KitchenAid Blade Coffee Grinder - Onyx Black

The KitchenAid Blade Coffee Grinder and Spice Grinder works great! It’s super easy to use and grinds coffee beans evenly for a fresh brew every time. I also use it for spices, and it handles them perfectly. The build quality feels very solid and durable — you can tell it’s made to last.It might be a little overpriced compared to some other grinders, but you definitely pay for quality. Very happy with this versatile and reliable appliance!

Got this grinder yesterday - in use today. THE big improvment for me is the deep cup which holds the beans. Vendor claims it holds from level 4 (min) to 12 (max) of beans that will on average deliver 4-12 cups of coffee. After some use I can vouch for this. For optimal flavor, the experts insist you consume promptly after grinding. But, I like the convenience of grinding 8-12 cups worth early in the day, transfer to a handy jar, and we live off that for the rest of day. Flavor is good the whole time. Everything about this grinder is solid and well made, unlike others I have used. And, it's the quietest blade grinder I have ever used. It has that feel of a machine that will last a long time. I wont say more for now, but intend to return to update my review a month from now when I expect to know more.... Dec 13, 2020 UPDATE. I've been using this coffee grinder for at least a month now, and can confirm that the KitchenAid Grinder (BCG111ER) exceeds all my hopes and expectations, best grinder of the many I've had in the past several decades. Best features = (1) excellent control over the extent of grind (from fine to coarse). At max bean fill (that will make at least 12 cups), if you hold the lid down (i.e., turn the grinder on) for 20-25 seconds you get a fine grind suitable all the way to espresso. [Note - for espresso you may need to go longer than 25 seconds (with a full grinder cup) depending on your espresso machine and the nature of the beans. The vendor cautions that excessive grind time may over heat the grinder. As a test, I went up to 29 seconds without over heating my machine.] Between 15 to 20 seconds will give you a coarser grind suitable for example for a french press (mine works best at 16 seconds). Remember, I determined these grinder times required to get my desired grind (coarse to fine) WITH THE GRINDER CUP FILLED TO MAXIMUM WITH COFFEE BEANS. If you put fewer beans in the grinder cup, required time to get a particular grind will be reduced. (2) Consistency of grind - For a given quantity of beans and a set grind time I get very much the same grind output every time. (3) Small foot print. This KitchenAid grinder takes up very little space on your counter top. (4) Sturdy build that makes below average noise, and feels solid with a pleasing heft to it.To get the performance you want, you should go through a bench-marking process similar to what I did so you can consistently get the extent of grind you prefer (coarse to fine). You really need a timer for this. And, for ease of use, you should carefully familiarize yourself with the outer (clear plastic) cap and the stainess steel inner cup which holds the beans. Notice that the outer cap connects to the grinder body with two small plastic pins that extend down from this cap and fit into two corresponding holes in the grinder body. These pins have to fit into their holes or you can not push the cap down far enough to start the grinder motor. This is a safety feature. God forbid that a child could somehow start the ginder. And, for someone who is sometimes a bit rough with their equipment, this 'pin in the hole' design may also present a slight chance of breaking one of the plastic pins. In that event, you will need another plastic cap and I don't know if KitchenAid sells replacement parts.Another safety feature is having the cutting blade built into the steel cup which holds the beans. If the cup is not inserted into the grinder body, it might be possilbe to start the motor (I didn't try this), but only the driver shaft would spin harmlessly, there being no blade to engage. There are indentations on the cup which must be aligned with an obvious mark on the grinder body. To accomplish this, insert the cup with the indentation aligned. It wont fit in! Good, that's another safety feature. While gently urging the cup to insert downward, rotate the cup counter clockwise. After a half inch or so, the cup will readily drop down to the 'engagement level'. At this lower level, rotate the cup back in a clockwise move until that cup indentation is aligned as desired. The fit is snug, another reflection of the grinder's sturdy build.

I did quite a bit of research before purchasing this coffee mill. Even the expensive brands seemed to have poor reviews and the two main complaints in those reviews (not grinding all the beans and leaving chunks, and being too messy because there was not a removable cup) are NOT an issue with this model as far as I can tell. I've owned this about three weeks and couldn't be more pleased, in fact it exceeded every expectation. When I saw the blades for the first time, I assumed it was going to also leave some chucks of unground beans in the receptacle. Never has it done that. The grind is perfectly even and fine. I was also surprised that it is relatively quiet when grinding. This unit is VERY easy to clean and not messy because the receptacle lifts out and you empty that into the coffee filter rather than turning over the whole unit. Plus, both the grinding receptacle and the lid can be washed so you could easily switch from grinding coffee beans one day to grinding some peppercorns the next. You could never do that with a coffee grinder that didn't have a lift-out receptacle that you could throw in the dishwasher because there would be residual flavor in the receptacle. I have not tried grinding spices with it, but judging on how well it works with whole coffee beans I think it would do fine. I expected to like this unit, but thought I would have some of the same issues that other folks had experienced like the receptacle being somewhat difficult to lift out, or the lid getting covered with grounds. Honestly, each time I have used it the receptacle has been a piece of cake to lift out, I've had zero trouble with that. And even when I fill the receptacle full to grind a lot of beans I have yet to get the clear lid dirty with grinds. I realize I'm praising this thing to the point where it sounds perfect, but since I love it so far I really can't think of a negative. It's attractive on the counter too.Update June 16, 2012 : Still 100% happy with this purchase. Even when I fill the reservoir full with beans and grind a lot at once, it never leaves any unground beans. Not even a small chunk remains, there is just a perfectly smooth, fine grind. And it grinds a full reservoir extremely fast (in mere SECONDS). I've put the removable reservoir in the dishwasher several times so far, no problem. I don't wash it every day. I wash it about once a week. I've never had loose grounds on the countertop and it's never made a mess, so I'm unsure why some reviews seem to say it made a mess. I'm being fully honest that I cannot think of a single thing that I dislike about this appliance. P.S. I don't put the clear acrylic top in the dishwasher. It's never dirty so I've never washed the lid, just the stainless steel bean reservoir.