Customer Reviews

Lello Ariete Burr Coffee Grinder

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

(UPDATE 2008: What's with the $50.00 price tag? When I bought this, it was $30.00 and well worth the price! It still works as I've listed below, but I would never contend that there aren't better grinders. At $50.00, it's approaching the price of more functional machines. Yes, it works well, but $50.00?)

This grinder works well. It's a very significant improvement over my blade grinder. It has two ridged wheels facing one another with an angle of somewhere between 10 and 20 degrees between the edges of the wheels. The beans go in the hopper up on top and fall through the shoot into the spinning wheels. The ridges on the wheels are dull to the touch, so the beans get crushed as they pass through with no cutting occuring at all. The grounds come out extraordinarily uniform in size and by turning the hopper, you can select a grind size from the fineness of flour upwards to a size larger than one would generally use for drip. It's also very fast; MUCH faster than a blade grinder. Unlike the reviews I've read of other low-priced burr grinders, this one is very clean. The chute from which the grounds are expelled projects slightly into the collecting bin, so they are all neatly collected without spillage. The collecting bin comes off of the grinder, which makes sticking a scoop in the bin to transport the grounds to the espresso filter easy. Also, because the whole collecting bin comes off, it's easy to rinse the bin in the sink after every use. The body of the machine is made up of about one quarter stainless steel and three quarters plastic. Of some concern to me is the report of a later poster that his machine is all plastic: I wonder if Lello altered the machine construction since I posted my review in April of 2006? Ah well, I can only report on my own results...

Unlike another reviewer, I had no problems manipulating the various parts of the grinder (e.g., removing the collecting bin), the collecting bin's cover did not fly off spontaneously, and the hopper cover was easy to lift off of the machine. I do agree with one reviewer that, unlike a blade grinder, this machine is a bit large to store in a cabinet between cans of tunafish. Plan on setting it on the counter.

The two potential complaints I have about it don't bother me much:
1- It's very loud, but because it grinds so quickly, this doesn't bother me, as it's not loud for long.
2- You select the amount that you want the machine to grind, but at the lowest amount and the finest setting, it doesn't grind the amount selected, so I have to set the dial to grind for four cups when I want two. Not a big deal once you figure it out.

An excellent purchase that I've been using for a couple of weeks. After reading conflicting reviews of other burr grinders, at Amazon and other coffee websites, I decided not to spend a fortune and instead take a chance on this Lello Ariete based on positive reviews of other Lello products. I really lucked out on this one, as it has well exceeded my expectations.
It grinds very well, from coarse to super fine, and does not spew grounds out when you open and pour. It does not generate static electricity, and I do not need to cleanup anything after I've used it. The machine grinds at low rpm, and though not quiet, isn't super loud. Overall, the design functions well and the tapered plastic catch bin makes it easy to pour the grounds into a small french press without spilling and without needing a funnel. The lack of static also means that all the grounds leave the plastic bin with gentle tapping, and do not stick on the inside. For 30 bucks this is all pretty miraculous. I've only been using it for a couple of weeks, so can say nothing about longevity.
It does an excellent coarse grind for the french press (Bodum), which is my favorite way to make a great cup of strong coffee. I do not like drip methods, which almost always leave a long lingering sour aftertaste of paper.
I've also tried the Bialetti Brikka stovetop espresso maker. Following to the letter its instructions, the coffee always seems to boil in the top chamber, no matter how low a flame I use or how quickly I get it off the stove when coffee starts coming out the top. If you like strong, burnt tasting coffee, this is the machine for you.
I enjoy an occasional espresso, but do not like to drive myself nuts, so I don't own a finicky espresso machine. But I recently bought an Aerobie Aeropress (about 26 bucks) that makes a very good espresso or a smooth, strong coffee...worth checking out, as it is simple to use and consistent in results.

I've been grinding my own beans every morning for over 25 years now. I've used a Krups blade grinder for years. It finally gave out and I decided that my love for coffee warranted a burr grinder. I read a ton of reviews, looked at several in person and then decided on this Lello Ariete model.

I couldn't be happier. People say it's loud, and it is louder than the old blade grinder, but it doesn't wake my wife up and believe me, I'd hear about it if it did.

It works like a charm, so long as you keep the chute where the coffee comes out into the plastic holder cleaned out which is easy to do.

I can't imagine any other grinder being any easier to use or more reliable. And certainly none can touch this machine's value. This machine does coarse to fine grind and does a good job at each.

I would recommend this grinder to anyone thinking about moving up from a blade grinder to a burr grinder. If you're like me you'll notice a discernible difference in the taste of your coffee.

Overall, this isn't a bad grinder for the money. It does the job, and my espresso tastes good. So far it seems to be doing better each time we use it (we've only had it for a week), so maybe it needs a bit more running in. Here's the pros/cons we've found so far:

Pros:
* Big hopper holds heaps of coffee beans
* Grind is very consistant

Cons:
* Ohhhh the noise. Lets be fair - all grinders are noisy, but when the beans are going through the burrs, the machine makes a high pitched kind of squealing noise - like a pig having it's tail run over. We leave our kitchen once we've turned it on.

* The grind isn't quite fine enough. We use the grinds in our Saeco home espresso machine, and I have to tamp the coffee *really* hard to compensate; otherwise the espresso comes out tasting very watered down.

* The collecting bin to catch the grind is terribly designed. Firstly, there's a heap of static electricity in there, so the grind sticks to all the edges. Secondly, the bin has a lid on it, and when you take it off, all the grind that's "stuck" to the lid goes everywhere. Finally, it's an awkward shape, so unless you grind a ton of beans to fill it up, getting the grind out is a very messy operation.

Like I said, for 30 bucks it's not a bad buy, but if you're after a better investment and have a big more dough to blow, get the Delonghi KG100 (sold in the USA as the Starbucks Barista Burr Grinder).

I love making coffee in my french press everymorning. As a student I've never been able to afford a burr grinder before and have been using a plain blade grinder. when my roommate moved out and took the grinder with, I started shopping for a grinder. I looked at the expensive ones like the kitchenaid and others, and the reviews were really hot or cold, confusing to say the least. I didn't want to shell out $100-200 to get a grinder that I wasn't going to use into my golden years and potentially leave to my grandchildren, I mean that's a lot of money for a grinder! Anyway, I happened to see this one and all of the reviews were good and it was only 30 bucks! I've recieved it, and I only use the coarse settings for my french press, but it's great. It's no louder than the blade grinder that I used to use. The only drawback that I can see is that the bin is rather wide so when I'm dumping the grinds into the press some of the grinds get on the counter but my boyfriend has been keeping the lid on and shaking the grinds through the entry hole in the back of the bin to avoid this issue. I don't care about a few spilled grinds, there was a much bigger mess when I used the blade grinder. If you're buying a burr grinder, go for it, and buy this one. I can't speak to grinding espresso fine grinds, but this is fabulous for what I need. I almost feel spoiled using such a great grinder just for pressed coffee. This grinder is the point of diminishing returns, you're not going to get 10 times the quality if you spend $300 on a moderately better grinder. Save your money.

Thi s coffee grinder has it all- a large bean storage area, a number of choices for the fineness of the grind,a neat system for selecting the number of cups in the batch you grind. All it lacks is a muffler.It is LOUD. If nobody is sleeping when you grind,they probably won't be alarmed.

The burrs have to be cleaned often, or the grinder will slow down, overheat, & maybe jam. If you're not sure whether you'll really taste the difference from burr-ground beans, this extremely cheap unit is very good to learn on. In the weeks it takes you to get tired of cleaning the burrs so much, you can decide whether to forget about burr grinders, or move up to a burr grinder that isn't so finicky.

I was looking for a relatively low priced burr grinder to replace my blade grinder when I stumbled upon this one. I was hesitant about purchasing a grinder with no reviews, but took my chances and I am glad I did. It has 16 different grind settings, it just took a little experimenting to get the one I like. I can really taste the difference in my coffee! Definitely worth the money!

It does what it says it's going to do and for less money than most of its competitors. Only drawback is that is's noisy but I think they all are. Controls are easy to figure out and there are sufficient enough variations in grind controls to satisfy most everyone. No reason to spend more money unless that's what one wants to do.

I was looking for a burr grinder that would not break the bank. I love my coffee and I am becoming more interested in the different ways to make it. I have a french press, which I love, and I had been told that I should get a burr grinder if I wanted to really get the true flavor of good coffee. Unfortunately, burr grinders are expensive. I found this one last week and after reading the excellent reviews I have decided to give it a try.
After a week of use, I am very happy with it. It grinds fairly evenly and quickly. As expected, it is loud and it does have a messy cleanup (I plan on cleaning it once a week as opposed to everyday because of the mess) but I would assume some variation of this for all burr grinders in my price range. As a warning to prospective buyers, the machine is all plastic which means that it does absorb the smells of different varieties of coffee and also feels a little flimsy, but I think you would have to go over $100 to get something with glass and for the price, as long as flimsy lasts for a few years I am happy. I would recommend this grinder to anyone who is interested in enhancing the flavor of their coffee but is not interested in spending a fortune. It has its cons but it is definitely worth the price you pay and more. Overall it is a great beginner's burr grinder and worth the money if it last longer than a year or two. Thanks!