Sunbeam GrindFresh EM0440

Overall a great expereince, but ignore the manuals recommended settings – I must have been one of the lucky ones as mine was spot on out of the box. The grind can go smoothly from course to fine without any issues. The recommended settings for Espresso in the manual are a bit off though. I find a setting of around 6 suits my beans much better. 12 is a touch course and the pour is too quick. I've been using… Read more ·  1

mine for about 12 months and not had any issues. Average use would be two cups a day, and I grind it fresh each cup. Never missed a beat, the grind has been consistent after the initial play to find the right setting. It does make a bit of a mess, especially if you try to grind straight into the basket of your portafilter. I ended up buying a collar to use during grinding to keep it a bit controlled. Contruction is all plastic aside from the grinders and it can feel a little "loose" moving the gridn dial, but once in place it seems to stay there solidly. It's not badly built for the price point though. For an economical burr grinder, this one is hard to beat.

Second Sunbeam Grinder, it's performing well – This new model looks a lot more plastic and cheaper than the old model in the nice Stainless, but it's the way things are going I guess. The previous model I have used for 8 years without it missing a beat, and I only got the new model as giving the other one away with my coffee machine to be used in my husband's office. Ignore the book where it… Read more ·  2

says a grind of 12 or more for expresso machines. I have never done a grind over 7 with the old model, and have been down to 5 for the last year as I gather the burrs are not as sharp. So I started this model on 5 but have dropped it to 3 where I got a beautiful strong drop of crema. This is using store bought Lavazza beans, but the weather temperature and using fresh beans always requires some fine tuning, so it's all about getting it right for your machine. I am also using the slip on spout cover so it directs the grind downwards into the filter basket, although any grinding of coffee always make a mess.

A great value grinder – For the price one would be hard pressed to find a better value ginder. Here are some tips from a long time EM 0440 user. Don't just add the amount of beans you want to grind. Keep enough beans in the hopper to stop the beans from jumping. Give the hopper lid a little tap to clear gound beans. Like every grinder it will need a regular clean. Don't… Read more ·  3

expect it to do above and beyond what it is designed to do. I'm very happy with my little workhorse and use it daily for my V60, Espresso, French Press. Moka Pot and pour over coffees. I'm lucky enough to live in Parakan, Central Java and have access to some outstanding coffees. Damned if I'm not going to live here without a reliable coffee ginder.

Great Grind, still going strong after 2 years – We had researched grinders for a while and were on a budget, but we didn’t want to scrimp on the burrs. We were lucky to find the Sunbeam EM0440 as it had all the features we needed, smallish, stylish, lots of grind options AND it was really well priced. Perfect for domestic use as you have to hold the portafilter or grind holder against the… Read more ·  2

trigger, but we don’t mind. We are now enjoying delicious crema espressos and wished we had found this model earlier. Edit update Aug 2024 - still going strong and the adjustable grind settings from fine to coarse are great depending on freshness of beans and brew method. Very happy with our purchase.

Minimal fuss grinder – Purchase as a price match at around $90, I am pleased with its ability and ease of use. It comes with a few accessories that I don't really use if I'm going to be honest but good to have none the less. Show details

Failed on second use – The first time I used this, it worked extremely well, despite the less than helpful instruction booklet. One month later I tried using it again and I ended up with something resembling potting mix strewn all over the kitchen bench. The fine setting no longer worked. The medium setting likewise. The coarse setting produced potting mix, which I’m… Read more

sure is not wanted for any kind of coffee maker. I tried taking it apart, cleaning it, setting it up again. Same result. Half a kilo of wasted coffee beans and a mess to clean up. Fail.

Only worked for 1 year – Ground too coarse after 1 year of use and couldn't get it to grind fine coffee for a stovetop. Even put in 3 spacers as recommeneded but still it would not work properly. Waste of time and money. Bad product. Would not recommend, unless you're happy to buy a new one every year. Guess you get what you pay for.... Show details

Sunbeam EM0440 Grinder Does Not Grind to Fine – Bought this grinder from Amazon. First time grind produced coarse coffee even though setting is fine grind. Sunbeam Customer Care sent two (2) washers but the grind is still not so fine. Another set of double washers was requested which I fitted under the burr. The grinder is now working fine with the added washers. Show details

Does not burn coffee – Need to be prepared for loud noise. Keep the brush that comes with it as you will need it. I brush break off bits of beans from the burrs regularly to keep the grinder in top shape Show details ·  1

Good while it lasted – Worked well for a few years. So I've probably got value out of it. On the finest grind it was so slow as to be useless, so it's probably never ground as fine as I would like (for a stovetop espresso maker). Today it stopped producing any ground coffee - it was obvious from the sound that beans weren't making it into the grinding mechanism. I took… Read more

it apart more thoroughly than ever before, cleaned it, dried it, then it wouldn't go back together. After some trying, I noticed small bits of plastic had broken off, so I figured it is never going back together, and has ground its last beans.

But happy enough with it at the price that I'll get another tomorrow. I may clean it more frequently and while under warranty this time! And I have lot of spare parts.

Great value. Compliments my EM7000 perfectly. Best espresso ever – All grinders and all espresso machines need to be cleaned regularly or they fail to satisfy. Fresh-ground beans are oily and sticky so will eventually clog up both machines. This grinder gets bad reviews when it has been assembled incorrectly. We had hiccups at first and now have a reliable routine that keeps it reliable. After a lot of use it did… Read more ·  2

need the burrs re-shimmed and luckily we could do that. All burr grinders will eventually need this done.

Good Value – Good value for the $’s. Not too noisy, grind is fine for filter coffee. Just ensure correct assembly after cleaning as per previous posts. Only downside is coffee grinds held in spout at end of grind - easily dislodged with a couple of taps (now part of my grind ritual). Recommended Show details ·  1

Auto Grinder – Great grinder, makes it easy and fresh! Easy to setup, nice adjustment for grind consistency and work well. However can be messy at times, comes with a nozzle to aim and improve lost coffee/spread however even so still makes a large mess of coffee grind around the unit. Ordering a metal peace that makes the coffee head wider and taller to prevent this from happening. Show details ·  2

A product that is faulty from the start – I bought this with a sunbeam espresso machine. Spent quite a few days trying to get the thing to grind correctly. Upon doing a little search on google I discovered that it is common for these grinders to not grind your coffee fine enough for an espresso machine as it should be coming with an extra washer. Sunbeam are aware of this also as when you… Read more

call them they will send you an extra spacer to try fix the problem. So 3 calls later and a 3 weeks of waiting for the part to arrive, I add a spacer to find that it has changed nothing. Will be demanding my money back this week. Product should not be on the shelf.

Value for money – i had mixed thoughts about this product based on some of the less positive reviews but Sunbeam seem to have fixed up all the issues. I put it together without reading the instructions. Big tick. No need to assemble the grinding wheels - all done already. Another tick . Sunbeam have added a rubber (silicon) 45 degree nozzle to the hard plastic… Read more ·  1

spout so 99% of coffee goes into the group. tick. Will check the grinding wheels to see if i have missed something but all seems to be wring well. It seems to be very good value for money.

Average – It does the job. I'm sure there are better grinders that are more consistent. But it is cheap and effective enough for the purpose. It is however poorly designed. Quite an amount of grind stays behind inside and builds up on itself unless the machine is shaken or bashed, or a brush is inserted to get at the grounds. Maybe a little too compact? Particularly messy when coming out. Static maybe?  Show details

A good little coffee bean grinder – I bought a Sunbeam EM0440 coffee bean grinder on the net from Amazon, and was delighted on its quick arrival. I tested it straight away after reading the instructions and found it to be very easy to use and it has a good progression indicator of coffee grounds, from very course to very fine. The cost was very reasonable for the product. Very happy with my purchase of the Sunbeam GrindFresh EM0440. Cheers.  Show details ·  2

Good budget grinder – This machine initially would only grind very coarse until I worked out how to assemble it properly. You must set the upper burr in place in the top assembly before attaching the top assembly to the base. The upper burr then should sit lower than the surrounding rim. It now seems to be working fine.  Show details

Rubbish – Too coarse! dont waste your money. it will destroy your day as you will be drinking sandy coffee. I had to put my hand on top to push down to make it finer (the adjustment did not work properly). but it will not provide even fine coffee. so I gave up making my own coffee because this machine.  Show details

How to fix grind that’s too coarse – The grind was always too course no matter how many times we reassembled it. I googled like crazy & found gold from someone called Sneedy on a whirlpool forum who said “You need to sit the top burr into the adjustment collar (rotate it until you feel it click' – the white marks should be aligned but more importantly it will sit lower than in any other position) *BEFORE* fitting both (as a unit) onto the base.” Thanks Sneedy! Worked a treat.  Show details

coffee at a new level – Easy assembly and fill and to set grind size. I use it for a low-to-mid-range espresso machine and find that the fine grind settings are too fine for the machine to push water through. Mid-range is perfect with a nice even grind. Only gripe is it is a little messy on the counter top if grinding directly into the espresso cup thing. but this is… Read more

par-for the course and most falls on the little tray anyway. Also, have option to grind into a jar which eliminates this mess and allows for a weekly grinding if that is your thing.Happy with my purchase and looking for decent decaf beans to blend in the hopper so I don't destroy myself with all the extra coffee I'm drinking. Kitchen smell awesome with the fresh coffee grind smell. The little blade grinders are no comparison and this didn't cost much more than a decent one of them.

Excellent Value - 3 WEEK UPDATE – SEE UPDATE BELOW >>> I received my EM0440 as a gift but I had specified this model after first reviewing the market myself. I have been using it for 3 days now and the only surprises have been good. Based on other reviews I anticipated an overly coarse grind and was prepared to go through the steps others have stated, namely disassembly and… Read more

shimming the burr. So I set my first grind on the finest setting (1) and the machine wouldn't even feed the beans through. I raised it to (3) and the grinding proceeded slowly with what was a very fine product. When I tried it in the espresso machine nothing came out - it was so fine that the filter was effectively blocked. I did another grind at setting (10) and the grinding was much faster and the espresso machine produced very good coffee with a good percentage of crema.

I then read the grinder manual and found that their lowest recommended setting for espresso was (12). I have continued using the grinder now set at (15) and the grind proceeds rapidly and the espresso shot is good. So my fears about a coarse grind were wrong - this machine can produce a full range of grinds from Turkish to espresso and upwards straight out of the box.

Overall this machine is a worthwhile (and necessary) step up from pre-ground coffee and in fact for me it is less messy. It's so easy to plug in the portafilter which starts the grinding and rapidly fills the basket. A couple of taps and a further grind overfills the basket which can then be tamped, wiped clean (over the sink) and assembled for use with no mess to clean up.

I expect to experiment with different coffee beans and grinds for a while until my lattes are consistently good.

At this price ($99) I didn't expect much but I have been pleasantly surprised.

I rated it 5 stars with respect to the price - obviously there are much more expensive machines which should last longer and may keep a more consistent grind but for a single user and 2 cups a day this machine is excellent value.

>>>> 3 WEEK UPDATE <<<<<

A note on the grind size. It seems that the grinding burrs have slowly bedded in. I have had to gradually change the setting from an initial 15 down to currently 5. The grind is now somewhat finer and more uniform and seems to be just right for an optimum flow rate from my espresso machine. i.e. neither too fast nor too slow as judged by the density of crema delivered.

Still going well.....

The grind is too coarse – Recently brought an EM7100 coffee machine, and went back yesterday and purchased the EM0440 grinder. The grind is just coming out too coarse. On every setting, the grind is the same. I pulled it apart twice, and put it together again after reading some reviews. I cannot get the grind any finer. It will be getting returned to Harvey Norman. Extreamly disappointed.  Show details

Excellent.. but beware of setting up the burrs correctly – A really great product when set up correctly. At first the grind was too course regardless of setting even though I had set up the machine as directed in the instructions. After reading other reviews I decided to take the machine apart and put it back together.. worked great the second time around producing a fine powder perfect for my espresso machine. If not for that initial issue, easily a 5 star machine.  Show details

Motor runs but burr doesn't move – Purchased from AppliancesOnline, received it today. Followed instructions to put it together but It doesn't work at all. I can hear the motor sound which suggest the motor is runs but the burr doesn't seem to move at all, no matter what setting it is at. The beans are not being ground.  Show details

Easy to use, makes great coffee – I have to say, this machine makes great coffee. I've been using a German made hand grinder for years. Thought an electric grinder would save time but was surprised to discover it does an even better job of grinding coffee than even the German hand grinder. My coffee actually tastes better! Adjustment and control is a breeze with the accurate dial… Read more

ring and push button start/stop. Easy to disassemble and clean - once I learned how to do it. Saves so much time and has a well made Italian burr. I recommend the suggestion below of grind-tamp-grind-tamp to avoid making a mess. Once you get the hang of it, it's easy and tidy. I just hope it's reliable. Had it three months so far with no sign of issues.

I love this grinder – I've had my EMO440 for about a month now and I couldn't have expected more from a machine designed for home use. Like anything there has been a learning curve, but definitely nailed it now. My friend bought a Fiorenzato and paid $1200.00 for it and I haven't had the heart to tell him, "my coffee is equally as good". Oh and I should mention the… Read more ·  1

bonus. I'm using half as much coffee as I was with my old grinder. Saving four or five bucks a week, it will have paid for itself in about 20 weeks.

Don't waste your money – Thought I'd go with a well known brand believing tis better to buy quality to avoid problems - boy was I wrong. No matter how I tried could not get the machine to cut any finer than super coarse. no adjustment ... threw it in the garbage in disgust.. don't waste your money

Excellent grinder and a cheap entry price for a first time buyer! – I've had this grinder for 3 months now and it hasn't missed one beat! I use it almost daily and works wonders. Cheap, simple, effective. Only some things to say about it, but none the less I will still give it a 5 star review: - The group handle holder (2 different sizes) is useless. Don't install it as you still have to press the grinding button… Read more ·  1

with the same group handle. After the second or third time you'll get the hang of it and won't need it.

- Definitely install the rubber nozzle. I grind 3 times (grind, press, grind, press, grind, press) and I waste less coffee than when I use to get it grinded. It can get messy, but it won't if you don't let it spill while grinding.

- The manual says that for a home esspresso machine you need to have it in the 12-15 coarse setting. Took me a bit to realize that I had to go down all the way to 3 to get a fine grind for my machine. Don't go by what the manual says in terms of the grind, try it out yourself.

Awesome grinder, even better price!

Practice makes perfect – Originally I was going to give a poor review, but after reading someone else's trial/error/solution I found what I'd done wrong & it works perfectly again. Listen, this is an entry level domestic burr grinder, you can't expect heaven, but this does a really consistent grind and is fine enough for great espresso in a home espresso machine; it can… Read more ·  1

also be set coarse for plungers etc... As others have mentioned it can be messy, but I used it frequently everyday (house of 5 adults) for over a year without a problem, it ground well. I recently moved & had a problem on re-assembling that the grind was extremely coarse & dirty, even after a proper cleaning. Turns out I hadn't correctly locked the base grinder into place... On correcting this my grind is back to greatness. At the end of the day, with a manual grinder, your dosing and ramping will make the biggest difference to your espresso, & to have that meet your desires takes practice. This grinder is a good one for that job, especially at the price-point.