It just may last longer than you really want it to.

Author's Rating:

Pros: Made in Spain, durable, consistent.

Cons: Noisy, static, won't impress the snobs.

The Bottom Line: 
If your goal is a decent grinder that will last for many years, then buy it.  Not without its faults, but these are far outweighed by its value.

Author's Review
If you are reading reviews on this grinder, then you will notice that it seems to be a "love it or hate it" kind of a thing. I'm not so sure if it's that simple. Braun's long running grinder is, if anything, misunderstood. Many folks buy it with the expectation that it will perform as well as the high end conical burr grinders, and those people will surely be disappointed. This grinder is not, I repeat, not to be compared with such heavy weights as Baratza's Virtuoso. It is a class unto itself.

What makes the KMM30 unique in its standing among electric burr grinders is that it's design is essentially identical to many high end espresso grinders. Huh? No way (yeah, way!). Don't believe me? Remove the grounds receptacle, turn the grinder so that the chute opening faces you, and imagine a small downspout on the front of the chute along with a portafilter rest. Of course, most cheap flat burr grinders are based in part on espresso grinders; they have flat burrs. But the Braun is different; it's special.

The "precision milling system" actually does work well on this grinder. Unfortunately, for some odd reason I can't quite fathom, it produces a lot of dust. The ground coffee is made up of very uniform, evenly sized particles, and dust. Dang! Well, don't fret; the Braun has a fix for this. Being made with a plastic housing, the little Braun produces (you guessed it) lots of static. Actually, the amount of static it produces will vary depending upon humidity, and degree of roast (of the beans). But, there will always be enough static to cause most of the fine dust to adhere to the inside of the grounds receptacle, just opposite of the chute. So all you got to do is carefully scrape this mound of dust into the trash. But, sometimes, there will be so much static that, when you remove the lid, grounds will literally fly out.

Incidentally, to cut down on static, you can take a length of copper wiring, strip off 1/2" of insulation on one end, and crimp an alligator clip on the other end. Hook the bare end of the wire over the top of the grounds receptacle before placing the lid on (so make sure the wire isn't too big), and attach the alligator clip to any grounded metal. I have found that this can cause a fairly significant reduction in static.

Now, for what I feel to be the only real negative about this product. This thing is noisy; real noisy. And it's not like other grinders that can be kinda' loud; it's a high pitched crunchy/whirry kind of noise. So, it's not just decibels, but pitch; it's annoyingly loud. And, have I mentioned that it's really loud? Yeah, the noise is pretty bad, but not so much so that I would pass on this grinder. Just give your loved one a set of earplugs if you plan to get up in the wee hours of the morning to make coffee. On the other hand, ear plugs won't matter.

Now I don't want to discourage anyone, but this grinder is not as easy to clean as many others. Most people think that the best you can do is remove the bean hopper, and slap the thing until you can get out some of the gunk. Okay, http://www. coffeecrew.com/content/view/294/69/ will show you exactly how to thoroughly disassemble and clean the thing. And before reassembling, you can even dial the grinder in for a finer grind. Between such cleanings, I use a can of compressed air to blow old coffee out of the grinding chamber every pound or so of coffee. And I avoid really oily beans, as these will crud up the grinder much faster (just as they will any other grinder).

This is about the time that the observant reader will suddenly note that I have reviewed other grinders. Well, I've owned a few, as well as testing a few (some of which were never remarkable enough to bother reviewing). I have always had a Braun KMM30, ever since the thing came out, as a matter of fact. The one I currently have is now 2 years old, and replaced one that I had used for close to ten years. I aways looked for a better grinder, but ended up falling back on the Braun when the new grinder kicked the bucket after a year. So it finally dawned on me that the Braun should probably be the way to go. It grinds coarse enough for press pot, and can be coaxed to grind fine enough for most consumer espresso machines.

It's a noisy, messy, kind of not quite ultra consistent grinder. But, it does a better job than any of the other low end grinders out there. And, from my experience, as well as from people I know who use this grinder, it will last for many years. This is kind of a blessing, kind of a curse. If you are happy with the grind it produces, and don't mind the occasional mess, then you will be very happyt with this grinder for 5-10 years. But, if you aren't 100% happy with it, and plan to upgrade as soon as it bites the dust, then you will be waiting a long time.