Krups expert GVX231 coffee grinder

The unit itself looks quite elegant with a black body and a brushed steel finish. This is a burr grinder, so is suited to the coffee connoiseur who wants a smooth, even grind. You can alter the coarseness of the grind using a knob on the left hand side, and a control on the front lets you preset an amount to grind automatically. The on/off button is illuminated with a rather fetching blue LED when in operation.

There are at least two "user level" safety mechanisms - the bean hopper lid, and the container for the ground coffee. If either are not in place fully, the unit will not operate - the top cover can be a little sensitive, and may need you to keep it pressed down while it grinds your beans.

That small point aside, it does a fantastic job on espresso, and comes with a recommendation from me !


Chic and efficient   November 4, 2007
S. Richards (Norfolk UK)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

This little machine does an excellent job. We have to set it at its coarsest setting for our cafetiere, but the finished ground is comparable to that we used to buy from a specialist retailer. The cup setting (where you set it to mnake the amount of coffee you want to grind) is accurate and consistent.

We use it every day. It blew its fuse the second time we used it, but we replaced that and it has been fine for the four weeks since then.



Great product for the price   December 29, 2007
J. Jolly (West Sussex)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I've had this grinder for around 2 years now and it's been 100% reliable. It's very easy to operate and the grind settings are good enough for all machines. I've just bought a Gaggia Baby Class D espresso machine and this Krups grinder makes fine enough coffee to use in it.

There are some small niggles; the beans sometimes get stuck and you have to shake it to loosen them again, also the two safety mechanisms (hopper lid and grind container) can occasionally be temperamental, but these are small prices to pay for such quality at a low price.


It works - just   June 11, 2007
BP Sussex (West Sussex UK)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

>>>>>> Original Comments - June 2007 <<<<<<
I find this grinder taxes ones patience. The beans in the hopper do not always feed so sometimes it suddenly screams and it is necessary to shake it to make it continue grinding. The On-Off switch sometimes decides it has a mind of its own, if it has ground enough then it switches off and does not finish what is in the hopper despite being set to maximum. You then have to coax the On-Off switch to switch on in order to do more and finish what is left in the hopper. (since discovered the electronics takes time to charge up on switch on before working correctly) The fine/coarse control is fine for espresso but the coarse setting is still fairly fine, resulting in some coffees still tasting like Espresso even though you have set it for the most coarse. I use a cafetiere and even with the coarsest setting I still have a load of coffee dust in the cup. Would work for a paper filter but not a permanent filter. All-in-all, very dissappointing. I was better off with a conventional cheap grinder.
Note:
There is a comment on the Amazon US site on how to overcome this excessive fine setting. Suggest readers look up that site as well.

PS. If the power is left on at the wall socket, it still dissipates power even though the unit itself is switched off. The power has to be switched off at the wall to switch it off completely. ie. not very green:-(

>>>>>>> Updated Jan 2008 <<<<<<<<<

As mentioned before Chris Hoffman from Washington DC mentioned how to fix the finess of the grind on the Amazon US site - see below:

""As for the fineness selector, it works like a charm. I'm willing to bet most of the people complaining it doesn't work took out or reinstalled the top bur incorrectly. MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW DIRECTIONS ON THIS. You put it all the way to the finest selection to take it out and then all the way to the coarsest selection to put it back in. Do this or else the selector is worthless.""

>>>>>
I must agree the directions above work. However, I have done this twice now and the amount of dust in the bottom of my coffee mug is decreasing. I am about to do it again in an attempt to get it better. If it works it will be fine for my cafetiere but a waste of space if I suddenly want a shot of Espresso. In other words, it's all or nothing regarding adjustment of the fineness of the grind.


Poor Performance from an otherwise good brand.   November 24, 2007
J. BOWERS (Cardiff)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful

Brought this last week, all looked fine until i tried to use it! This model features 2 variables, grind and number of cups, both are awful.

Grind

This machine will only grind on the coarsest 5 settings, the other 7 finer settings just do not work, the blades spin but no beans are taken into the grinder. Therefore if you want to use this machine to make espresso coffee, you cannot.

Number of Cups

Due to the grinder struggling to get enough beans into its feeder, this setting is always wrong and never consistent. Come on krups.

I have given it 2 stars however, as firstly, it is a Krups, and secondly it does grind at coarser settings quite well.

I have returned mine and will be trying the Dualit grinder next.

Come on Krups, dont let me call you Kraps!