Lello Ariete Burr Coffee Grinder

(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 used blade and burr grinders. The last one was the Melitta burr. It has passed on,(wore it out). Tried the Lello Ariete grinder as different is interesting, besides I had a high school buddy named Lello Arieta, can you believe that? Apparently not. Burr grinders are said to be best for unflavored and blade for flavored coffees. I've used both on both and don't taste much difference. Blade grinders tend to bruise the coffee beans which cover the rich flavors of the brew with a bitter, sometimes acrid overtone.I like Burr grinders. The Melitta ground coursely. The Lello Ariete grinds much finer and at the coarsest setting gives a finer grind than store bought drip grind. It does not "bruise" the coffee though and the finer grind uses slightly fewer beans per cup and saves money in the long run, blah blah blah..... point is, the coffee tastes good.Very handy. Set it for six cups, it grinds a reasonable amount for six cups. Can't comment on espresso or french press. I drip brew. The Lello is twice as bulky as the Melitta. Lello is very loud. I park it in the appliance garage and close the door when it grinds. I like gadgets and I love coffee and I would buy this contraption again.Don't forget the loud. That, I guess, is important depending on what your usual morning mood is. Hope this helped. See yah!Oh, the Melitta was easy to get along with too.

I'll start by saying that the grind quality from the Ariete was comparable to any other grinder that I've used. Unfortunately, the only thing I liked about the unit was that it had a button to both start and stop the grinding process. I'm referring to this product in the past tense because, after only 3 months of use, the plastic hopper broke off the main body of the grinder making the unit useless (picture attached). It had never been dropped or mishandled and the fracture was most likely due to either manufacturing defects or a poor choice of materials aggravated by the high vibration (noise) levels.While I'm angry to be out the $40, I'm also a little relieved that I won't have to persist in using this grinder any more. It was the most awkward to use grinder that I've ever come in contact with. I'll list the things that were most annoying:- The short little stub in the middle of the lid was impossible to grab well enough to pull the lid out of the hopper. The only way to get the lid off was to insert a fingernail into the gap between the lid and the hopper.- The same was true for the grounds container. It had no handle or indentations to grab at all and, given that it was a smooth curve, it was very difficult to pull away from the grinder body. Sometimes it could be pulled out using wet fingers (and usually 2 hands) but, once again fingernails would often have to come into play to pry it away from the grinder body.- The grind quantity settings would reset to "2" every time the grounds container was removed. While not a big problem it was annoying to have to set the grind quantity every morning before I ground the beans for our morning coffee.- The noise and vibration levels were significantly higher than the others that I've used and it seemed to produce an excess of static electrical charge as well.As you can imagine, I won't be buying another of these.

It’s noisy but it is grinding coffee beans so some noice is to be expected. Not the easiest to clean but not impossible to clean.We have ground a couple pounds of coffee with it and it grinds perfect every time.

Irregular grind, no memory on the amount of cups and the clear plastic cup that holds the grounds is impossible to handle. I will be trying another one soon!

Very durable, excellent if you have more than one kind of coffee maker. (I have 3.)

Works as advertised, 4 stars just because it's bit noisy :)