Customer Reviews

Saeco GT-1 Titan Conical Burr Grinder

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I bought this grinder for my wife this last Christmas. It's been two months now, and we are very happy with it. In this price range, I found 3 choices - Saeco Titan, Capresso 560 Infinity Burr Grinder, Black, and Breville BCG450XL Ikon Conical Burr Grinder. Burr grinders in the ~$50 range seemed unattractive (=not worth the money) from the reviews here. Both Capresso and Breville had consistently good reviews, Saeco Titan appeared to be a new model and did not have any. I decided to go find them all in a store and compare - well, easier said than done... In a major urban area, the only place where I found any of these grinders was a bigger Bed Bath and Beyond store (you'll see what I mean if you go to their website and look for a location near you; don't go to a regular BBBY). There was this model there, along with Capresso 564 - a more expensive, chrome, version of the $90 Capresso 560. I looked at both closely, and it didn't take long to choose the Saeco. Even though the Capresso felt heavier, more "solid" (at $139!), I liked less the design of the burr assembly and collar. Saeco also seemed easier to open, and the dial's position on the side more convenient. And yes, it is indeed made in Switzerland. The price was $130, but I had BBBY's 20% off coupon...
One thing I should stress, while we have used the Titan for 2 months, we have no experience using the Capresso model. It is of course entirely possible that, while having failed to impress me at the store, Capresso might actually grind better, who knows?.. I can speak for the Titan, though. For us the Titan does the job well enough. Easy to use, consistent operation, not too loud, and of course, a huge improvement over our previous $30 grinder. Will it grind fine enough for you? Well, it definitely does not grind fine enough for a proper Turkish coffee, but then none of these machines will. You'd have to pay more - many times the $130. You'll be better off buying Turkish-ground coffee from a good supplier or, if you must have it absolutely fresh, get one of those old-fashioned hand-driven coffee mills. I saw quite a few here on Amazon. Expect to pay ~$150 and need a set of strong hands, but those *will* give you the finest grinds.
We use our Titan at the coarsest setting and brew in French press, it seems perfect for that. Clean, consistent grind, no dust, and excellent brew, great taste.
One last thing I thought could be helpful if you don't get to see these grinders in a store - they all are smaller than they appear in pictures and take little space.

Saeco GT-1 Titan Conical Burr Grinder is advertised as having an anti-static device, but the engineers have clearly failed in this regard. Grinding coffee results in static electricity sending ground coffee everywhere. I've had other burr grinders that have had static in very dry periods during the dead of winter. This Saeco, however, suffers from static regardless of the weather. It leaves coffee grounds all over the place once you're done grinding.


Also, the hopper for the grounds is not big enough if you're grinding for a 12 cup coffee maker.

Other than the above, the grinder seems fairly well made, is not unduly noisy, and grinds coffee quickly and uniformly. I wouldn't buy it again, however.

The Saeco grinder makes a consistent grind for most coffees. However, if you want this for espresso, you may want to skip this one depending on what type of espresso machine you have.

If you have a machine with a pressurized portafilter, you may be fine.

If you have a non-pressurized portafilter (portafilter w/o that plasic piece in it), you want to skip this for it wont grind the beans fine enough. When I say fine enough, this means pulling a 25-30 shot of espresso. You'll get a 20 second shot (or less) after tamping w/ a lot of force.

As for static, it seems to change depending on what type of beans I was using.

I have had this grinder a few months and the more I use it the more I don't like it. Like the other people that have reviewed it I've had some of the similar problems, the first is that the timer dials sticks and if you are not watching it it just keeps grinding, second there is alot of static and the grinds fly everywhere, the collection cup also starts to move away from the grinder so you have to make sure that you are watching it or it will spill coffee everywhere, it leaves a mess all over the counter and I also find that no matter the setting it always grinds the coffee too fine for my taste. I just bought a different one I hope it works better

Not to knock Amazon, but $130 is too much for me (I got mine for roughly half that at a well-known Pacific NW-based warehouse retailer - let's call them "Frostco".)

This does exactly what I want it to do, which is produce consistent size grounds of medium fine for conical drip or very coarse for French drip. I can't speak to the hopper holding grinds for 12 cups because of varying amounts of coffee for different makers, but it will hold grinds for 10 servings for a Cuisinart DCC-1200. (I'm using the thermal carafe and that only holds 10.)

With the Cuisinart, "cups" means "servings", not fluid ounces. (For the DCC-1200, "12 cups" means 1750 ml, or about 60 fl.oz.) As I am fond of telling my dear father-in-law, who makes a pot of sad brown water every time he comes to visit, if you want a good cup of coffee, "RTFM."

8/08 Update: still works pretty well. The amount of sediment in the coffee has decreased dramatically. No issues with metal shavings. The grind operation tends to shake the grinds hopper loose and forward, making a little mess. Static is an issue; some grinds stick to the side, and some fly out of the hopper when removed. Still, I'll deal with it for the improved coffee.

I usually make morning espresso for my wife and me using our Saeco Gran Crema machine. When she made the coffee, though, I often thought that it tasted better than mine, and I didn't think it was the stolen watermelon effect, so I started paying closer attention. What I discovered was that she spun the beans in the old rotating bean chopper for a shorter period than I did. However, sometimes in trying to make a coarser grind, the coffee tasted worse on the other side of too fine. Hence, I decided to buy the Saeco Titan grinder, as I have been so pleased with their espresso machine over the past six years. With a bit of experimentation, I found the grind setting that tastes optimal to us.

I have also used the Titan to grind beans to use in Turkish coffee, which requires an incredibly fine grind. Although it doesn't get the grind to the powder level of my hand grinder, it doesn't take an hour or two to grind enough for eight people, so I use the Titan.

The machine is somewhat noisy, but still much quieter than the spin chopper. The grind seems consistent in size, and the results are a tasty brew with a good head of crema. The `timer' setting seems fairly accurate in creating the amount of grounds needed for a brew--I use the `2' setting to make one espresso basket, `4' for two baskets, et cetera. Essentially each setting of one unit on the timer grinds 15 ml of beans.

In the year I have used this machine, I find it easy to keep clean. The plastic cup that receives the grounds will occasionally get a static build up, which is easily removed by washing the cup in soapy water, and letting the cup air-dry. (I guess that's what the manual says to do.)

The bottom line is that I'm happy with the Titan. I cannot believe that a more expensive grinder would deliver a better grind, but one might be quieter. I haven't considered looking for a better machine--this one delivers a fine cup.

This is nearly the same grinder as the Starbucks Barista. (check coffeegeek for great reviews)
Here's the thing, out of the box this is a barely useable burr grinder for espresso, PERIOD. That said if you do a mod to this grinder you can make it as good as a pro model. At least better then my Rocky Rancillo. Check coffeegeek for info about it. I have done it and use it everyday instead of my $700 pro grinder.

If you do the mod this is a great machine. If you don't do the mod don't use this machine unless you have a pressure portafilter like the Starbucks Barista Espresso machine.
Namaste,
GuruCoffee

Why do you want to buy a burr grinder?

If you like the smell of fresh-ground coffee or if you're making regular coffee this grinder will do the job for you. You can adjust the grind a lot better than you can with any non-burr grinder, and your coffee will taste better. Plus you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you're doing something a little extra to enjoy a beverage that you like.

HOWEVER, if you're serious about making good espresso, you're not going to be happy with this one for long. It just doesn't have the ability to adjust the fine grinds as well as you should. Of course, to get a great burr grinder (like the Rancilio Rocky) you're going to pay a LOT more money- maybe even more than you payed for your espresso machine. Then you may even want a better espresso machine- be careful of what you're getting yourself into!

If you have a friend who's into espresso, first see if he/she can loan you a burr grinder to use for a week or two. If you don't have a friend like that, do an internet search for reviews and opinions on espresso burr grinders, and read LOTS of them. Heck, you may decide that it's just not worth your effort to grind your coffee beans or to make good espresso at home.

But if you ARE serious about making good espresso (not with pods or a pressurized portafilter) keep doing your homework. If you haven't learned the 4 key things (Italian words that begin with "M") about making espresso, you're not ready for a burr grinder- not even this one.

When you want coffee fast in the morning and want to wake up with confidence that the process of grinding your next cup from whole beans will be a simple and painless process - then you want the Saeco GT-1 Titan.

The grinding is smooth and the timer is more than sufficient to fill the plastic container full of ground coffee. The grind is very even all the way through, and I am sure that if you need espresso and a fine grind, the grinder will produce the quality to suit the demands of any coffee espresso connoisseur.

The bottom line - it is quick and cleanup is a snap! Way better than any propeller grinder. I have been using it for about 2 months now.

I've had one of these for maybe three years, and happily used it to grind coffee for my drip coffee maker. It worked much better than any previous grinder I'd owned. Sadly, this morning it started making a nasty clicking sound and stopped turning the burrs; what it sounds like is a broken plastic gear inside. I don't see obvious way to fix it, and have decided to replace it.