Sunbeam Cafe Series Conical Burr EM0480

Sadly, a waste of money Sunbeam Conical Burr Grinder – Sunbeam Cafe Series Conical Burr Grinder EMO480 was very frustrating to work with and a total waste of money. It worked for a short time and then the coffee became clogged and I spent so much time cleaning it with the brush provided. The coffee spat out pieces all over my kitchen bench. It had uneven grind and no variation in the grind. It was… Read more

always coarse with large bits. I called the customer service, the best they could offer me was a suggestion to recalibrate the grinder using a spacer. I bought this online and followed the instructions precisely, but got the same result. I didn't want to spend any more money on it so I threw it in the bin.

Still pretty good – People have been saying that it grinds too coarsely. Yes, mine did this, until I pulled it apart from the top. In the line of components - maybe under the burrs - there were a couple of extra washers. I moved one to a position that would allow the burrs to grind more finely - sorry I can't remember the details. Fixed and never looked back. Show details ·  1

An excellent grinder – Quote from another reviewer - (If the hopper is not full, you'll only get extremely coarse coffee ground, which means you need to fill it with so many coffee beans for making 1-2 cups of coffee and pour them out again after use and it is not an easy job) I agree with this however there is a very easy solution. I know most coffee snobs do not wish… Read more

to not feel up the hopper up with beans as the beans don't keep as fresh in there. I used a can of pineapple almost the same diameter as the hopper to put pressure on the beans and this enabled me to do a much finer grind. I was able to use less beans by not filling up the hopper. It is almost nine years old and I think that is a good lifespan. All things wear out over time. One thing about this grinder is ignore the instructions regarding the grind setting if it is too coarse and make it a finer grind. Some things are commonsense.

Does what it is supposed to do - grind coffee reliably – I purchased this grinder to match a cafe series expresso machine in 2013. Both machines have worked reliably and consistently throughout the 7 years of ownership. I set the grind to the ‘8’ setting, give it a firm but not heavy tamp, and Sunbeam does the magic - every day. My wife and I married after I had brought the machine so she had no say in the purchase, and if it was a lemon she would soon tell me, but she loves both Sunbeam devices. Show details

Can’t get this to grind fine enough – Has this machine for 2-3 months and just can’t get it to grind finely enough. It’s been very frustrating and I have wasted lots of coffee. Got some expert help from a roster as I thought it may have been user error but it is definitely that machine. Show details

Coffee grind too coarse - grinder unuseable – I have'nt cleaned it often as every time I do the grind becomes coarser while still on the original setting. Cleaned the other day & grind now so coarse the water flows through the coffee grounds. Machine several years old now but is unuseable.

Works well...until it doesn't – This is the second grinder I go through in 6 months! It works well and then it starts spitting out course grit regardless of which setting you put on. Not only does it not grind, I've also wasted a bag of beans in the process. Not happy at all.  Show details

Produces a consistent grind every time – I use this grinder at least 4 times a day, with my Sunbeam Expresso machine. Once the grind is right for the beans I am using, it will produce the same, consistent result every time. I find fresh beans from our local coffee roaster to be the best. A great value product compared to others on the market. Show details

A most reliable and durable grinder! – There are not many appliances I think are worth promoting with a limited life circle build in. Not so for this Sunbeam grinder. Every day for over 12 years we grind hard coffee beans and it still works as the day i bought it. It is definate worth its origin high price ticket. Show details

Excellent. Can't fault it at this price – I have had this grinder for about a year. Consistent grind and the setting from fine to course works great. I grind coffee freshly for each cup directly into the portafilter. I modified the plastic "U" clip to hold the portafilter in place by making the legs a bit shorter. This makes positioning the portafillter a bit easier and it works great. Show details

Awesome Grinder – We have had this grinder for close to 10years.. have always used it weekly. Last week the burr in it lost a tiny clip to keep it locked in, we rang sunbeam & they could not have been more helpful in getting us a replacement part. On the phone for around 10 mins and it was all sorted, It arrived within 3 days & we have our grinder back!!! If it ever stops working, would be the only grinder we would buy again! Show details

Bad machine and bad service – As with the others, I've had a bad experience as of late whereby the grinds coming out much too coarse, and there is little difference between fine and coarse. I contacted Sunbeam to ask about a spacer, and their response seemed to be an automated reply of "We're sorry to inform you that spacer for your EM0480 is out of stock. We really… Read more

apologize for the inconvenience." There were no other suggestions/advice/recommendations - just 'too bad'. So that left me with fuming as now I'll have to return the unit. Won't be buying Sunbeam again that's for sure.

Cafe series...what a joke! – when sunbeam first introduced the cafe series coffee machines i purchased one and it lasted for ages as expected for a high end advertised series...just last year I re-purchased another cafw series coffee machine together with a Cafe series grinder which I've hardly used being away for so long - after several cleans and instructionual videos on… Read more

how to clean this machine due to not grinding according to the dial I've given up! the lack of after care is so disappointing thats why I have resorted to reviewing this product and sunbeam for others to be aware of this and other issue stated here

I have decided to bite the bullet and promise myself that not only won't I ever buy another sunbeam product again but also make others aware

disgusted!

Reliable and consistent coffee grinder – Our EM0480 is over five years old and until recently produced ideal ground coffee for our Sunbeam EM7000 coffee machine. Now even on the finest setting it is too coarse. Thanks to all those wonderful people on product review I understand the bottom burr may need lifting with a shim or two. A new machine is only $159 online so I if that doesn’t… Read more ·  2

work will just get a new one. Cleaning over the years has left no calibration markers and it does look well used. Overall it’s brilliant value, by my calculation a coffee costs 50c. Every year the investment of machine and grinder saves around two thousand dollars on cafe bought that despite their price are often inferior to home made.

Awful! Does not give a decent grind – Even after carefully following the manual and additional note supplied with the grinder to ensure “the top burr must sit flat on the bottom burr before returning the grind adjustment collar to its position on the motor base”, this machine still gives a coarse grind on the minimum setting. Tried cleaning, resitting the burr, it is just too… Read more

inconsistent. After reading the last few reviews it looks like Sunbeam might have had a quality control issue for the last year or so...

Terrible grind – Terrible machine. This machine has limited ability to differentiate between course or fine grind. I have persisted and attempted to vary the grind will no success. A total rip off. Show details

Reasonable value – I got it secondhand but little-used, replaced a previous similar model we'd had for about a decade. The old one still runs fine mechanically, but the burrs are quite worn so it grinds slowly. With a $2700 espresso machine, with fresh beans, the new one works well, but I'd like the ability to adjust the grind more finely in between the stepped… Read more

settings. This isn't really a huge issue considering what I paid. I made a collar for the portafilter out of a plastic cup to contain the grounds, because they tend to fly around a bit due to static. The burrs eventually wear down and the cost of replacing them is quite high compared to the original cost - about half. Would be great for someone grinding for plunger or drip coffee. Very good secondhand buy if the burrs are not too worn. I've replaced it with a secondhand Breville Smart Grinder Pro - interesting to see how that goes.

Terrible Machine – Cannot get a good grind - too coarse no matter where we set it or what coffee we use. Coffee too weak .Will have too take it back for a refund. Show details

Just not good enough, but can be fixed – For those getting too coarse a grind, it is poor quality control. To adjust the grinder for a finer grind beyond what you are getting spacers need to be added under the lower burr. These spacers cost about $3 each on ebay, but should really be in the box with grinder along with the instructions to remove the burrs. It is quite easy to do, but you… Read more

shouldn't have to and I have read where people dismantle more than what is needed and never get it back together. As a matter of good customer service Sunbeam should send everyone who owns their grinders free spacers. They will email you the instructions if you call them, but they should do more. You may have to mention the spacers etc or they may not want to bring it up as it shows they know your grinder is not fit for the purpose as supplied.

If you do it just add one spacer more than what is there and start on coarse grind setting and move to a finer setting the first time you use it. If not fine enough add another spacer and repeat. (Max 4 spacers)

This adjustment is to counter burr wear and adjustment should be built into the machine external settings.

Grinds very coarse regardless of setting – I have an earlier model sunbeam conical burr grinder which I was very happy with. I bought this upgraded model for my mother for Christmas, and the grind was unbelievably coarse and uneven, the resulting coffee on stove top machine that we always use was like water. My mother old electric blade 'grinder' produced far better coffee. I returned it… Read more

to the store and got a replacement. The result was exactly the same. In store they checked how it was assembled and said everything was correct. Also sprays flat slices of coffee in all directions, which sticks statically to everything. Terrible machine. Wasted hours of my time trying to work out what was wrong, three long trips back and forth to the store. Eventually got a refund, but lost many hours (and packets of coffee).

Grinding too coarse and inconsistent – We've owned this machine for a few weeks now. We have adjusted it again and again but the grinding is inconsistent, and too coarse for espresso. We are so disappointed. I feel like there must be something majorly wrong with our machine as it just does not do what it should.  Show details

Does not grind fine enough for espresso – Tried the machine today for the first time. The grind is too coarse for espresso at any setting. In fact the settings do not change the grind from one end of the scale to the other. It is not at all useful for our purpose. Not sure what to do now. Don't suppose the retailer will take it back given that we've given it a few tries.  Show details

Grinds coffee reasonably well but has problems – This grinder can produce good ground coffee and has worked reliably for 5 years. One problem I faced was with static electricity. This is produced by the grounds rubbing against the plastic parts and causes grounds to spray out all over the place. I solved this by replacing the plastic ground coffee container with a large metal milk frothing… Read more

jug. The metal is less affected by static electricity and the larger mouth catches all the grounds.

Second problem was with clogging. Fine grounds accumulate inside the grinder requiring me to slap and shake the grinder to keep the grounds flowing. This problem is worse if you need the coffee ground fine for espresso machines. Also, as the machine clogs, the grounds come out finer and finer so you have to adjust the grind as you go. The solution is to clean the grinder frequently. Unfortunately, you need to totally dismatle the machine to clean it. You need a screwdriver and some skill as removing and replacing the micro-switch and tiny spring is quite tricky. Of course, this voids the warranty. Eventually, I removed the microswitch altogether and shorted the wires. It is only a safety feature. I was then able to quickly dismantle and clean the grinder each time it needed a a refill of beans. This made the grinder perform consistently and I have been using it like this for years.

Unfortunately, the regular disassembly for cleaning has now worn away the screw holes so it can no longer be reassembled.

Even though this machine has problems, there isn't much else on the market. It is better than the cheap grinders and you have to spend over $500 to get a grinder of superior quality. I will probably buy another one.

You get what you pay for – This grinder is good at grinding coffee to your desired grind and it’s still going 6 years later, but that’s where the good points stop for this product. First issue, is that it loves to spray static ground coffee all over the bench, it even clings to the grinder. Second issue, the mechanism inside the grinder doesn’t push all the Coffee out, so every few months I have to pull the unit apart to clean out the grinds.  Show details

Consistently makes ground coffee – I was given this as a gift, so can't upload a receipt but have uploaded a photo. It's been an absolute wonderful machine to use. Nice and simple to work and easy to clean. The beans are always ground exactly as I need them to be and can change the setting if I need to. I've even taken this away on holidays to the beach house because I do love it so much.  Show details ·  1

Can't go Back – Our grinder was a gift from another connoisseur of fine coffee. Whenever Jen made a coffee, it was legendary - so - now we can come close. It's excellent because we grind it fresh for each cup. the beans make a difference to the taste but the grinder is awesome.  Show details ·  1

Great at grinding beans! – I purchased this grinder over 5 years ago and it's still great. The only problem I have with it is that some of the ground beans fall out after you have finished. Took some time to get the right ground for the coffee machine. It keeps the beans fresh while your not using it. I would recommend it.  Show details

Nearly made 10 years – Used this grinder every day at least 2/3 times for over 9 years and it has never missed a beat. It has been used and abused, shifted from house to house and has sat next to my Silvia grinding up beans to perfection. But the time has come to retire the old girl as recently she has been losing her adjustment and I'm not prepared to put washers in to… Read more

prolong her life. In this day and age there are not many appliances that can go that distance. The King is dead, long live the King.

Good entry level burr grinder - but not the best – Included with my purchase of the EM6910. This entry-level burr grinder performs well, but not exceptionally. I use it predominantly for espresso, and the steps between the grind settings are sometimes not precise to allow you to accurately dial in a shot. Still a huge step-up from pre-ground or instant coffee. Quite easily disassembled for… Read more

cleaning, but the grinds chute is more difficult to clean thoroughly.

Overall, good purchase for those coming from pre-ground or instant coffee, and would likely be more than appropriate for manual brewing rather than espresso.

Fresh is superb – Just sick of buying packets of ground coffee from supermarket. Now I grind enough for one or two days to make some superb freshly ground coffee. Machine does spray a bit but this does NOT detract from the workings of this classic machine. One can choose to grind coarse or fine powder as required by your coffee making machine. Every day I actually… Read more

look forward to my morning coffee & tempted to make more cups ....so absolutely fascinated by this well made machine.

Disappointing purchase – Bought this grinder on the weekend. Set the grind to the middle setting but it was too fine for the coffee machine to get the water through. Ended up setting it to the most course setting and managed to get a coffee out, but this means it is no good it I want to make a plunger or filter coffee as they require a more course grind. The most course… Read more

setting if still really fine!!!

Will have no choice but to take it back for a refund I think - I'm not taking it apart to fix.

Nice consistent grind – Coffee is now so much better with the addition of this conical grinder. Seems to be working well and easy to use. We were using a electric coffee/spice mill before but found particle size too variable. This grinder is very consistent so far and the coffee tastes better. I would recommend although I am not a barista expert.  Show details