Green Coffee Buying Club
Coffee Discussion boards => Hardware & Equipment => Topic started by: headchange4u on November 13, 2008, 01:28:43 PM
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I have been looking at picking up a better grinder and I found a almost new Kitchenaid Proline for $125. I own a Capresso Infiniti. I don't own an espresso machine so this grinder would mainly be for drip, pour over, vacpot, press pot use. Would the KA be much of an upgrade over the CI?
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I haven't used that Capresso, but owned a Solis Maestro, and a Saeco Titan for a few days. It seems all those grinders, and others in that conical burr price range are pretty much the same grinder. Same guts, and same burrset. Almost a couple years ago I upgraded to the KA Proline.
I think from a grind quality standpoint the KA is very similar to the conical burr grinders. I wouldn't use mine for espresso, but don't brew that here anyway. The advantages the KA has IMO are these; no plastic whatsoever, so static is much less of a problem; built like a tank, can't see it ever wearing out; parts are easily obtainable, and since it's KA they should always be around; burrsets are $33 shipped and take 10 min. to swap out (the Maestro, if you wanted to change both burrs took a lot of tear-down); easier to clean out.
So the grind is not a night and day difference, but I made the change with thoughts toward a longer lifespan.
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I have the KA also and love its consistent grind. It is a bid messy and the beans don't all fall down when grinding so you have to shake them down a little. The coffee grounds escape out of the glass reservoir a little so there is a small mess from that. Those also were some of the complaints I read online, but for the money, it is a great grinder.
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since it's KA they should always be around
You sure?
Did you know that Whirlpool owns Kitchenaid?
(http://chart.finance.yahoo.com/c/1y/w/whr)
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since it's KA they should always be around
You sure?
Did you know that Whirlpool owns Kitchenaid?
Doom-and-gloom-Py, that's what they call him. ;D You liberals are all the same. >:D
Hiding from the revenge emoticons...
I've never had grounds leak from the bottom hopper, and I have a mod that helps 99% of beans make it down, but still shake it because I'm a shakey sorta fella.
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(http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/hsc3379l.jpg)
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Or maybe a pic from Whirlpool's boardroom would be more appropriate
(http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/epa0738l.jpg)
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That chart looks pretty much like the whole stock market. Did you know that?
So everything that's made in the whole world probably won't be made anymore. That's why we have to grow our own vegetables.
I'm over at peter's every Friday and you can hear the difference in the build quality when it's grinding.
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That chart looks pretty much like the whole stock market. Did you know that?
yup!
Disclaimer: Don't take anything I have said in this thread (just this thread) seriously. I am a sick man.
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But, a sick man with some groovy and powerful emoticons!
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I eschew smileys and am joking except for when I'm serious.
Now back to our topic...
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(http://www.wpri.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/fonz.jpg)
Peter's rrr
Peter's riaao
Peter's rrr-rrr-riiy
Peter's not wrong this time.
About the grinders, I mean. The KitchinAids show their stuff and solid build.
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If you don't mind replacing sheared drive pins every 50 pounds or so, the Kitchenaid works pretty good. I went through 3 pins in under a year, but I have no experience with the Infiniti so I couldn't tell ya the difference.
Do yourself a favor and find a used Mazzer (or similar) on eBay or craigslist - in the long run you will save time and money. I paid $150 for a Jolly and $210 for a Major, and have seen Mazzer Jollys sell for as low as $125 (one out on ebay right now, in fact). A professional grinder will retain most of its value if you buy a used one, and replacing the burrs is much easier...
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[animal] CO--MERR--SHAALLLL [/animal]
(http://www.noquartercoffee.com/images/mahlkonig_grinder_guatemala.jpg)
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I use a KA Proline for everything except espresso, and built a shute so I can do bulk grinding into bags for events where ground coffee in bulk is required. I have had no problems in a couple of years. Dropped and broke the bottom glass once, and replaced it for $14.00 including freight from a knock off warehouse in New York. Some owners have reported build issues, but I have not seen that.
Curtis
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I ended up buying the KA Proline. I'll do a side by side with my Infiniti and see which one does the best. I will keep the better performing grinder and sell the other one. I still plan on picking up a higher end grinder at some point in the future, when I find a great deal on something.
For the KA PL owners out there: can you give me an idea of the grind settings that you use for the various brewing methods (pour over, vac pot, press pot, etc). This will give me a reference point to start from. Thanks in advance.
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When you take the two screws off the front, and pull that whole grind indicator housing off, there's supposedly a white plastic wheel w/ teeth. It can be set to either of two positions, and will offset the entire grind range by a notch, either coarser or finer.
I don't know which way mine's set, but I have it on 7 (7.5 & 8) being the finest, and I just leave it there. I mainly do french press.
What's this? Ya can't type an 8) without it looking like sunglasses?
OK, we'll try that again. Ya can't type an eight...
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I use the Newco brewer and use a grind set of 6.5
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8
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8)
Let me tell you all, you have no idea what a truly remarkable man Jeffo really is. He has talent oozing out of his fingertips. I didn't think it could be done, but should've known if anyone could type an 8) it would be him. I am blessed and privileged to be among his acquaintances.
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And I thought I was a master of nothing. Now I'm a master of 8. Although I'm not sure what's going on here.
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I pulled the KA PL out of the box this morning to try it out at work. Ground the normal amount of coffee on setting 7. Not long after the brewing started the coffee grounds and water started spilling out of the filter basket on the Bunn coffee maker here at work. Obviously a 7 is way to fine for a drip maker. I cut it back to 5 and I will try again later today.
On the bright side the grind, quality looked great. The ground coffee was very "fluffy" and it looked to be a much more consistent grind than my Capresso. The grinder is built like a tank and it's very aesthetically pleasing to looks at.
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On the bright side the grind, quality looked great. The ground coffee was very "fluffy" and it looked to be a much more consistent grind than my Capresso.
How old are the Capresso's burrs? That may have something to do with it. When I stacked my KA PL, with it's 18-month-old burrs against a brand new Saeco Titan the Titan ground fluffier.
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On the bright side the grind, quality looked great. The ground coffee was very "fluffy" and it looked to be a much more consistent grind than my Capresso.
How old are the Capresso's burrs? That may have something to do with it. When I stacked my KA PL, with it's 18-month-old burrs against a brand new Saeco Titan the Titan ground fluffier.
I bought the Capresso new. I don't know how much use the KA burs have seen.
EDIT:
I just heard back from the previous owner. It seems he only used the grinder for 2 weeks and said probably less that 10# of beans have been through the KA.
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When you take the two screws off the front, and pull that whole grind indicator housing off, there's supposedly a white plastic wheel w/ teeth. It can be set to either of two positions, and will offset the entire grind range by a notch, either coarser or finer.
I read the manual and went and re adjusted the white wheel for coarser grinds. It was set for really fine grinding. That was probably why it choked the drip brewer this morning.
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You guys are grinding very fine for drip coffee! I set my KA Proline on 3.5 to grind for my Technivorm MochaMaster.
I did not adjust the little plastic ring. I started out at a 4.5 setting when I first got it and have gradually moved down to a 3.5 because the Technivorm brews at the right temp. This produces an excellent cup of coffee for me.
As for build and quality, I've ground significantly more than 50 lbs in the year that I've owned it and have had no problems at all. Just three days ago I ground 22 lbs in one session through that thing and it held up excellently! (see the Redneck Christmas Grinding thread) It got a little warm but it's still goin' strong.
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Since this thread was bumped I'll give an update on the KA. To be honest, I'm not to impressed with the grind quality. I have adjusted the plastic wheel in every direction and I have taken it apart and cleaned everything thoroughly. I've tried grind settings from 3 to 8 and everything in between. I can't seem to get the same size grind that I get from my Capresso set at the coarsest medium setting, which I have been using for pour over brewing. The KA always produces a grind that is either too fine or too course. It does give a good grind overall but the are always some very large chucks of beans floating around in the mix. It doesn't seem to be nearly as consistent of a grind as my Capresso. I will agree that the KA is beautiful to look at and built like a tank.
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I had the Capresso for almost a year I liked it alot acutally. But when I got upgraditis I went for the Macap M4 stepped doserless. I dont even have an espresso machine but I would do that deal again in a heartbeat. I love my Macap. I got it right here at GCBC for 295$ shipped.
Steve