Customer Reviews

Proctor Silex E160BY Fresh Grind Coffee Grinder, White

5 star:		(100)
4 star:		(49)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

I love this coffee grinder. It's compact and the cord winds up inside of it. It makes for very easy storage. It's also very easy to clean. There is no reason to purchase an expensive grinder when this does just as good of a job. I'm buying a 2nd one to grind up spices.

I see people complaining about this grinder being too small... uh, it's SUPPOSED to be small! That would be like buying an 18-wheeler tractor trailer and cab and then complaining that the truck was too big!!!

Anyway, for a small grinder, this thing is great. I use it not only for coffee, but for flax seeds and just about anything else I need to grind up in small quantities. If you often find yourself wanting to grind a pound of coffee, then *obviously* this is too small for you though.

The unit is easy to use, convenient. Cord wrap up is great. Nice size to sit on your cabinet. I use for grinding my Flax Seeds I take daily for health. It's the perfect size for daily usage to grind the flax seeds. Excellent for small quanity .

-Guys.
--Girls.
---Everybody.
----[Especially anyone who is upset with their purchase of a ten or fifteen-dollar coffee grinder.]

Lend Me Your Ears.

This thing rocks.

I bought one of these about four years ago when I was just learning how to drink coffee.
I got it for ten bucks at the Longs Drugs down the street.

It worked then, when I was making joe with my roommate's hand-me-down Mr. Coffee crap machine.
It works now, with the beautiful Breville espresso maker I (we) just got as a wedding present.

If you're having trouble getting a fine grind, you just hafta shake it. For espresso, I shake it for about thirty seconds and everything kinda turns out alright.
Sure, there are some beans that didn't get totally obliterated, but this is a ten-dollar coffee grinder that has lasted me for four years.

It's no $100 burr grinder, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want one of those, but this thing is like thirteen bucks! If this is your price range (i.e. the 2 large lattes price range) you really can't complain too much.

Your mileage may vary, of course, but I'd get this grinder's back if it took me to a party and s--t started to go down.

I cook a lot of Indian food and use this to produce fresh, ground spices in seconds. Have had it for 5 years and it finally conked when someone helpfully washed out the element. You've got to be careful not to use any liquid in the grinding (otherwise the cap jams and won't lift off. The blade, too, is effective only when the compartment is dry.) Never wash this grinder, just wipe it dry. Apart from these minor constraints it's a hardy and nifty object. I just bought my second one today. 11 bucks! You can't go wrong...

There are a lot of negative reviews, which tells me that the key thing in getting this grinder is managing your expectations. I gave it 5 stars and I stick by it.

First, Yes... it is small. I use a French press and make enough coffee for two cups. This is perfect and then some. If you want a grinder that is for much larger pots, then this is not the right grinder for you.

ALSO, if you are retarded, then you won't quite understand why the lid is circular with one flat section. That will particularly be the case if you bought this thinking you were going to grind coffee adequate for a 10 cup pot.

So why is this a 5 star coffee grinder?

BECAUSE of the design. If you are using this for small pots of coffee, then you will realize that the flat portion allows for you to set the grounds down. It also makes POURING the grinds easier somehow. I have a grinder with a flat top and the grounds don't quite fall out as nicely as they do out of this rounded top. I think it has to do with how coffee grains fill into corners.

ALSO, the windy cord thing, though a it takes a bit of getting use to, is a wonderful feature for storage.

The last reason I would recommend this has to do with my favorite technique for getting all the grounds out into the lid. I usually turn the grinder upside down and hit the grinder 1 more time so that the grinding/wind moves all the grounds from the grinder into the lid. I tried this with a more typically designed grinder and had far more grounds stay in the grinder.

Highly recommended for coffee or cinnamon sticks. I have had mine for over 5 years and it is still kicking.

Final Update: Our little noisy grinder finally gave up the ghost in late 2010. The motor was still strong, but the shaft that connected to the blades stripped, so the blades no longer spun at the speed of light. All in all, despite the shortcomings I mentioned below, we got our money's worth out of this appliance and we might even buy another some day. Rest in Peace little grinder! We appreciate your 5+ years of faithful service...

March 25, 2009 UPDATE: Out of fairness, I thought I should update my comments to reflect the fact that despite the shortcomings I mentioned in my earlier reviews, this little machine is still kicking. I am a cheap guy by nature, so I continue to hang on to the Proctor Silex grinder and use it when I am going to use just a little coffee. Despite my earlier disappointments, this has turned out to be a nice addition to our kitchen. If the system would allow it, I would add a star or two to my original rating.

January 13, 2007 UPDATE: I've learned to compensate for the limited capacity of this grinder...I must run it through two cycles to grind enough coffee for my 10-Cup coffee-maker. Additionally, if you buy this, I recommend that you do not use the cord winding feature, as something on the inside of the cord's compartment has stripped the plastic insulation off my wire, which left the wire bare and dangerous.

Against my better judgment, I bought one of these, attracted by the low price and the fact that it was the only model available at the time. What a waste. The blade is so high above the base of the jar that you cannot produce a fine grind without shaking the unit while grinding. Also, the bowl is too small to grind enough beans for even my small 4-cup machine. Finally, as if to add insult to injury, Proctor Silex designed the unit to be very difficult to clean. What a mess! You're much better off to spend the $20 or $30 to get a grinder that actually works. Look for all the features that Proctor Silex chose to omit from their grinder and you should make a pretty favorable purchase. I'd like to give my Proctor Silex Coffee Mill to a charity thrift store, but I don't want to offend anybody. I rated this as 1 star simply because a 0 star rating wasn't available.

I've had one of these for about 10-12 years and it has always worked great grinding coffee nice & fine. Perfect for making espresso. After daily use for that long, it finally wore out and I am so glad that they are still making them. The cord winding function is fantastic, it keeps the cord clean, safe & out of the way. It grinds coffee as fine as any grinder out there. (I used to run a small coffee bar so I've ground a lot of coffee.) My advice if you need buckets of ground coffee is to buy a large capacity model but for standard portions of coffee, ground as fine as you'd like, this model is wonderful.

Good machine. I'd give it 5 stars, but the cap can be a minor pain to pull off at times. Other than that, good design and grinds very well.

A friend burned out our trusty Mr. Coffee grinder and then bought us this one. It can only grind enough beans for about four cups of coffee! Plus, it has a hard time grinding them very fine. Not recommended for anything other than spices.