Breville Smart Grinder Pro review

Even, heavy-bodied espresso grounds, with clumps on record and a rough coarse end6.6/10

The grind is even and repeatable at espresso settings, and that is where this grinder is at its best. Coffee Review tested it against rival grinders and found its "grind consistency is best among the four grinders we review for this report".1 Coffeeness saw very uniform grounds with little clumping, and Alternative Brewing's doses landed within a narrow band each time.

The cup it produces is a traditional one. Alex Hitt describes the conical burr set as built for "heavy, traditional espresso body" over light-roast filter clarity.2 Beans & Banter tasted the same thing: plenty of body, little complexity, and similar cups from different beans.

Grind quality still divides opinion. Consistency drops at the coarse end, where Coffeeness saw it struggle and Kyle Rowsell found jagged particles. His summary of a grinder that covers both espresso and filter: "i don't think it does anything well".3 The Espresso Doctor gets clumpy grounds and notes there is nothing in the chute to break them up, and NJS Instructional got less crema and flavor than from two Italian grinders.4

60 steps on a screen, and a second adjustment under the hopper8.0/10

Adjustment is widely liked. The 60 grind settings keep the burr movement between clicks small, and the screen shows exactly where you are.5 That makes it easy to jump from an espresso setting to a pour-over one and come back to the same number later, which is useful if you change beans every week.

The catch is a second, internal adjustment on the upper burr. If the dial runs out of range, you have to take the hopper off and reset it. Tom's Coffee Corner hit the bottom of the dial without getting fine enough: "I had to change the internal grind adjustment from six down to three".6 Alex Hitt warns that moving between light-roast espresso and drip can mean the same strip-down.

It is also a stepped grinder, so there are moments when you want half a click and cannot have it. The grind time is set in very fine increments, which helps the dose and tests the patience. Coffee Review found a "stubbornly convoluted user interface" behind the helpful screen.7

Timed doses straight into the portafilter, and coffee left behind in the chamber4.5/10

This is a fill-the-hopper grinder, and it holds on to coffee. When Coffee Review cleaned it out, it found "roughly 3 grams of retained grounds", most of it fine powder caked under the cone burr.8 Dylan's Home Espresso Bar weighs a dose in, gets less out, and restarts the grinder and taps it to recover the rest.

The retained coffee also slows dialing in, because the next dose carries some of the last setting. Beans & Banter found new beans frustrating for that reason and ended up "chasing the dial".9 Tech Nuovo adds that beans stored in the hopper lose freshness faster than in an airtight container.

Used as intended, the workflow is easy. You set a grind time, pick a single or double, and grind hands-free into a portafilter held in the cradle. The hopper lifts off with the beans locked inside, the catch tray slides out, and static is mild in most accounts. Skip the lid on the grounds container: its opening is small, and coffee piles up on it.

Espresso-capable at $199.95, with newer rivals at the same money7.9/10

Value is widely liked. At $199.95 it grinds fine enough for an unpressurized basket and still covers filter and French press, and Coffee Review found it more consistent than the dearer grinders it tested alongside. Two portafilter cradles and a grounds container come in the box.

“Now that I’ve put the Breville through its paces I can confidently say this thing would be a bargain at twice the price.”

The doubts come from what else the money now buys. Beans & Banter says it is being outperformed and would put the full asking price toward a DF54 instead, keeping the Breville for second-hand buyers.10 NJS Instructional would save up for an Italian grinder. Kyle Rowsell takes the middle line: it gets you into espresso cheaply, and you upgrade later.

Steel on the outside and years of daily use, with plastic inside and jams on record7.5/10

The build is widely liked, and several long runs back that up. Tech Nuovo has ground at least four doses a day for well over a year with little more than an occasional clean.11 The Espresso Doctor has not replaced the burrs in four years of use, and the stainless shell, magnetic fittings and easily removed top burr all draw praise.

The longest account is the least flattering. NJS Instructional has owned one for most of a decade, has broken a plastic internal part, and calls the grinder "quite prone to jamming".12 Alternative Brewing points to the plastic housing that holds the burrs as the kind of part that fails first.13

Cleaning is the practical answer. Alex Hitt says the motor will jam without regular vacuuming, and Coffee Review clogged it once when grounds backed up against the container lid. At 5.5 lb it can also slide on a smooth bench. Spare parts are hard to find in one account and readily available in the UK in another.

Low on the decibel meter, loud to a few ears and tall under cabinets7.8/10

Noise is widely liked for a grinder at this price. Coffee Review's meter registered "an amazingly low 80dB" during grinding, well under the other machines in its test.14 Kyle Rowsell found it dramatically quieter than the budget grinder beside it, and Elden Reviews values that in an open-plan house first thing in the morning.

Not every ear agrees. The Espresso Doctor finds it "quite loud" next to grinders that cost less, and Alternative Brewing lists the noise among the things that do not sell it.15

The footprint is small, but the grinder is tall with the hopper on. Coffeeness warns it may not fit under some overhead cabinets, so measure the gap before you buy.16

Our verdict

Buy the Smart Grinder Pro as a first espresso grinder if you keep beans in the hopper, drink medium or dark roasts and want filter and French press from the same machine. Skip it if you single dose, swap beans constantly or want clarity from light roasts; the retained coffee and the conical's heavy-bodied cup will work against you. Clean it often to keep it from jamming, and check the height against your cabinets. If the full $199.95 is in hand, compare it with newer single-dose grinders before you commit.