Baratza Preciso Burr Grinder

New to coffee world, but enough people said "Grinder is more important than almost anything!" After getting an aeropress and a small hand grinder, I was getting tired of grinding by hand each morning. Looking to the future I bought this grinder so that I can make espresso, chemex, french press, and what ever else comes along. Best money I have spent yet. Thanks SCG Crew for the reviews, and help on the phone. This is a great product.

(Posted on 4/17/13)

I love the grinder, it came with the grinds bin and the portaholder. My friend has the Baratza Encore, and I have the Preciso, we got them at almost the same time and both are great. The difference is that he uses his for an aeropress, and I use mine for espresso, aeropress, drip, etc. I am glad I got the Preciso, it is quieter, and much quicker at grinding. I really enjoy the timer feature on the side and the quality is awesome. I havent seen metal this heavy on an appliance ever, it has a nice heavy base and quality machined burrs. Easy to take apart to clean. I have had mine for about a month, so it is fairly new to me, but so far so good. We have a 2 great coffee roasters in town, so I have been able to try everything from large to small, oily to dry, dark and light beans in this thing, and have not had an issue yet. I was trying to figure out if the fine adjustment feature was worth paying extra for, but with the portaholder and a few other items it was worth it. You can tell huge differences between settings on the Encore, so the fine adjust makes a difference surprisingly, although I dont see needing to adjust it all that often. I am a bit disappointed in the portaholder, even on the lowest holder setting, the grounds seem to fall out. I really wish Bartaza would have made more of a shoot that fits into the top, and directs the grounds. My problem is that in order to get a proper dose the grounds are mounded slightly before tamping. When you pull it out of the holder you usually end up losing some more grounds. Great idea, better than most, but still could use some help. The portaholder is independent from the grinder, and the grinder is great. Id highly recommend.

(Posted on 4/3/13)

We got this together with the 55mm non-pressurized portafilter upgrade for our Starbucks Barista. World of Difference! I add two tablespoons of beans at a time and grind until empty, which gives me the exact amount needed for a shot. The fresh grind is easy to pour from the bin to the portafilter while spilling nary a speck.

Sticker shock faded away as we tasted our first shots. My only complaint, same as everyone's, the little timer knob falls off quite easily.

I'm amazed at the difference a single click or two of the grind adjustment makes. When I change beans I either tweak the grind a click or two, or simply adjust the tamp pressure.

(Posted on 3/27/13)

So, let's say you want to be able to grind for espresso. and your wife likes drip. and occasionally, you make french press. or aeropress.

let's start with espresso. so many grind settings it hurts to think about. i never thought i'd care about having so many, but now that i have it, i can't think about going back to imprecision! It has done wonders for my shots. i can adjust on the fly for roast, humidity, age of the beans...i can switch to french press, and dial back for espresso and get consistent results even after switching multiple times.

it s quiet. it is heavy. it is easy to clean. there is very little coffee left in the grinder in between shots. it is easy to take apart. baratza is fantastic in supporting the machine with detailed instructions and great communication.

so in short, great machine, great company, great results, at a great price point.

things i'm not crazy about: portafilter fork is flimsy, but not a deal breaker. there is some static issues, although much less than other grinders i have dealt with. the hopper lid is a bit annoying to remove and replace - would be nice if it had a quick handle or something. i've also noticed most of the noise is buffered by the hopper lid - why not put a rubber seal on the lid (like a blender) i'd bet the grinder would be even quieter. Regardless, the grinder is very quiet.

I have heard that different production dates (in particular, early production models) had some issues that were addressed. so if you don't like the thing, contact baratza as there are some fixes and adjustments they can (and will) walk you through.

(Posted on 3/11/13)

This grinder has it all!!

-Easy to assemble
-Easy to clean
-Manual push button or timer operation
-Low noise
-Portaholder and original chute included
-AMAZING for the price

Best of all, the macro/micro settings allow for precise grind adjustments for dialing in your shots. I highly recommend this grinder for anyone who is looking to achieve better tasting shots.

From turkish to french press, this grinder will not let you down no matter what your brewing preference.

Happy brewing and let the heart palpitations commence! =)

(Posted on 3/1/13)

I've had a Preciso for a couple of years now, grinding about 5 shots a day. So long as I use good beans, I get an excellent grind consistently and pull great shots from my Gaggia. It's easy to adjust for new beans, humid days, etc. And pretty quick and easy to adjust for an occasional French press pot.

(Posted on 2/27/13)

I bought one of these back in April 2011. It broke later that year and Baratza replaced it without issue. It has since broken again and I am in the market for another grinder.

It will not be another Baratza. A $300 grinder should last longer than mine did, especially being used no more than once every morning.

(Posted on 1/16/13)

I have had this grinder for a couple of months now, and I think I have a pretty good idea of its performance and value. I am a novice home espresso maker, and after reading exhaustively on the subject, I concluded that my first purchase needed to be a decent grinder. I finally decided on the Baratza Preciso, and have not been disappointed.

The build quality seems very good, and some of the problems reported by earlier reviewers, such as the timer knob coming off, have not arisen. It is easy to remove the burrs for cleaning. The anti-static feature of the collection bin is very effective, and I see little, if any grounds escaping. Maybe it is a little noisy, but I don't have much to compare to other than my old Cuisinart grinder which is much, much louder. I do not find it to be annoyingly noisy, however.

The grind seems very consistent, and the fine tuning of the grind options that are available are beyond my ability to recognize the very small differences that are achievable. It actually borders on being continuously variable. I suspect that as my skill improves, this will become a more valuable feature. I grind for espresso and also for a moka pot, and switching between the two takes only seconds.

Right now I am using a Breville Roma espresso maker that was given to me a couple of years ago, and this is certainly not the ideal machine. I have made a number of modifications to it, but the rather small, 50 mm portafilter does not lend itself well to being filled directly from the Preciso. Too many grounds end up missing the portafilter. I suspect that with a the larger, standard 58 mm portafilter this will not be as much of an issue.

Although I have not required any technical support or service, from all that I have read Baratza is excellent in this regard. Their website is very helpful, and most questions are already addressed. Hopefully, I will never need them, but if I do I am reasonably confident that their service will be helpful and responsive.

So right now I am able to produce good shots, sometimes exceptional shots with my setup. The next step would be a better espresso machine, as I feel that the grinder is easily up to the task for my home use purposes, and my current espresso maker is the weak link in the chain. I suppose that if one is grinding all day long, or multiple times per day, that a more expensive, pro level grinder would be worth the extra money. For what I need, the Preciso is more than sufficient. I recommend it highly.

(Posted on 9/21/12)

I've been using a burr grinder for over 10 years alongside my Europiccola hand-pump machine. I decided to give the Europiccola to my daughter as I had recently upgraded to an Alex DuettoII. Of course she would need the grinder, too, so I looked over the grinders at SCG, received some advice from the crew and finally decided on the Preciso. I like the precision of the grind and the big surprise was it is much quieter than I had expected (based on our old grinder.) So, I am quite pleased.

(Posted on 7/27/12)

I bought this Baratza Preciso to replace a Baratza Maestro so I could use a non-pressurized portafilter on a Saeco Aroma. With the Maestro's finest grind and heavy tamping, the total infusion time was never greater than about 12 seconds. Now with the Preciso, I am able to adjust the grind to easily yield optimal infusion times of 25-30 seconds. However, in order to accomplish this, I had to adjust the internal grind adjustment of the Preciso to its finest setting. I'm now very pleased with this upgrade - I wish I had purchased the Preciso from the beginning!

Pros:


Cons:

(Posted on 5/30/12)

I've had it now for three weeks (paired with a Preciso grinder). Pretty much by day two, I was pulling very good shots. Unless you need to froth lots of milk, this is a fabulous choice as an intro machine that you may never outgrow.

It has many highly desirable features: 58mm Portafilter, PID, pre-infusion, and fast steaming (for a single boiler unit) due to thermablock.

Bundled with a grinder (and free bottomless portafilter) it's a great value.

Pros:
Great Taste, PRICE, Easy To Use, Pid

Cons:
Somewhat industrial look, Unknown reliability

(Posted on 5/23/12)

Quick and easy to use

Pros:
Quiet, Commercial Grade, Easy To Use

Cons:

(Posted on 5/5/12)

The slow speed rpm makes less noise Very heavy construction
Micro settings allow user to fine tune grind

This unit is not manufactured in the USA

My setting for Ranchilo Silvia :
9-11- B or C w/14-15 g in dbl basket
using a heavy tamper

Pros:


Cons:
Hard To Clean

(Posted on 4/5/12)

This grinder is well built and easy to use. I was concerned at first that it wouldn't grind fine enough for the Rocket Cellini, but wanted a versatile grinder that allowed for a varying degree of brews. It did not disappoint. The consistency of grind is excellent and I am very impressed at how well it performs for the Rocket at an exceptional price point. For its compact size, I was surprised at how easy it is to maintain. I have little use for the micro adjustment and just let it sit in the middle. It has a neat portafilter holder that keeps grind overflow contained, making coffee grounds on my counter non-existent.

Pros:
Easy To Use, Easy To Clean

Cons:

(Posted on 3/13/12)

Oh this baby is nice. SO much easier to clean than my Rocky. Loved the Rocky, but you actually have to unscrew everything to really clean the burr, and it leaves an unacceptable amount of grind in the shoot between uses. (The old stuff mixes with the new stuff, utterly spoiling your gorgeous cup of Esmerelda!) Almost no grind is left in the Preciso between uses, and it's a snap to clean. Utterly elegant.

I grind for press pot, Cafe Solo, stovetop mokka, myPressi Twist, vacuum brewer, manual pour-over, and Aeropress (sp?) No real espresso machine, but I still use a range of grinds. The Baratza seems to handle everything, and, as far as I can tell, is consistent.

Cons: hard to find. The micro adjustment lever moves a tiny bit during operation, but doesn't seem to be a big deal. And it doesn' look QUITE as utterly cool as some other Italian names. Finally, it's not quite the monster-hunka-metal-Rocky, but still seems well-built.

4 stars only because I don't think anything qualifies as absolutely perfect. If 5 stars meant "wow I utterly dig it," I would have given 5.

Pros:
Great Taste, Easy To Use, Easy To Clean, Quiet

Cons:
Well nothing

(Posted on 1/17/12)

This product is very easy to use. My only complaint is that the MICRO adjustment vibrates as you grind the coffee and gradually moves towards a courser grind. It might need a simple tightening but out of the box, it does not stay at a consistent grind.

Pros:
Easy To Use, Easy To Clean, Great Taste

Cons:
Unreliable

(Posted on 6/5/11)

If you change the setting it is difficult to put it back because there are many steps between numbers.

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Cons:

(Posted on 3/23/11)

great for dialing in your espresso, no worries about weather it grinds fine enough. Also the preciso is better than the vario for press pot grind (different burrs)

Pros:
Easy To Use, Easy To Clean

Cons:

(Posted on 3/20/11)