The dad with a decent espresso machine and a bad grinder or none at all, and redundant for anyone whose machine already grinds for itself.
What it is
A dedicated electric burr grinder with stainless steel conical burrs and 60 grind settings, controlled by a precision electronic timer adjustable in 1-second increments. It measures 16.1 x 20.4 x 34.3cm. It ships with small 50-54mm and large 58mm portafilter cradles and an adjustable Razor tool with interchangeable blades for 50mm, 54mm and 58mm baskets; it is currently reduced from $269.00.
Why we picked it
This is the sensible entry point for a dad who has worked out that his machine is fine and his grinding is the problem. Sixty settings on conical burrs covers espresso through to plunger, so one appliance serves however he happens to be drinking coffee that month. The portafilter cradles matter more than they look: grinding straight into the basket instead of into a cup and then into the basket removes a daily mess and stops him losing a gram of coffee at every transfer. At under two hundred dollars it is the cheapest change you can make that actually improves what comes out of an existing machine.
