KitchenAid KCG200TG Classic-Series Model A-9 Burr Coffee Mill, Tangerine

I had to return this item twice because it was projectile grinding TWICE! Every time I went to grind coffee I had to wear a biohazard suit. It was mess. Nevertheless, KitchenAID took both back and replaced it with a grinder that worked. Thanks to KitchenAid my coffee has never tasted so good!!!

I settled on this coffee Grinder frankly because I liked the way it looked (I planned to keep it on my kitchen counter) and because it matches my tangerine mixer. It is indeed very attractive on the counter. It is not perfect, though, for the following reasons.

#1 I thought it would have settings like the grinders in the store. For instance, "drip coffee maker", "percolator". etc. Instead, there is a ring around the jar bottom that is labeled coarse and fine. There are many places to set the ring in between. The person grinding must figure out which setting is best for their particular coffee maker.

#2 The ground coffee dispenses into a metered glass. You must shut the grinder off and tap the glass to level off to see where you are. This is not big deal, but it would be nice to be able to set the grinder to the number of scoops you would like.

#3 It is difficult to screw the metal lid onto the glass jar

Anyway, all these things are small and could probably be remedied with a different mill, but probably one that would not be so nice to look at. Finally, This mill seems to be mostly glass and metal. I love that there is no plastic. A nice copy of a vintage coffee mill!

I bought this unit over a year ago and mechanically it worked great, however, I could never get it to grind properly without a lot of trouble. The other day I finally sat down and closely examined it to discover what the problem was.

It seems that the little door flap that prevents the coffee grinds from spraying all over the house was miss designed, which caused a clog in the mill and prevented the grinds from coming out of it.

I have since created a simple work around which acts as a spigot like on your hose bib outside (without the valve). It holds the door open and directs the grinds at a 90-degree angle into the receptacle. Now it works perfect, no mater what type of coffee beans I but into it. I am actually going to buy another one so I can have one for decaf and one for full strength.

If you would like directions on how to create your own adapter or would like to buy one, just email me at rtaylor@salesforce-automation.net

I can not reccomend this grinder as 1) it has to be constantly cleaned (or it stops working) and the grinds end up all over your counter. There is no self contained collector, just a small glass cup that catches about 95% of the grinds when the piece is clean and much less after only one use. It's a mess and not so exceptional that it's worth the trouble.

I'm going back to a unit that has a self contained grind collector. I'll save a fortune finally getting all the grinds to the coffee cup instead of the counter top!

After using a blade type grinder for years I have discovered the joys of having a burr grinder. After doing a lot of web research, it looked like the KitchenAid A-9 would give me the most bang for the buck. So far it has.

I only make coffee at home with a Bunn drip coffee maker and occasionally with a coffee press. I am very happy with the grind quality for both of these, and it is easy to adjust. I found that on "medium" that the grind was almost too fine for my taste, so for us non-coffee geeks, the finer settings would probably be good for the cheaper espresso machines.

So far I have had no problems with static. The dispenser where the ground coffee goes into is glass. My only complaint with the unit is that because the dispenser does not attach directly to the grinder, a few grounds end up on the counter. I'm use to some mess with the old blade grinder and this is much less, but I can see where this might drive some people crazy.

If this thing lasts as long as my KitchenAid mixer, I'm looking for many years of happy grinding.