Both novice and experienced coffee lovers should be seriously considering upgrading to a burr grinder. You will find it far superior to a blade grinder.
There is a significant difference in the degree of control offered by a burr grinder. A blade grinder will simply hack at the beans randomly. In contrast, a burr grinder rotates burrs against each other. It can be adjusted by the millimeter, thereby providing much greater accuracy in controlling the grind consistency of the final result.
If this sounds appealing, then you should read our in-depth Capresso Infinity review and consider how it fulfills your needs at a very reasonable price.
Related: We picked and reviewed the Best Home Coffee Grinders, check it out.
Note: There are a few models of the Capresso coffee grinders, the one we reviewed is the basic model Capresso Conical Burr Grinder 560.01.
The Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder 560.01 Review
- 16 grind settings: It covers all the home brewing methods with 16 grind settings, from Turkish coffee to French press and anything in between.
- Low RPM: The gear reduction motor design reduces extra heat, noise, and static while grinding.
- Great Price: It delivers everything you can expect at this price level, well worth the money.
- Grind Consistency: Not perfect but good enough for making great coffee at home.
Overall Design Features
The Capresso Infinity 560 is the basic model of the infinity burr grinder series. The other models like the Infinity Plus are similar except for the housing materials and capacity. We were particularly impressed with the high-quality precise burrs and the quiet low-speed motor. But perhaps, more importantly, the understated simplicity of the design.
Burr and Motor Quality
The core of a coffee grinder is the burr and motor design, which may seem counter-intuitive, with the stainless steel conical burrs, burr grinds operating a relatively low 450 RPM. The gear reduction motor produces minimum heat generated by the friction. Lower heat results in improved retention of oil in the coffee beans. The design of the motor also results in a lower noise level when operating compared to other burr grinders.
Aesthetic Design
The aesthetics of the Infinity burr grinder may disappoint some who compare it to the high-ends grinders with their trendy appearances, but Capresso has eschewed fashion and opted for a simple classic design in either black or stainless steel, which will blend with other kitchen equipment.
Dimensions
The minimal dimensions, with a footprint of just 5″ x 7.75″, will not dominate the countertop, and the lightweight construction will make it easy to pack away in a cupboard when not required. The Infinity 560 weighs only 3 lbs, while the Infinity Plus version is slightly taller and heavier.
Capacity
The Capresso comes with a plastic hopper that can hold 8.8 oz of beans. And the grounds container holds up to 4 oz of ground coffee.
However, an issue with the Capresso Infinity Burr Grinder (and virtually every other grinder) is that the storage hopper is not the optimum location for storing coffee beans. It is clear plastic and not airtight, this allows light to destroy the delicate fragrance of the coffee, moisture to permit mold and mildew, and oxygen to replace carbon dioxide. All of which is harmful to your coffee beans. We suggest that you store your precious beans in specially designed coffee storage containers instead.
Ease of Cleaning
An important factor with any kitchen equipment is the ease of cleaning. In common with most burr grinders, the top burr can easily be removed. A toothbrush is ideal for cleaning the burrs. The aforementioned plastic hopper can be rinsed (dry thoroughly). The chute that delivers the ground coffee is a potential problem, with some grounds retention after every grind, resulting in grounds falling and slipping behind the container storing the grounds.
Additional Features
More attention has been placed on the functioning of the grinder rather than the addition of multiple additional features. They have added an auto off feature which would be expected, but other than that, Capresso is content to concentrate their efforts on high-quality burrs and motor, the parts that count, and will result in a reliable and relatively quieter operation.
Ease Of Use
The simplicity of use is the inevitable result of limited and often unwanted features. However, most of the time we just need the essential features.
The grinder also is equipped with a rotary timer control, which may or may not be accurate. You may want to test the timer settings with a digital watch.
Twisting the hopper allows users to set the size of the grind. It will stop automatically when the timer points to position 0. To manually stop the operation of the grinder, simply twist the hopper until the black dot moves past the coarse grind size markings. However, do not twist it too far, or the bean container will unlock from the body and spill beans everywhere.
Grind Consistency and Quality
Credit: Capresso.com
The efficiency and consistency of the grinding process is the core of the functionality of the coffee grinder. The grinder can be set in a range extending from 300 to 1200 microns to allow the user to grind coffee for a range of brewing devices. It organized the grind settings into four individual categories including Extra Fine, Fine, Regular and Coarse, which is very intuitive.
Within each of these broad categories, the user can fine-tune to four settings, increasing the total choice to 16 grind settings. It seems like a disadvantage when comparing with its competitor Baratza Encore, which has 40 grind settings. However, it’s more than enough for casual home brewing.
We must remember that the Capresso is an entry level grinder, and it has to be said that it fails to be perfectly consistent with the selected grind. This is increasingly apparent with The extreme setting of super-coarse and super-fine. Apart from the extreme settings, it is accurate enough to produce a grind that will produce a good cup of coffee.
It’s consistent enough, though, for the first-time users who probably migrated from blade grinders, which will not be anywhere as consistent as the Capresso. A Burr Grinder is by its very nature superior to the blade grinder.
Durability
The key components of the grinder, the low RPM Motor, and the steel burrs, far exceed what you would typically expect from a grinder at this price range. Consequently, the expectation is that the machine itself should have a long life. The housing and hopper, made from ABS plastic, is going to be far less durable, and I would expect that accidents are more likely to destroy this Capresso burr grinder than mechanical failure.
However, with regular cleaning, careful use, and sensible storage of the appliance, you could expect this to last for five years or more. Capresso provides a 12-month guarantee.
Value for Money
In this Infinity grinder review, there has been some criticism of it. But now we have to place that into context. At a sub $100 price-tag, the grinder is regarded as the best value electric burr grinder. Any inadequacy pointed out in this machine must be balanced with the price. It would be tough indeed to find a grinder that produces both better quality and a consistent grind without spending substantially more.
Any Alternative?
In the entry-level electric burr grinders zone, the Baratza Encore will provide a more consistent grind, which has 40 grind settings, also equipped with the gear reduction motor. It’s super popular in the burr grinder market. If you don’t have a very strict budget, you can also consider Baratza Encore. Here is the detailed Baratza Encore coffee grinder review. Also, check out the Baratza Encore Vs. Capresso Infinity, we compared them in detail.
If you are on a strict budget but still want to start grinding fresh beans using an electric burr grinder, you can consider the Cuisinart DBM-8 Supreme Grind. It uses a ceramic block burr instead of a stainless steel conical burr, which is not as consistent as Baratza Encore and Capresso Infinity, but still way better than the blade grinders. It’s a more affordable choice. Here is our review of the Cuisinart DBM-8 Supreme Grind Automatic Burr Mill.
The Verdict – It’s a budget entry-level burr grinder option
The Capresso Infinity Coffee Grinder is a Smart Buy for someone looking for an entry-level burr grinder with an inherent quality and will last well. If functionality is more important than aesthetics, then you can confidently buy this grinder. Capresso has spent money on improving the motor and the Burrs and saved money by not investing in adding questionable functionality.
The 16 grind settings do produce acceptable consistency for most of the home brewing methods like AeroPress, Pour Over, and French Press. Any failure to do so would probably not even be noticed by a novice coffee grinder. Overall it is a definite “thumbs up” for the Capresso Infinity Coffee Grinder.
FAQ About The Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder
There are five models of the grinder available. The differences between the Infinity and Infinity Plus are the housing material, dimensions, weight and capacity. The burr and motor are the same in the Infinity product lines.
The Capresso Infinity 560.01 (560.04) – This is the one we reviewed (the basic model), with the black ABS plastic housing, while the 560.04 has stainless finish.
The Capresso Infinity 565 – Same as the 560 but has a zinc die-cast housing. Much more heavy-duty.
The Capresso Infinity Plus (570 & 575) – 11oz hopper, 1 to 12 cup selector, you can buy it in black plastic (570.01) or Stainless Steel 575.05 (Zinc-Die Cast body)
Yes, it will grind fine enough for Espresso Coffee if you choose the finest option. It works well for the pressurized portafilter, however, you don’t have more flexibility for making the adjustment.
Capresso Infinity can produce super fine grinds at the finest setting, it can make Turkish coffee as advertises. However, some people might find it a little bit coarser than expected. Overall it can produce fine enough coffee grounds for making Turkish coffee.
Like so many similar items, the Capresso Infinity coffee grinders are made in China.
The timer is quite confusing and hard to understand at first. The numbers do not seem to have a value in seconds. Start with a high number and then gradually try lower numbers until you find the ideal setting, then stick with that number. But we suggest you weigh the coffee beans on a scale before putting them into the hopper for precision grinding.
Static electricity often results in the fine ground coffee clinging to the plastic. It is not a fault with the machine, it is simply the laws of physics. However, if you tap the plastic much of the light groud coffee will fall.
