Review: Bezzera BB005 Espresso Coffee Grinder 

Hey Anarchsis, BUBBA for the win!!! Great choice for an entry-level machine grade grinder. Marc

Hi Johnny, Thanks for the kind comment - will do! Marc

Hi Jonas, Thanks for sharing your experience. The BB005 pairs well with the Gaggia. Here's a link to an exploded diagram of the grinder. The burr assembly diagram is on the last page of the pdf: s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/img.web.mdsnet.it/bezzera/allegati_articoli/5cb6f5ca43b2d_BB005%209942045.06%20GB%20ed07.14%20rev00.pdf IMO cleaning of this type of grinder probably best done using a product like Urnex Grindz: www.wholelattelove.com/products/urnex-grindz-grinder-cleaner-15-2oz-bottle Marc

@@Wholelattelovepage wow, thanks for the great help, appreciate it!

Hi SO, Thanks for the comment and question. I don't have a great way of measuring the dead space. Assuming you are referring to retention. IMO it's similar to other grinders with this type of design. Marc

HI AA, Thanks for the comment. We will make a vote!

Hi DA, Thanks for the comment - nothing wrong with your Eureka! Just did a review of 3 Eureka brew grinders last week including the Filtro a manual brew focused grinder. Marc

@@Wholelattelovepage Mark we wish we had a team like you in europe . You are legendary !

Hi J, Thanks for the comment. Sorry I did not make an espresso from the grind - next time! While I'm not a fan of plastic parts I believe it's of the high strength variety and very durable. @Jonas says in another comment he's been using for 5 years with a Gaggia Classic and has never been disappointed. Marc

It has a plastic worm gear??

Hey A, Love the Bubba! Thanks for the feedback! Marc

Hi SEGE, Given that choice I'd go with the Faustino. The BB005 is an entry level conical burr machine grade grinder. The Faustino is more $$ but a real step up w/50mm flat burrs, much nicer materials and design aesthetic. Marc

Hi JG, Thanks for taking me up on my offer! I expect you will hear more from us on Quick Mill machines. We've carried for years as DS and they were a lower volume brand. We're direct shipping QM now. Marc

Hi CH, Thanks for the question. The need to weigh depends on how particular you are. When I'm tasting/evaluating I always weigh and use brew ratios. Same when working with high-end specialty coffees. If I'm pulling shots for a flat white with classic Italian style bean blends fill and swipe works just fine. Marc

Hi Enzo, Thanks for the history! I've mentioned the logo/emblem origin in some other Bezzera videos I've done. When in Milan a couple of years ago I visited the Castle and saw for myself after spending a day with Luca Bezzara at their manufacturing facility. Marc

@@Wholelattelovepage Bezerra are new to me so great to see the emblem on these machines. It's awesome you have been to Milan to see for yourself, best wishes!

Check out the Eureka Facile grinder. Silenzio specs (minus dose timing) for about the same price as the Bezerra

Hi MF, Thanks for the question. Silenzio is more ~+$150 in price for the colors. If budget not a consideration I'd go with the Silenzio. It's a quieter grinder and uses a 50mm flat burr vs. 48mm conical in the BB005. You are correct in burr size vs the Sette. Marc

Hi Curtis, Thanks for the question and your patronage. The BB005 will work well with your machine and is the best value in a machine grade grinder. Sette Wi is a marvel with it's incredible weight based grinding. Big difference is the Sette is an appliance grade product. Sette is faster and louder. It has better distribution of grinds IMO - nice and fluffy and centered. It is prone to static especially in low humidity environment. And the Wi has higher price. After initial break-in you will need to shim the burrs of the Sette. Not a big deal and it comes with the shims. Also has felt friction ring between the macro and micro adjustment rings that is a wear part and will need replacement at some point. It's a $1 part and easy to do. Hope that helps! Marc

@@Wholelattelovepage Marc, can I beg one more question? If I wanted a grinder that was as good as the Sette, but minus the scale, what would your recommendations be? Would it be cheaper than the Sette WI? Any thoughts would be appreciated. I have money to spend at Whole Latte Love and it is burning a hole in my pocket. I also have latte rewards to redeem!!! :) How about the Sette 270 (without the WI)?

Hi Ali, Thanks for the question. The 270Wi is more expensive than the BB005 and performance wise I'd prefer using it to the BB005. It distributes fluffy grinds perfectly into a PF. The BB005 is a better build quality as the Sette uses a lot of plastic. Day to day the Sette is easier and louder to use. It's also faster at grinding. It will be stressed with heavy use due to it's construction.

Hey CGG, The BB005 Can work with your BZ10 as an entry level machine grade grinder. If you want something better I'd strongly consider going with a flat burr grinder with burrs at least 55mm or larger to avoid upgraditis! The BB005 uses a 48mm conical burr. The Ceado E5Pro: www.wholelattelove.com/products/ceado-e5-pro-espresso-grinder is a 64mm flat burr grinder with impressive build quality and a great choice. It has no timed presets so it's a manual on demand grinder. If you want timed presets the Ceado E6P is the same grinder but with timing. Might also have a look at the Eureka Mignon grinders. There are some 55mm flat burr with timing in that line like this one: www.wholelattelove.com/products/eureka-mignon-specialita-16cr-in-matte-black They are compact and near (but not quite) the Ceado build quality. Hope that helps! Marc

@@Wholelattelovepage thanks so much!

Hi E, Yes it is suitable - compared to others it's at the good value end of things. Marc

Hi Paul, First, Thanks for your patronage! Bubba (BB005) or Facile is a tough call. Your Technivorm is covered well by the Mignon Filtro and The Facile would look cool IMO sitting next to it - they'd be nearly identical twins. If sound/noise is a concern the Facile is a bit quieter than Bubba. On the other hand Bubba does have some basic timing functions while the Facile has none. I'd give a very slight edge to Bubba for precision of grind size adjustment. Burr size is about the same on both but it's conical burrs in Bubba and flats in the Facile. In general, flat burrs are preferred for espresso grinding but most users are unlikely to detect meaningful differences in espresso quality between the burr types. If you think you might use basic timing functions go with Bubba. If you like the coordinated look and appreciate a little less noise go Facile. Hope that helps! Marc

Hi Emily, Not surprising you are stuck. Both are decent quality grinders at a similar price. for easy access here's a link to a side by side spec comparison of the grinders: www.wholelattelove.com/pages/compare?products=NDgyMDAzOTM2ODc1OCw0NjM4NDM0Mjk1ODYy A couple of key differences beyond the BB005 being louder. The Facile uses a 50mm flat burr while the BB005 uses a 48mm conical burr. Most espresso pros prefer flat burrs but IMO not a major difference in grind quality between the 2. As you're aware, the BB005 does timed grinding but it's approximate while the Facile is totally on demand. So it's push to grind release to stop. IMO the Facile is a little less messy than the BB005 which has a wider spout dumping into a PF. If it's an issue it's fairly easy to solve with a short dosing funnel like this: www.wholelattelove.com/products/asso-coffee-short-dosing-ring Hope that helps! Marc

Hey Joe, Thanks for the question. The Sette is rather loud with its grind straight thru design! Both grinders use a similarly sized conical burr although the Sette's burr is a little different in that it pulls beans in rather than being mostly gravity fed. With the pull in, the Sette grinds much faster than the BB005. It's also far more accurate dose to dose with timed grinding. The timing on the BB005 is a bit arbitrary with no actual time setting just the dial which does control grind time but not in seconds. Grind quality is similar but the Sette has better distribution into a PF. The BB005 is not nearly as loud as the Sette but a bit louder than grinders in Eureka's Mignon line which cost a lot more and use flat burrs. The BB005 has very precise stepless grind size adjustment but no reference as to the grind setting while the Sette has markigs on th macro and micro grind size adjustment. Also a big difference in build quality. The Sette is what I consider appliance grade with lots of plastic used in construction and a couple of wear parts like the friction ring between the macro/micro setting dials and the Sette has to be shimmed after some use to return fine grind size adjustment range. Hope that helps! Marc

@@Wholelattelovepage thanks Marc appreciate the help. I have been playing around with a bunch of flat burr grinders like the mignon and the ceado e37j and I feel like the sette was always producing better tasting shots with a bit more brightness where the others seemed possibly higher extracted but also seemed to produce more bitter shots. Do you think if I upgraded the burrs to ssp 64mm I would possibly get better tasting shots?

Hey EJ, Thanks for the comment. Yes, a very affordable entry into machine grade build grinding! Marc

Hi j, Thanks for the question. It's strictly 110 and cannot switch between EU/US power. Marc

Hi JS, Yes, this grinder can be used for that type of machine. Could used with a pressurized filter basket as well - it's just a bit of overkill for that purpose unless one was planning a machine upgrade. Marc

Hi KZ, The Vario although not truly stepless has the accuracy needed for precise small adjustments.

Hi EJ, Thanks for the question. Timing adjustment is continuously variable. However reference marks on the knob do not correspond perfectly to actual times. Marc

@@Wholelattelovepage cheers Marc appreciate it!

LOl

Hi A, No problem. It could work. Marc

Hi Jimi, Thanks for the question. The BB005 is a budget friendly machine grade grinder. But, it's not one I'd recommend for lighter roasted single origin specialty coffees. It can work for those but the Specialita is a better choice. A couple of reasons for that. First, the burrs. The vast majority of high-end espresso focused grinders use flat burrs. IMO the conical vs. flat confusion comes from those using conical burr grinders in commercial cafes. It's what they've used so they opine it's best and have little or no experience with flat burr grinders. Second, Although the BB005 is a machine grade grinder it's at the entry-level of that category. It uses a lower power motor of less than 1amp compared to a 2.2 amp motor in the Specialita. The lighter roasted single origin beans tend to be more dense/harder than lower grown beans. Over time this will stress the lower power motor. Overall, the Specialita will produce a better grind quality IMO. It's much easier to use with the timed presets or manual grinding and will be less stressed with your harder beans than the BB005. Hope that helps! Marc

Hi Jeff, Thanks for the question. As far as I know the BB004 is only available in a doser version. Over the last decade or so doser grinders have gone to a very small percentage of sales in US market compared to doserless grinders. Marc

Hi H, Thanks for the question. Sette uses a 40mm conical burr. The BB005 uses 48mm conical. How they operate is a bit different. In Sette the top outer bur spins and the inner burr is stationary. It's the other way around in the BB005. Sette grinds faster and louder due to a grind straight through design. Marc

@@Wholelattelovepage also is this or any of the settes ceramic burrs

Hi TP, Thanks for the question. It's right here: www.wholelattelove.com/collections/pro-brewing/products/asso-coffee-short-dosing-ring Marc

Hi nick, Thanks for the question. The BB005 uses a 48mm conical burr. Full specs on the grinder available here: www.wholelattelove.com/products/bezzera-bb005-automatic-grinder Marc

Hi KA, Thanks for the question. The hopper is removable but there's no stopper so not very useful for bean changing. Marc

@@Wholelattelovepage Thank you!

Hi GS, Well you hit the obvious difference. Others: Sette 40mm conical burr. BB005 48mm burr. Neither grinder is quiet but Sette is measurably louder. 270 has 3 timed grinding presets to 0.1 second. BB005 has a single preset with lose accuracy. Sette does major grind size changes quickly. BB005 is super precise w/worm gear but big grind size changes take forever to make. Sette can grind into bin. It's pretty much PF only with BB005. Sette as wear parts which will wear out not the case with BB005. Marc

I had my concerns at first too but next to my Gaggia CC it suits very well. Has that classic look to it. Also the back of the grinder has a really nice looking brand badge on it

Hi JV, Thanks for sharing your experience! Marc

Hi SM, Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! Marc

@@Wholelattelovepage this is true!