If you’re reading this, you already know freshly-ground coffee beans are vital to enjoying rich, flavorful coffee.
If you’re a coffee lover, you understand the importance of using freshly-ground coffee beans for your cup’s best taste and aroma. But to achieve that perfect grind, you need a reliable burr grinder that can provide a consistent and uniform grind size.
Breville Coffee Grinders – Breville Dose Control Pro vs Smart Grinder Pro
Breville, a reputable brand known for its innovative kitchen products, offers two popular home espresso grinders: the Smart Grinder Pro and the Dose Control Pro. These grinders use burrs to grind your coffee beans, ensuring a more precise and flavorful extraction.
Smart Grinder Pro Overview
The Smart Grinder Pro is Breville’s top-of-the-line home espresso grinder. Up to 600 grind settings can cater to various brewing methods, from espresso to French press. Its stainless steel conical burrs ensure durability and consistent grind quality.
This grinder is user-friendly, with programmable settings and an LCD screen that displays grind size, duration, and the number of cups. It offers exceptional grind consistency and is a significant upgrade from entry-level grinders.
Things we like about the Smart Grinder Pro:
– Versatile and highly adjustable, you can find the perfect grind size for your preferred brewing method.
– Durable stainless steel housing, ensuring longevity.
– Convenient LCD screen that provides valuable information about your grind.
– Programmable settings for easy repetition of your preferred grind choices.
– Above-average grind consistency for its price range.
Things we don’t like about the Smart Grinder Pro:
– Uses a timed dosing system, which can make it challenging to measure coffee by weight.
– Some inconsistency with coarser grind sizes, making it less suitable for French press or drip brewing methods.
Breville Dose Control Pro Overview
The Dose Control Pro, similar to the Smart Grinder Pro, is a budget-friendly option for home espresso enthusiasts. While it offers similar features, it lacks some advanced functions in the Smart Grinder Pro, making it more affordable.
Both grinders are excellent choices for coffee lovers looking to elevate their home brewing experience. Whether you opt for the Smart Grinder Pro with its added control and durability or the more affordable Dose Control Pro, Breville has you covered with reliable burr grinders for a flavorful cup of coffee.
Breville Dose Control Pro vs Smart Grinder Pro: A Consumer’s Perspective
Introduction
Breville offers two popular options when choosing the right grinder for your coffee needs: the Smart Grinder Pro and the Dose Control Pro. While they may seem similar at first glance, some notable differences should be considered before purchasing.
Differences in Design and Performance
The Dose Control Pro shares the same stainless steel conical burrs as the Smart Grinder Pro, ensuring a high-quality grind. However, it does have a slightly less powerful motor, resulting in a slower grinding process. Additionally, the Dose Control Pro features a cheaper plastic housing than the Smart Grinder Pro, which may affect its overall durability.
Regarding functionality, the Dose Control Pro lacks the display screen of the Smart Grinder Pro. Instead, it uses a single central dial that allows you to control the grind duration in one-second increments. While this may be simpler for some users, it does limit the precision and convenience offered by programmable presets.
Things We Like
- Versatile and Highly Adjustable: With up to 600 grind settings, both grinders provide various options to suit multiple brewing methods.
- Stainless Steel Burrs: Using stainless steel burrs ensures a consistent grind quality comparable to the Smart Grinder Pro.
- Simple Operation: The Dose Control Pro is easy to operate, thanks to its intuitive central dial.
- Value for Money: The Dose Control Pro offers a more affordable option without compromising essential grind features.
Things We Don’t Like
- Less Precise Dosing: The Dose Control Pro may have slightly less precise dosing than the Smart Grinder Pro.
- Lack of Programmable Presets: The absence of programmable presets makes it harder to repeat specific grind settings you prefer.
Comparison: Breville Dose Control Pro vs Smart Grinder Pro
Specs
Breville Smart Grinder Pro:
- Dimensions (WxDxH): 22 x 16 x 39 cm
- Burrs: 38mm conical burrs (stainless steel)
- Grind Settings: 600 (60 micro settings, each with ten macro settings)
- Motor Power: 160w
- Hopper Capacity: 18 oz (510g)
Breville Dose Control Pro:
- Dimensions (WxDxH): 20.4 x 16 x 34.2 cm
- Burrs: 38mm conical burrs (stainless steel)
- Grind Settings: 600 (60 micro settings, each with ten macro settings)
- Motor Power: 130w
- Hopper Capacity: 12 oz (340g)
Burrs
At the core of both grinders are identical stainless steel conical burrs. These burrs are durable and maintain their sharpness over time, ensuring a consistent grind. Measuring 38 millimeters in diameter, these burrs are large enough to handle your coffee beans efficiently without clogging.
The top burr of both grinders can be easily removed for cleaning and adjustment. While the handle used to twist and remove the burr on the Dose Control Pro may feel less sturdy than ideal, it still provides convenient access for maintenance.
One notable feature is that the top burr is adjustable, with ten stepped settings available to change the gap between the top and bottom burr. This flexibility allows you to fine-tune your grind to meet your brewing needs, whether achieving a finer or coarser one.
Grind Settings
The Smart Grinder Pro and the Dose Control Pro offer an extensive range of grind settings to accommodate various brewing methods. Each grinder provides 60 stepped settings, and when combined with the ten manual adjustments on the top burr, you have 600 grind sizes to choose from. This versatility ensures you can achieve the perfect grind for anything from espresso to French press or cold brew.
While the Smart Grinder Pro allows you to adjust the grind size using a side dial and displays the grind size on an LCD screen, the Dose Control Pro simplifies the process by utilizing the central dial. However, the lack of programmable presets on the Dose Control Pro means repeating your preferred grind settings may require more manual effort.
In conclusion, the Breville Smart Grinder Pro and the Dose Control Pro have their strengths and considerations when choosing the right grinder for your coffee needs. By understanding their differences and evaluating your preferences, you can make an informed decision that provides the perfect grind for your daily cup of coffee.
You Turn the Hopper: Controlling Grind Size
The Breville Dose Control Pro vs Smart Grinder Pro
When it comes to controlling the grind size of your coffee, the Dose Control Pro and the Smart Grinder Pro offer different options.
The Dose Control Pro allows you to adjust the grind size by turning the hopper. While it offers just as many grind settings as the Smart Grinder Pro, it lacks programmability and a digital display.
On the other hand, the Smart Grinder Pro allows for more precise adjustments with its LCD and 0.2-second increments. It even allows you to adjust the number of grinds based on the number of cups or shots you want to brew, giving you greater control over your coffee dose.
Controlling Your Dose: Using the Timer
Timing Your Grind
With the Dose Control Pro, you control the number of coffee grinds using a timer. Adjust the timer in one-second increments, and the grinder will grind your coffee beans for up to 50 seconds. It even has a pause function, allowing you to stop and resume the dose as needed.
The Smart Grinder Pro takes timing to another level by offering more precise 0.2-second increments on its grinding timer. Its convenient LCD lets you easily see how much time you’ve set it for.
Accessories That Matter
Regarding accessories, the Smart Grinder Pro has a larger hopper capacity, able to hold up to 18 ounces of beans compared to the Dose Control Pro’s 12-ounce ability. Both hoppers feature a lid with a rubber rim that seals tightly to keep your coffee beans fresh longer. They also have a switch that securely locks the hopper to the machine, preventing any spills when removing it.
Both grinders come with detachable portafilter cradles, allowing you to hold various-sized portafilters in place beneath the grind chute. The Smart Grinder Pro offers a giant cradle for commercial-grade 58-millimeter portafilters, while the smaller cradle accommodates portafilters between 50-54 millimeters, which covers most domestic espresso machines.
In addition, the Smart Grinder Pro includes a bristle brush for easy cleaning of the burrs and chute and a magnetic grinding container for convenience when grinding larger quantities. Its tray also features a magnetic slot, making it effortless to remove and clean out any stray coffee grounds.
The Dose Control Pro surprises with its unique scraper tool tucked away in its tray. This tool allows you to level out the surface of the espresso grinds in your portafilter basket, although using your finger has proven to be just as effective for many users.
When it comes to choosing between the Dose Control Pro and the Smart Grinder Pro, it ultimately depends on the level of control and additional features you desire in your coffee grinder. Both models excel in their ways, offering a wide range of grind settings and thoughtful design elements that enhance your coffee brewing experience.
Grind Quality
Consistent grind size at an affordable price
The Dose Control Pro and the Smart Grinder Pro deliver impressive results regarding grinding quality. Considering their price range, these grinders produce a consistent grind size ideal for various brewing styles.
Ideal for espresso and pour-over grinds
In particular, these grinders genuinely shine in delicate and medium grind sizes. They are well-suited for espresso and pour-over brewing methods with their excellent grind consistency.
Considerations for coarser grinds
However, the grind consistency slightly diminishes when it comes to coarser settings. When grinding at these settings, you may notice some discrepancies in the particle sizes. This can pose a challenge for brewing styles that rely on coarse grinds, such as French press, as it may result in uneven extraction and potentially a more bitter taste.
Cleaning and Maintenance
Easy to maintain and clean
Both the Dose Control Pro and the Smart Grinder Pro are designed with convenience in mind for maintenance and cleaning. You can easily remove the hopper and top burr without any tools, allowing easy access to clean the lower burrs and grind chamber.
Brushing away old grounds
While the Smart Grinder Pro comes with its brush, the Dose Control Pro does not. However, using a toothbrush can help clear out any leftover ground in both models.
Verdict
Comparable grinders with a slight difference
The Dose Control Pro and the Smart Grinder Pro are similar grinders at their core. They both feature high-quality burrs and offer a range of 60-grind settings. In terms of grind quality, they perform almost identically.
Added features and more control
However, there are a few distinguishing factors. The Smart Grinder Pro boasts a slightly more powerful motor and a stainless steel housing for enhanced durability. It also includes a helpful display screen that shows your precise settings and allows you to program and save them for future use.
Choosing between precision and affordability
While neither grinder offers the ability to dose out your grounds by weight, the Smart Grinder Pro provides greater control by allowing you to dose by both time and volume. On the other hand, the Dose Control Pro enables you to control the quantity solely by adjusting the grinder’s duration.
Ultimately, the Smart Grinder Pro is worth the slightly higher price if you prioritize precision and control. However, if you’re willing to sacrifice some of those features, the Dose Control Pro still delivers excellent grind quality for a wide range of brewing styles.
Whether you choose the Smart Grinder Pro or the Dose Control Pro, both options satisfy your coffee grinding needs. Happy Caffeinating!
