Mr. Coffee BMX3 Burr Mill

I know , I know what your going to say you get what you pay for. Many people have said this is a pretty good deal for only $25. Well unfortunately this thing cuts nothing like a burr grinder should, and does not cut any better or worse than a good quality blade grinder. Since it doesn't cut any better then a blade grinder I think $25 for this is not a good deal at all. I decided to get a burr grinder since burr grinders are suppose to give a more consistent grind. Well folks not this cheap $25 burr grinder. This grinds about as good as my old $15 blade grinder. It is trash! I tried to grind my coffee grounds on setting E (coarse) for my press pot. Instead of getting a consistent grind I got a motley of coarse, medium, and fine grounds. Some beans manage to escape the grinder and end up ungrounded. It does a decent job, but even on the coarses setting E the cut is extremely inconsistent. I get results like this even on the very first use of this device. Unfortunately since the particles are not uniformarly all cut coarse the real fine particles escape the press pot's sheild and end up in my cup of coffee. I will say the press pot coffee is the most delicous coffee I have tasted, I avoid the bottom of the cup where there are a lot of loose fine particles floating on the bottom. This is a little irratating and I think with a better grinder I would not have this problem. If I want to spend $200 for a 'real' burr grinder is still up in the air since I only drink a couple cups of coffee a day. I am not a big coffee enthusiast so this will have to do. I am giving this grinder 3 stars, since it still does a decent job. However if your thinking of getting a burr grinder for a more consistent grind do not buy this grinder.

This would be a crackerjack little grinder if it always worked. As it is, it's frustrating to be looking forward to that fresh ground cup, only to find Mr. Coffee has taken the day off.

Its weird to see the wide range of reviews, but we've had this for over a year and has worked great. I agree its loud, but overall, it works great for our coffee press.

OK--this is the cheapest burr grinder there is and its a good value...

so people who complain that it underperforms should have bought other models (all for well over twice the price!).

For ordinary use, mine has served me well over a year now. It is quiter than other models Ive had, MUCH MUCH TIDYER (the 100$ Capresso model I had spread grounds all over the counter) and at finest setting is adequate for most espresso IF you keep it good and clean in the hopper.

Its not for heavy duty use, or for very fussy espresso makers (or drinkers).

For under $30 its all it should be.

I bought this gadget from Target about a year ago. Since then I have been using it on average four times a week to grind coffee for two cups every morning.
At the beginning I was not satisfied with the "fine" setting. The coffee was not fine enough to make good espresso - it came out very weak. After following the adjustment (tuning) suggestion given by one of the reviewers I started getting pretty good espressos. The adjustment took me less than 20 minutes and was pretty fun (if you like playing with your screwdriver). It was not rocket science and required minimum skills and patience.
The gadget is not very loud and keeps all the grains almost airtight in the convenient storage. No mess in the kitchen at all. Also, the small hole in the dispenser allows you to pour the coffee in your coffee-maker without spilling coffee all over your countertop.
My only complaint is that for the last beans you need to shake it a little bit to let them go through the mill. If you grind coffee for more than two cups this won't be a problem.
If this will be your first coffee-grinder, you will love it and find it hard to go back to buying ground-coffee.
I would give it five stars if it weren't for the adjustment.

UPDATE: As of April 2008 this grinder still works.