Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I am not a coffee expert, but I do enjoy my lattes (made at home on an espresso machine). I was reasonably happy with my Krups blade grinder, but thought I'd give a burr grinder a try. I couldn't really find an electric one that "spoke" to me, so thought I'd give a manual one a try (primarily because it was quite a bit cheaper and I only have 1 latte a day so don't need anything to process for a crowd). First impressions of the JavaPresse: - It was smaller than I expected (but that doesn't bother me). - It wasn't as solid as I thought it would be, but it's solid enough (doesn't feel cheap or tinny). - There were a couple of small (½") scratches on the front plastic window. :-( - The lid WAS hard to get off, but once accomplished, it now comes off/goes on perfectly fine. Same with the base. - The grind adjustment button is not terribly decisive. It does click, but there seems to be a lot of play in between clicks. I'm not sure if it's supposed to do that, or if mine is faulty. - The brief instruction sheet included is easy to understand. As for the grinding: - I followed the instructions and added 10 beans to define my preferred grind. I made one adjustment, to slightly finer. - My Krups blade grinder seemed to do a good job at the consistency of the grind, and the JavaPresse did so as well. I did seem to think that the beans felt fresher, more moist, and less "abused" by the JavaPresse. - What I wasn't expecting, was the surprisingly satisfying CRUNCH of the beans being ground! The difference between the scream of the blade grinder and the soothing crunch of the JavaPresse is remarkable and QUITE enjoyable! - I'm a "senior" and had no trouble manually grinding the beans in the JavaPresse. It did not take a great deal of time or strength (I will admit that I put a rubber jar opener on the counter and placed the JavaPresse on that as I ground. That kept it from sliding around) and the handle stayed attached (I was thinking it might pop off during grinding. It didn't). - Another surprising benefit of the JavaPresse was that I didn't have to spoon the grounds out of a staticy grinder, into the portafilter (that makes a fair mess on occasion). The JavaPresse ground bean holding tube fit perfectly into my portafilter. With just a couple taps, the grounds landed smoothly and cleanly into the portafilter. The "taste test": - Years ago, I used to use coffee pre-ground by the coffee store. Then I went to the Krups blade grinder and ground my own. I didn't notice a huge difference (I always bought in small quantities for freshness), but after using the manual JavaPresse, I now understand what the coffee "snobs" are talking about! Without all of the heat from the electric grinder, I tasted SO much more flavor from my beans! It was truly a great cup of coffee! So all in all, I'm quite happy and pleasantly surprised with the JavaPresse, would buy it again, and would recommend it to friends and family.