Breville built the Smart Grinder Pro conical burr grinder around a digital dose timer: you pick shots or cups, the grinder runs for a set time, and it stops. It has 60 grind settings from espresso to French press, hardened stainless steel conical burrs and cradles that hold a 50 to 54 mm or 58 mm portafilter under the outlet. Breville sells it for $199.95 on its US store.
What is the Breville Smart Grinder Pro?
It is Breville's electric burr grinder with a backlit LCD screen and a programmable timer, sold as the Smart Grinder Pro, model BCG820. The screen shows the grind setting, the grind size, the number of shots or cups and the current grind time. A Grind Size dial on the side picks one of 60 settings, a Grind Amount dial changes the dose, a SHOTS | CUPS button sets the quantity and a START | PAUSE | CANCEL button runs it.
The housing and the burrs are both stainless steel. Breville describes the burrs as hardened and conical, with a removable and adjustable upper burr, and the hopper locks onto the body with a quarter turn. A grinding chamber is there to cut static before the grounds drop out, and Breville lists a portafilter activation switch, so pressing a portafilter into the cradle can start the grind. You can also grind into the included grinds container, a gold tone filter basket or a paper filter.
Breville Smart Grinder Pro specs
| Burrs | Hardened stainless steel conical, removable adjustable upper burr |
|---|---|
| Settings | 60, from the finest espresso to the coarsest French press grind |
| Dosing | Digital timer, adjustable in 0.2 second steps, 1 to 5 shots or 1 to 12 cups |
| Bean hopper | 18 oz on the product page, 1 lb in the manual |
| Power | 165 W, 110 to 120 V |
| Size | 8.5 x 6.3 x 15.3 in (W x D x H) |
| Weight | 6.39 lb (2.9 kg) |
| In the box | Two portafilter cradles (50 to 54 mm and 58 mm), grinds container with lid and cap, cleaning brush |
| Warranty | 1 year limited |
Breville does not publish a burr diameter, a burr speed, a noise level, a retention figure or a country of manufacture for this grinder, so none of those are claimed here. Breville states the hopper size two ways, 18 oz on the product page and 1 lb in the manual, which is about 510 g and 454 g.
How the Breville Smart Grinder Pro grind settings and dosing work
The 60 settings are grouped by brew method in the manual's coffee chart. Settings 1 to 30 are the espresso range, 31 to 45 are for drip, 46 to 54 are for filter and percolator, and 55 to 60 are for French press. With dual wall filters Breville suggests starting around setting 30 and moving from there, which puts the espresso range at the fine end of the dial.
The dose is set by time, not by weight. The manual says the grind amount for all coffee types is controlled by a digital timer. Each brew method has a default time, you turn the Grind Amount dial to lengthen or shorten it, and each click changes the time by 0.2 of a second. Holding the PROGRAM dial stores your own time for the shots or cups selection you are on, and holding the SHOTS | CUPS button until the long beep resets the default. With the portafilter cradle in place the maximum is 2 shots.
The extra range comes from the upper burr. The manual describes an adjustable upper burr that extends the grind range for coffees that need a finer or coarser result than the main dial reaches, and it recommends making only one adjustment at a time. Maintenance is a matter of removing the hopper, lifting the upper burr out and brushing it with the supplied cleaning brush. Breville's rule that this is a whole bean grinder applies here too: it is built only for whole roasted beans.
Two housekeeping features are in the manual. The grinder powers itself down to standby after 5 minutes of non-use and wakes on any button press, and an automatic thermal safety shut-off protects the motor from overheating.
Breville Smart Grinder Pro vs Baratza Encore ESP
Both cost $199.95 on their makers' US stores, and both are electric conical burr grinders aimed at espresso as well as filter. The Baratza Encore ESP publishes more numbers: 40 mm steel burrs, 40 settings, a 300 g hopper, a 70 W motor and a 550 RPM burr speed. It has no timer, so you hold a pulse button and judge the dose yourself.
The Smart Grinder Pro answers that with a timer and 60 settings, plus a screen and a portafilter cradle. What it does not publish is a burr size, a speed or a noise figure, so the specs alone cannot say which grinder has the larger burrs. If a repeatable timed dose matters more to you than published burr figures, that is the difference to weigh.
Breville Smart Grinder Pro vs Baratza Virtuoso+
The Baratza Virtuoso+ sits at $249.95 and also has a timer, with 0.1 second resolution, and 40 mm burrs with 40 settings. The Breville costs $50 less on the makers' US stores, offers 60 settings and times in 0.2 second steps, and its hopper is larger by the maker's own figures at about 510 g against 300 g. The Baratza is the one that tells you its burr diameter.
Is the Breville Smart Grinder Pro worth it?
At $199.95 you get 60 settings, a timer you can program and a design that grinds directly into a portafilter, which is the feature set of grinders that usually cost more. The compromises are on the information side. There is no published burr size, no noise figure, no retention figure and only a 1 year warranty, and the dose is by time, so a change of bean or roast means resetting the timer. Nobody has tested the grinder for this page, so there is no claim here about how even the grind is or how loud it runs.
Value for a grinder like this depends on how often you change beans and brew methods. Someone who switches between espresso and filter will use the 60 settings and the stored timers. Someone who brews one thing every day gets less from them. If you are comparing models more widely, the grinder category lists every grinder with its figures side by side.
Who should buy the Breville Smart Grinder Pro (and who should not)
It suits a home brewer who wants one grinder for espresso, drip and French press, and who likes setting a time and pressing a button. The cradles for 50 to 54 mm and 58 mm portafilters make it easy to pair with most home espresso machines, and the 18 oz hopper means you are not refilling it every day.
It is a weaker fit if you want to grind by weight, since there is no built-in scale, or if you want a single dose workflow, since the hopper is fixed and holds a pound of beans. Buyers who want burr size and noise published before they spend should look at maker pages that state them.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many grind settings does the Breville Smart Grinder Pro have?
It has 60 settings. Settings 1 to 30 are the espresso range and 55 to 60 are for French press, with drip and filter in between.
Can the Breville Smart Grinder Pro grind for espresso?
Yes. The manual lists espresso as settings 1 to 30, the cradles hold 50 to 54 mm and 58 mm portafilters, and it can grind up to 2 shots with the cradle fitted.
Does it have a built-in scale?
No. Breville says the grind amount is controlled by a digital timer, adjustable in 0.2 second steps, not by weight.
How big is the bean hopper?
Breville's product page says 18 oz and the manual says 1 lb, about 510 g and 454 g. The hopper locks onto the grinder with a quarter turn and can be removed to transfer beans.
What is the warranty?
Breville lists a 1 year limited warranty on the product page.
What size burrs does it use?
Breville describes them as hardened stainless steel conical burrs but does not publish a diameter.
