KG79 - Electric Burr Coffee Grinder, 16 Grind Settings

I invested in a filter coffee machine a couple of years ago and since then have been either buying the bags of pre-ground coffee from supermarkets, or making the odd trip into Starbucks for my favourite blends and asking them to grind it for me. I had heard that grinding the coffee beans just before brewing the coffee tastes a lot better, so I was keen to give it a go. I spent ages looking at all of the different options, mainly trying to choose between one with blades and what they were calling a burr grinder (i'd never heard of it). Every review and guide that I read said that the Burr grinders were better because they gave more even results, didn't burn the coffee beans. Only problem was the price, the blade ones were within what I wanted to spend (around £20) and the Burr Grinders looked to be 10-15 times that amount. I was a little sceptical with this one because it was just a little more expensive than the blade grinders but gave it a go to see what it would be like, it was really the positive reviews on here that convinced me. I found it very easy to set up and use. You really do just pour the beans into the top, replace the cap and press the button on the top. I like that you can do this and then just go away and leave it to do its thing, rather than have to stand and hold the button like some of the other options. I do notice that once or twice it does not seem to want to switch off, and just keeps going. Tends to be when there is maybe just a bean or two bouncing around inside, it keeps going until it catches them. You do get to choose how course or fine the grind is, I have been using it on a medium setting since I set it up and haven't really found any cause to change it. All in all, I have been very impressed with this. Like some people have been telling me, the filter coffee does taste a lot better when it has been ground just before brewing, or least in my opinion after trying it vs the pre-ground bags. This grinder is small and unobtrusive, it matches my (black and chrome) filter coffee machine well and the quality seems excellent. I would strongly recommend it to anyone. Unless you're looking for one for commercial use, this little grinder does a great job at a very reasonable price. Love it!

This Christmas a colleague decided to feed my coffee prob..iss... passion with a manual bean grinder along with a bag of beans. After 3 days of improved coffee and what was already a duff wrist and an inconsistent grind I deliberated on the purchase of this.. it's a hefty investment. After a week, here is my take away... The hopper can hold approx 225g of beans, howevre in doing so tends to render it non functioning.. I believe this has something to do with either volume or the hopper lid.. still..it's not enough to annoy me. The Volume...nothing to write home about.. makes noise sure.. but...hey it's grinding. The dials.. I prefer course for my french press and it stays on course.. man does it make a great cuppa. The minimum cup selection is 2. You can either chose to utilise this as your strength or as it is 2. I use my fresh grounds and leave the rest in there for later..usually making for 2 cups. You could grind more but if you're going to get into the ultimate coffee making side of things then you need to look into appropriate storage..there are legit proper filtered tins for this sort of thing. All in all I get 4 tablesspoons out of a 2 cup blend. I work at 2 tablespoons per 8 fl oz and brew at 4 minutes after stirring and before plunging. The collection box does have static.. but no biggy. The takeaway.. This is a great blender and like any device is open to having issues out of the factory. There is a warranty so make sure you keep the leaflet that comes with. Make sure you maintain it, and clean it out and don't let everything get clogged up.. get into a routine. I can't complain.. this has made me a happy man. The only negative I can think of is the packaging. This comes in the polystyrene base and top padding fashion and I feel that it could be better.. but that's just me.. it's not enough to annoy me but could result in damage if the package is thrown around.

UPDATE-28/11/14: I use it only as a spice mill in the kitchen. A year on, it still works! :) I only need to use it for a few seconds to grind a small quantity of spices for everyday cooking. It does struggle but it has lasted and I am pleased that I can use it this way. ............. Since I have a bean to cup machine I got this only to share some home roasted coffee with friends who use cafetiere plunger. It is compact and well worth the buy if you wish to grind small batches of freshly roasted coffee beans for your cafetiere/plunger or anything other than espresso machines. Verdict: perfect ground coffee for French plunger type coffee press. Highly recommended if this is your drinking style. If you are buying this because you just bought an espresso machine then *please do not buy this* For espresso you need much more consistent fine grind. The finest setting grind is still too coarse in this KG79. So please save your money and put it towards a *proper* grinder. You can either read reviews like this and save time and money or buy this burr grinder and give it a try anyway! I received a comment saying that my review was not helpful. so I am trying my best to say both the benefits and shortcomings of this DeLonghi KG79 burr grinder. Quality: I noticed the motor is just a direct attachment to the cone. So this is not a geared burr grinder. This is a "direct drive mechanism". Hence the low cost of manufacture. This kind of mechanism is prone to failure. This one is in use once every day for a month now. I will update on durability if it fails in the future. Ease of use: Extremely easy and safe. For me, however, it has taken an interesting turn. I am mentioning this here because someone else might find this useful as a spice mill. I grind spices with this, as I cracked my mortar and pestle. Lo and behold: it grinds whatever spice mix you put into it!! I was just about to buy a T & G capstan "Crushgrind" ceramic mill or a Peugeot Mill at a great expense. They are manual and come with lifetime warranty, however they can't cope with most of the spices. Definitely not a custom mix of spice seeds on the fly. Peugeot especially is only suited for round black peppercorns, white peppercorns and coriander seeds. It can't, for example, cope with fennel seeds, mustard seeds, sesame seeds, dried chillies, cardamom seeds, etc. This automatic burr grinder from DeLonghi can!! So I have now dedicated this one as a spice grinder. It is much better than mortar and pestle because much of the oils used to stick to the stone and the grind was uneven and loud thumping woke up sleeping children. Also, my 2 year old son kept running away with the pestle. With this burr grinder no oils are lost and there is no wastage. I can even grind tiny quantities of any spice seed mix. If you have it in your kitchen and if it is dry then this will grind it. I am still in the process of deciding on my second burr grinder to do exclusive coffee bean duty only. For coffee aficionados this may not even offer borderline acceptability for espresso grade grind. You 'may' manage a barely acceptable espresso. Maybe. But it will give poor crèma. The inconsistent grind will also cause the coffee to have a 'mixed' taste because the small particles will release coffee quicker and the more bitter constituents. The bigger particles will not release the coffee quick enough. Lengthening the extraction time is not good whatever the particle size. If the grind produces uniform size particles even if the size is not 'ultra' fine, then you can judge the extraction time and make good espresso shots. Therefore grinds by KG79 which is a mixture of ultra fine, fine, and crude particles all coming out mixed together is the worst kind of grind for an espresso! So for fine espresso grind (for coffee taste you get in Costa or Starbucks) you need to spend much more on something like a "burr grinder with geared motor" e.g. Mazzer Mini(£380), Rancilio or something in that range (or at least a Baratza?), also avoid KitchenAid Artisan grinder at £200 as cannot do the job of consistent fine espresso grind! I hope this has been helpful. Thanks for reading. UPDATE ON FEBRUARY 2017. (!!) It is still working :) I still use it only for spices, however, I grind all kinds of spices with it most days and it has worked flawlessly for this. Great alternative for a mortar and pestle for dry spices. Really pleased.

Happy with mine. It grinds well. Only grumble is it does leave some residue on the worktop after grinding.

Smart looking little unit { boxy, deco'ish } that works brilliantly , simple to use, just set your grinding level, how many cups its for { I use just under recommendation } press start and allow the machine to do its work, { very quick and quieter than others I have used } if your moving from a spinning blade type grinder to this burr type you will be impressed by how constant and uniform the grind is, good large hopper for your beans, easy to remove the burr mechanism to brush clean, The only downside I can see is the catchment ground coffee hopper, its on the flimsy side { lid fitting } and has a lot of static in it { just tap on your work top to release } overall a very impressive little machine that easily fits into my kitchen and life, after using a burr grinder I will never return to a blade one { mine is now a herb grinder } so take the leap if you are thinking about it, I did and I don't regret it.

This grinds coffee perfectly and quickly. It is compact, good looking (important if you leave it out on the counter top as I do) and very easy to use. It is a very good quality product, especially for this price. I am currently using it on the finest setting - which is possibly too fine for my stove top moka pot (It produces lots of steam through the value, which it doesn't do if I use a less fine grind). My coffee tastes much better - consistently as good or better than buying from a cafe. There is very little, if any, sediment left in the bottom of the cup. I was previously buying excellent pre-ground coffee from pact coffee (and really enjoying the taste). I changed my pact subscription to beans and bought this coffee grinder and am enjoying how much tastier my coffee is. Its the same coffee but grinding the beans just before brewing definitely improves the flavour. I love that my pact coffee subscription means I can enjoy better coffee for less money than high street coffee shops and the farmers get paid better too.

I spent some time considering the best way to "upgrade" my coffee experience using a 12 year old Russel and Hobbs combi coffee maker. I like my coffee made with the expresso method, but with a bit more water than most peoples tastes. I looked at £300 bean to cup machines, new combi devices at around £125 (I need to be able to make pots of coffee too) and finally settled on this £32 grinder and a £6 water filter jug for beter water quality. I have to say as I sit here drinking my freshly made coffee I am very pleased with my purchaes, I do not think I coud have found a more cost effective way to improve the quality of my favorite drink. It looks,smells and most importantly tastes better than ready ground coffee. I only grind enough coffee for one cup at at time and put it into the machine within seconds of grinding, with it ready presurised and the jug and cup ready warmed. From everything I have read I think using good quality beans, water that tastes nice on its own, and having as short a prepartation time as possible is far more important than the kit you use. The machine itself is very compact and exudes quality despite its plastic casing. The settings are straightforward and seem acurate. It is a bit fiddly getting the ground coffee out without making a bit of a mess, but I am getting used to it. As for the fineness of the grind I can only say it is perferctly good for my tastes, I use it about 2 clicks up from finest and thats plenty good enough for me. Its certaily a lot finner than the ground coffee I was using. As for longevity well we will have to see. If the machine lasts a couple of years befere it dies I think I will have had my moneys worth. At that point I can either buy another one or perhaps upgrade to that £300 cup to bean machine afterall. This comes highly recomended to anyone using ready ground coffee, together with an inexpensive water filter.

I purchased this grinder a few months ago just as I was beginning my journey towards the perfect espresso. The things that attracted me were: -The fact it was a burr grinder which produces a much more reliable particle size -The fact it didn't break my bank After many months of use I can safely say this is a good grinder... but with a couple of HUGE caveats. 1) If you are looking to produce espresso grind, for any espresso machine, you will have to physically dismantle this machine and alter it (or force the 'fineness setting' dial until it breaks). Out of the box, even on its finest setting, this machine cannot produce a grind small enough to be used in the production of espresso. I had my suspicions after my first few attempts turned out rather weak so I showed the grinder to a friend of mine who is well versed in the production of coffee (a multi-award winning barista). I wont repeat the words he chose to describe the grinder or De'Longhi for producing such a grinder, but I will say he confirmed my suspicious. The grind was no where near fine enough. At first I was downhearted. It was well beyond the month to send the item back and I didnt want to be stuck with a useless grinder. After it had sat on the side for a good while I decided to give the problem a quick Google and I found the answer. (You can too if you search "De'Longhi KG79 Hack"). The answer was disassembling the grinder (don't worry, the hardest bit is getting the buttons off) and removing a little tab on a spindle within the device. After reassembly and turning the fineness setting down as far as it will go; success! A grind suitable for an espresso. I modified mine around a month ago and have had perfect results ever since. You should also note that if you are grinding for something which doesn't need the fine grind like espresso does, this machine does great straight out the box. Conclusion: Straight out the box the grinder is fine for most things but USELESS (I cannot emphasise this enough) for espresso. If you are willing to modify it though it can be made to produce a grind perfect for espresso.

I couldn’t be more pleased with this De’Longhi grinder — it has truly transformed my home coffee experience. From the moment I unpacked it, the build quality just stood out: the stainless-steel blade assembly feels robust, the transparent bean hopper lets me monitor the process easily, and the compact footprint fits neatly on my countertop. Grinding performance is excellent. I’ve been able to adjust between fine for espresso and coarse for French press with ease using the cup selector, and the results are remarkably consistent. The 120g bean capacity is ideal for prepping several cups in one go without over-grinding or wasting beans. I also appreciate how the lid locks securely and the container pops out cleanly for quick emptying and cleaning. Coffee flavour has noticeably improved. Fresh grounds mean more aroma, better crema, and a richer taste in every cup. Whether I’m making a quick morning espresso or sharing a pot with friends, the grinder keeps up and delivers reliably. Maintenance has been straightforward too. A quick wipe of the hopper and blade container after use keeps it clean; no mess or fuss at all. The power cord wraps neatly underneath so it doesn’t clutter the counter. Overall, this grinder offers superb value. For anyone serious about their coffee, the De’Longhi KG79 (ASIN: B002OHDBQC) is a smart investment and exactly what I was looking for. Five stars without hesitation!

Great grinder. Works like a charm. Has the auto stop function which is great. 👌

Fantastic to make your own coffee !

Easy to use, works well gives a good grind for the machine I have. Bit noisy....

Very nice