture. Snotty antagonistic Reps who play "Gotcha," who insist a coffee grinder shouldn't be expected to grind quality coffee from the most popular coffee distributor in the nation, and who bizarrely state that the grinder is "working as it should" when it doesn't put out coffee-these people rate, in my opinion, a "very dissatisfied." Helpful Reps who explain the problem and how it might be avoided in the future, who acknowledge that the fix they suggested didn't work so we need either another fix or a hassle-free replacement-these people would rate a "very satisfied." If the problem is oil, and if the rice I was directed--several times--to run through the coffee grinder was to clean the oil, then presumably my coffee grinder would work. But it didn't work. I'm happy to periodically grind rice through my coffee grinder. I've done it before with other grinders I've owned. Yet these coffee grinders have always continued to grind coffee, Starbucks French Roast bean after Starbucks French Roast bean.

I don't believe both of these Reps came up with this interview method on their own; it has to be a deliberate policy.

Note: The grinder was replaced. (Does anyone out there think I have way too much time on my hands?)

I received this grinder as a gift. It is heavy, presumably because it contains a very powerful motor. It grinds coffee loudly and very well. It is easily cleaned, consistent, and makes a wonderful pile of grinds. It also continues to do its job well after three years of ownership. But it also creates a big mess on my countertop many days. For reasons that are hard to fathom, many grinds miss the cup and are spewed all over the place. The extent of the mess varies, depending on the electrostatic charge put in the grinds. It's like a loveable mutt that barks loudly and chews the upholstery. Loveable, perhaps, but also a chore. After two successive weeks of big messes, I'm calling it quits and finding another more functional grinder. I'm baffled that Kitchenaid would devote so much care to making a perfect grind and then take so little trouble to ensure the coffee ends up where it is supposed to go.

UPDATE, Jan. 18, 2011: Well, this appliance keeps on ticking. It still makes an impressive and easily calibrated heap of very week ground coffee beans. Straight forward to adjust and keep clean; extremely powerful motor; and far longer lived than any competitors I have purchased over the past decade. Still have to deduct one star for the messy tendency to spew grinds up to two or three inches from the intended receptical. Perfection is hard, I guess.