Breville BCG820BSS Smart Grinder Pro for Coffee and Espresso, Brushed Stainless Steel

There are many bad reviews here about this grinder seizing or stopping, and a few even that talk of a burning smell... this is an easy problem to get around. Bottom line, this is a truly superb entry level grinder with one major drawback that is easily overcome. I'll get into what makes this grinder great in a bit, but first, the one thing you NEED TO KNOW if you buy this model. If the grinder slows down or stops grinding before it has run its cycle, PAUSE THE GRINDER. You do this by pressing the button on the right. Then remove the hopper (consult the manual - this is easy to do). Remove the upper burr (also easy to do - read the manual). Dump out any beans inside the grinder (just pick the machine up and turn it upside down - I dump the beans back into the hopper). Brush out the lower burr area (Breville supplies a small brush for this). Put the upper burr and the hopper back together. Restart the grinder (press the right button). It will complete the remainder of the cycle that was paused. You may wish to manually grind a bit more to make up for any lost grounds. Why does this happen? The motor in this model is a bit underpowered. It can get hung up while grinding. It is rare, but there it is. It's happened to me once in months of daily use. When it happens, follow the steps above and you should have no issues. It's what I did, and the grinder went right back to flawless operation like it had never happened. Why is this still a great grinder? It's pretty simple - the ONLY thing that matters about a grinder other than reliability/durability is how consistent the grind is (how uniform is the size of the individual specks of ground coffee). The better the consistency, the better your coffee will be, period. This model **absolutely excels** in consistency. Hands down, independently tested, it blows every grinder in this price range out of the water with more than twice as much "optimal" size grounds as compared to the next best make and model. You can spend 2 or 3 times this amount and still not get a more consistent grind than you will with this guy. Where it counts, this grinder is the king, unless you want to spend far far more for a true professional model. Some additional nice features: ---With a bit of experimenting, you can dial in exactly how much coffee you want it to grind per cup (for drip) or per shot (for espresso) and easily program that amount in so you don't have to think about it again. Once that is done, you can simply tell it 1 or 2 shots, or how many drip cups (up to 12) that you want to make, and then you can ALWAYS grind the EXACT amount of coffee you need. This means you can always make coffee with only freshly ground beans without ever wasting a single bean. That is pretty awesome. ---You can experiment with up to 60 grind sizes to dial in exactly what you want. Personally, for espresso, 15.8 seconds at size 14 grind gives a perfectly dialed in double shot on my Breville espresso machine. For drip, I'm liking the mid 40's, but I haven't decided exactly where yet. The difference from one setting to the adjacent setting is really hard to taste with drip coffee. ---If you don't need super fine espresso grinds but want courser grounds than setting 60 will give you (to get French Press just so), you can adjust the upper burr (easy to do - read the manual). There are 4 more positions that will adjust all 60 settings and make them coarser. Conversely, if you want even finer espresso but don't need the coarsest settings, there are 5 more positions of that upper burr that will make the whole range of the machine finer. One video review I saw said this makes for 600 grind settings, but I'm sure most of those 600 are overlapping. It's at least 69 different grinds possible, at any rate. ---Large hopper. Not as big as a professional grinder's hopper, but you can put a full pound of beans into this grinder with some room to spare. ---Cleanly removable hopper. In order to remove the hopper, you twist a knob to "lock" it. This closes down the feed ports at the bottom so no beans will fall out when you take the hopper off. If you want to get crazy, you could buy a second hopper (or more) and switch between espresso and normal coffee easily (although the first few beans ground will be from the previous hopper, left behind in the burr, unless you dump them out when switching). The removable hopper also makes it very easy to clean after it starts to get oil buildup (which can contribute to the machine seizing up). ---Magnetic removable catch tray. Grinds get everywhere, and this makes cleaning up of (most) loose grinds very easy. ---Magnetic portafilter holders. You get two, one for the standard 58mm PF size, and one for the smaller PF's found on Breville automatic espresso machines. You can set your portafilter in the holder, and grind right into it without any mess. There's even a button so you can set the portafilter in, then activate the grinder by simply pushing on the portafilter. Some things that could stand improvement: ---More powerful motor... that would make this grinder just about perfect. ---Could be a bit quieter. It's not especially loud, as grinders go, but it's not the quietest I've owned either. But a more power motor would probably be louder, so they may have been trying to find a balance here between powerful and quiet. ---The included catch "cup". It seals airtight, which is nice, but the mouth does not line up with the grinder port when it's inserted fully. Push it too far back in and the metal lid sticks to the magnet designed to secure the portafilter adapter, but if you line it up just right with the grinder port, the vibration of the grinder tends to make it to slide out of place during grinding. The fix is to just grind directly into your filter, or take the lid off the "cup" and set it all the way in to catch your grounds. OVERALL RECOMMENDATION: ---If you mainly make drip or pour-over coffee, and/or espresso, this grinder is unbeatable unless you can afford a true professional model. Stay vigilant if it binds up (again, that's rare but potentially damaging for the motor). But if you take good care of this grinder, and spend some time customizing the settings, it will deliver superior grinds in exactly the amounts you need, every time. ---If you primarily make Press coffee, and really like extremely coarse grinds, then there is probably a better choice for you out there.

It brings back such lovely memories grinding the coffee just the way you like it, filling the kitchen with that warm, comforting aroma. Seeing the grounds come out so nice and even makes me happy, because I know the coffee will brew smoothly and taste just right. And the fact that it’s not clumpy shows the grinder is doing its job well, which makes those little daily moments feel easier. Pros: The grind looks so consistent perfect for making a good cup of coffee, whether it’s to share with family and friends or for that quick, much-needed cup in the busy morning. There are hardly any clumps, which can be a problem with cheaper grinders, so that’s a real relief and makes the whole process feel more reliable and satisfying. The noise level is moderate.

I've had two Breville Bambino Plus espresso makers for several years. I like them a lot and I felt they good espresso. But I thought I could do better. I had a coffee grinder that was supposedly a good brand, but it jammed and I gave up on it a couple years ago. But I saw the Breville Smart Grinder and was intrigued. It is an amazing machine and while it can be used with any espresso maker and it's portafilter, the Breville's are it's sweet spot. It has settings for: grind time, number of doses and grind size. You can start i by pushing on your portafilter. I found that freshly ground beans initially take up much more space that ground coffee. So I bought a dosing funnel, good but but too tall and also opaque. I bought the Breville one, smaller and smoke grey so you can see the coffee. The tamper fits in it. Tamping reduces the volume of the coffee; they take it off and put the portafilter. The grind size is very adjustible to you can go from expresso fine grind to coarse for Frency press, and everything in between. I continue to tweak my expresso and my French press is great too. Very pleased with it.

For years I’ve done grinding with a hand grinder, and honestly I’m convinced that’s the best/quietest/cleanest way to grind your own coffee. But with a new baby and increased work scheduled constantly hand grinding finally got to be too much. I settled on this one for a number of reasons: 1) The Breville brand. I’ve always found their appliances to be good quality with well thought out designs. 2) Based on review videos online this seemed to be one of the quieter electric grinders. 3) Easy to use interface with more than just a simple timer. 4) Capable grinding different sizes from French press coarse to finer grinds for drip and aero press with plenty of setting to fine tune for personnel preference. So far it’s been a great grinder and It seems to be of quality build. Definitely feels sturdy. Do not expect whisper quiet, I do not think that’s ever going to be a thing for electric grinders, but it was definitely quieter than some of the others I’ve seen. My newborn infant gives it zero thumbs up… because he’s somehow still asleep while in the same room 20ft. away, but YMMV. For me that’s a decent sound level. The grind levels are great. There are almost too many to chose from, but it does give you plenty of options to find your perfect grind. I use a drip brewer during the week (automated/quicker) and a pour over (preferred) on the weekends. I’ve found different grind levels that I like for both. And having so many grind size options means it’s easy to adjust for bolder/lighter coffee as needed. My only real issue with the grinder, and this seems to just be another thing for electric grinders is the mess. Breville tried to make it a close fit between the output shoot and the container that catches the grinds, but some does escape, and some of the grinds static cling to the inside of the lid and jar. All to say, you end up with some on your counter when you grind and when you open the container to move the ground coffee to your preferred brewer. Nothing a quick wipe with a paper towel can’t take care of. One last note: Most electric grinders, this one included, run based on a predetermined time. Cheaper ones leave the amount of time up to you to figure out. The Breville bases the time on number of selected cups and your grind size. If the time doesn’t match up for you, it’s easy to reprogram the machine to a time that better matches your expectations. Personally I still find it easier to weigh my beans first (a cheap 500g scale is highly recommend, and had many uses in the kitchen) then place them in the hopper. This way even if your timing is off you still end up with the right amount. Either way you choose, I believe this is a great grinder for the money and hopefully will last for many years like the other Breville products we’ve had over the years.

This is one heck of a grinder. First of all, it's very attractive looking. It honestly looks even nicer than it does in the photos (I think the photos make it look kind of like cheap plastic, but that's not at all how it feels). The grind size is extremely consistent and it doesn't take terribly long to grind. (Grinding 42 grams of coffee at setting 52 takes about 28 seconds). It's really easy to adjust grind size with the big knob on the right. You have to experiment a little with choosing the number of cups or shots you need, but it's all very customizable. For instance, say you making 4 cups of coffee in a French Press. If you're like me and you measure your beans first, then put them in the hopper and grind right before using, the 4 cup setting at a coarse grind size might not complete all the beans in the time it use right out of the box. No problem though -- you can use the knob on the front to adjust the time to grind for 4 cups. It adjusts in 0.2 second increments. The one thing I haven't tested is the consistency of the weight outputted once you dial in a time. (Because I just do the weighing first and don't store beans in the hopper). I haven't tested this for espresso because I don't drink espresso, but everything I have seen online indicates it works very well for an espresso grind (for this price range, of course. This isn't a $1500 grinder or anything). It does come with two portafilter holders though, which is very cool. The hopper seems to seal pretty darn well. As a bit of coffee obsessive person, if I wasn't trying new coffees all the time through a subscription service, I wouldn't hesitate to store a pound of beans in there and just grind what I need each morning. And honestly, the container for the ground beans seems airtight enough that I wouldn't sweat it too much leaving some extra grounds in there until the next morning. The adjustable burrs are an awesome feature, but I haven't had to adjust them -- I've been happy with the factory range so far. (I almost exclusively brew using a Chemex and I'm happy with the grind for pour over use). It's pretty easy to clean the machine of loose grounds, so that's not a big deal. If you're looking at this machine, in all likelihood you're also considering the Baratza Virtuoso or Encore. I can't speak to how those machines function -- I haven't owned either. I can say that the knobs and LEDs and stainless steel of the Breville appealed to the nerd in me, and the grind produced by this machine is acceptable. Everything I've seen on the Baratza machines indicates they are absolutely excellent as well, but given that this machine and the Virtuoso are the same price, I opted for the style I like. I have not been disappointed. EDIT: Since I wrote this review, I learned a couple of things. First, the espresso-level grind is very fine and very consistent. I tried it for a cold brew and it worked out great. Second, you can hold down the start button and it will grind until you let go. If you put in an amount of beans you have weighed, this feature will allow you to either get a good idea of how much time you'll need to grind to get the amount you want if you intend on filling the hopper with beans, or, if you only put in as much as you need to grind, not have to mess with the timer at all and instead just grind until you hear that it's empty (the burrs make a very different sound when no beans are being ground). Third, I haven't found the weight output based on time to be consistent enough for my needs. I'm pretty anal about ratio and I only want to grind exactly as much as I need each time. I don't think this is Breville's fault. They can't control for bean size, etc. For the anal people like me, it'll be best to not fill up the hopper and store your beans elsewhere, then just grind what you need.

I really wanted this grinder to work because Breville products generally have a strong reputation. I purchased the Breville Smart Grinder Pro (BCG820BTR) in April 2025 to use for espresso and regular black coffee, but it began failing within a few months when grinding at fine espresso settings. The grinder would stop mid-cycle while the timer continued to run, producing little to no output. Breville sent a replacement, but this unit was even worse—constantly stopping and sounding like the motor was struggling. Customer service was extremely frustrating in my experience. I provided videos clearly showing the issue, but Breville refused to review them and insisted the problem had to be demonstrated live during a phone call. The support team handling my case was based in South Africa, which made scheduling difficult and effectively required me to wait by the phone and hope the grinder would fail during the call—even though the issue occurred frequently but could not always be reproduced on demand. Customer service also suggested the issue might be caused by my coffee beans, which was frustrating given the clear mechanical problems I had documented. I was not willing to waste premium coffee beans repeatedly trying to stage a live demo, especially at times when I wasn’t even planning to drink espresso. For a product at this price point, both the reliability and the customer support were unacceptable in my experience. I wasted hours troubleshooting defective equipment and received no meaningful resolution. They eventually stopped responding to my emails and closed my case. If I could go back, I would choose a different grinder and avoid Breville entirely.

For years, I have had coffee aficionado friends, my mother-in-law, and a bajillion online forum posts telling me that a good burr grinder was the key to quality espresso. All the money in the world on a prosumer machine wasn't going to amount to a hill of gourmet coffee beans as long as I was chopping them up with the $20 Krups blade grinder which I've been using for 15 years. But I just couldn't see how it could make that much of a difference. And certainly not at the prices that rivaled the espresso machines they were meant to feed! But for that same 15 years I've had a prosumer espresso machine that I bought after going through several cheaper models (in our house, the espresso machine gets worked fairly hard). I've had it serviced and overhauled every few years. It's plumbed in on a dedicated, filtered water line, and it's plugged into a digital timer so it kicks on 30 mins. before the alarm goes off in the morning and is fully warmed up and ready to go every day. So a couple months ago, I took it for service and decided that rather than pop for a shiny new machine, maybe I'd try upgrading my grinder to see what difference that might make. I did my due diligence and researched the options before settling on the Breville Smart Grinder. Yes, I was considering a new $2K espresso machine, but I wan't spending that kind of small fortune on a grinder! What sold me on the Breville were several features. The removable hopper (you can leave beans in it when you take it off), the adjustable grind size and dosing, and the magnetic switch triggered by putting the portafilter in place. It took me a week or so of fiddling with the timing and grind size to find the sweet spot for my machine, but once I got it dialed in I realized the advantage of the high-end grinder. For years, I could get a decent shot out of my blade grinder probably 7 or 8 out of 10 times (I had nearly perfected the art of counting a certain number of seconds). But now, I was pulling shots at just the right pressure (9 bars) with thick, rich 'crema' every single time. I had accepted the Gospel according to St. Grinder! Okay, so why did I give this grinder 4 stars instead of 5? No machine is perfect and this one has a couple of VERY minor drawbacks. One cool feature is the mid-grind pause. To keep from making mess all over the counter, the grinder can be paused, allowing me to tamp down what's in the portafilter and then pick up the rest of the dose with the same precise timing. Cool! But if I take too long to restart it, the timer goes back to the default and starts a whole new cycle. I wish the time allowed for a pause we're just a few seconds longer (a relatively easy software tweak, I'd guess). The other downside is the hopper is just a little shy of being to hold a full pound of beans. Not a huge deal, but it's a slight inconvenience to buy a one pound bag and then have to store the last couple ounces in the fridge until there's room for them. Having said that, I just started buying Lavazza brand beans on Amazon in a one kilo (2.2 lbs,) bag. So now, of course, I have to store what doesn't go in the hopper in the fridge anyway. And here's the interesting thing: when I changed beans, I had to totally recalibrate the grinder. You'd think coffee beans are a pretty uniform size and hardness so should grind the same. But the beans from my local gourmet grocer would have to have the dial set much finer and the timer longer to get a decent shot. It took me several tries before I got the grind size dialed down to a little coarser and shorter cycle with the Lavazza beans. The bonus is, the Lavazza beans are a less expensive than the ones from my local grocer. A couple of months in, and I'm very happy with this grinder and would recommend it to any serious home barista.

This grinder replaced my dearly departed Baratza Encore which worked tirelessly for me for 4 years before giving up the ghost. I was leery of switching to something different but now I am glad I did. This unit is a step up in quality, functionality and ease of use! One piece of advice: get the silicone bellows made for it and use it! This solved the only problem I had with the unit initially: that a significant amount of grinds stay in the chute after grinding. That stuff gets nasty and can spoil the next batch you make unless you clean it out. And cleaning it out with a brush is tedious, messy and wasteful. Better solution: install the bellows and give it a couple pumps after each use. The extra grinds are almost completely removed from the chute and are added to your dose where they belong! No waste. No mess. As far as the grinder itself goes, I have nothing but positive things to say. It's fast, quiet, accurate and produces consistent sized grinds. Plus it's easy to tweak +/- for any dose level you desire. AND the unit remembers all your tweaks. Very impressive. I cannot sympathize with reviewers online who spend time sifting grinds out, measuring them with calipers or looking at them under a magnifying glass. My questions were probably more like most of you: Is it easy to use and clean? Yes! Do the grinds look consistently sized by eyeball? Yes! Do the grinds look consistent from one use to the next? Yes! Can I tweak the grinds up or down in tiny increments easily? Yes! Does the coffee I make taste awesome? YES! I try not to be swayed too much by those who are over-analyzing and trying to impress you and themselves with their supposed superior senses. In reality they might just be trying to justify the $100s they dropped on grinders that produce identically tasting coffee. That or they've crossed the fine line between enthusiast and freak :-)

This Breville coffee grinder has truly elevated my home coffee setup. I was looking for a compact yet powerful grinder - with some flexibility, and this one checks all the boxes. The design is sleek, with a sturdy build that feels well-made. I primarily use it for espresso, which is every day - as an espresso demands fresh griding, but I also use it for brewing my cold brew - where I grind big and a lot of it - and it delivers a consistent, measurable grind that’s essential for quality shots and good cold brew. The adjustable settings make it easy to customize the grind size, which is a huge plus for someone who enjoys experimenting with different coffee styles. Using the grinder is straightforward, and I appreciate the convenience of the preset grind volumes – it saves time during busy mornings. Cleanup is also manageable, with a removable bottom piece that helps keep stray grounds contained. My only minor issue is the cord length, which could be a little longer for easier placement on the counter. That said, the grinder’s quality and performance definitely outweigh this small inconvenience. Overall, a great addition to any coffee lover’s kitchen!

Muy buen molido a decir verdad, buena molienda para esspero, para otros métodos está decente, no resalta mucho, lo único es tiene un porcentaje de retención un poco notorio en la primera molienda cuando está sin nada de café

Bought to go with my new espresso machine and works perfect! Setup was nice and easy for a beginner. Lots of options for grind size and amount with an easy to use and clear display!

Buen producto, ajustes precisos de molienda, se recomienda hacerle limpieza para mejorar su funcionamiento (evita que se acumule café molido en el mecanismo de molienda), perfecto para una cafetería pequeña, ideal para uso doméstico

Personally when I set out to buy a proper espresso burr grinder, cost was an important factor. For something which sole purpose is to just grind coffee beans, it's a bit painful to see just how expensive the espresso grinder market is and how limited the options are, and as a newbie, I can't really gauge the true value of something that costs $500+ more than this. Even this grinder I wouldn't define it as cheap, despite it being one of the cheapest options. If that's the boat you're in, definitely put this grinder in your list of considerations. Keep in mind I haven't used one of the more expensive grinders yet so I can't quite know for sure what I'm missing in terms of extraction and flavor etc. What I was after were the cost, ease-of-use, consistency, and flavor, and this grinder does just that with a nice fine and fluffy grind that can produce espresso that I think even a coffee enthusiast can appreciate. 9 month update: so far this grinder is holding up. The only negatives are the clumpiness, but this is pretty minor as it is easily fixed with WDT. Also had to adjust the inner bur for some coffee beans I had. Still though, it grinds more than fine enough to where you can choke the machine if you wanted. The other slight negative is that it’s hard to fit a dosing funnel on the portafilter while grinding, making spillage pretty common. However, still liking this grinder.