Breville Barista Express Grinder or a standalone?

[Speedy77]

Hey guys!

I've been doing a lot of research on espresso machines and am excited to finally get my first machine. I've been looking at features and really like the price point and features of the Breville Barista Express and the Breville Infuser, both being basically the same besides the fact that the Barista Express comes with a built-in grinder.

What I'm asking is, is it worth the extra $100 to have a second built-in espresso grinder, or should I put that $100 towards eventually getting a grinder that's even better? I drink a lot of different kinds of coffee, from Chemex to French press, all of which use different grinds of coffee. I'm curious to hear if you guys find it more useful to invest in the Barista Express to not fuss with a second grinder, or if it's a better idea (and not much more of a hassle) to fiddle around with a separate grinder used to grind all of my coffee, from espresso to regular roasted coffee. I'd rather avoid spending the extra $100 and having just another grinder that's designed specifically for espresso if there's not too much of a hassle using a different grinder.

Any feedback would be appreciated!

 

[Musicphan]

Go with the stand alone... it will give you the flexibility to grind for your other brewing methods. Plus if you want to upgrade your machine or grinder you don't have to upgrade both.

 

[topher]

I would go stand alone for exactly what Musicphan said and also it is more that can go wrong with your unit. If the grinder dies on the unit you are screwed.

 

[shadow745]

By all accounts from those that own the machine, the built-in grinder is calibrated for espresso range grinding and not really capable of coarser methods.

If you're looking for a good stand alone grinder I highly recommend the Rancilio Rocky. May cost a bit more than you might want to spend, but it's a highly capable grinder that can handle the coarsest to finest grind needs and does it well. Plenty of range for espresso dialing in too. Great thing is they are built to last and you can often find them at good prices used, usually just needing new burrs and cleaning.