We put the Amzchef conical burr espresso grinder through its paces — unboxing, dialing in, and pulling real shots. Here's everything you need to know before adding it to your cart.
If you've been hunting for a capable espresso grinder without spending hundreds of dollars, the Amzchef coffee grinder keeps popping up in budget home-barista circles — and for good reason. With 75 grinding settings, a stainless steel conical burr, and portafilter holders that fit the three most common basket sizes, it punches well above its price tag on paper. But does it deliver in the cup?
View Credit: @Usama in Canada
What's in the box
The outer packaging is straightforward — a basic box with specs printed on the back. Inside you'll find a secondary cardboard box housing the grinder itself along with all the accessories. It's not glamorous, but when the price is this low, functional packaging is perfectly acceptable.
Included accessories: the grinder unit, a grind carrier (the catch bin you grind directly into), a bean hopper, and a tap-to-clean top piece that helps dislodge grounds stuck in the burr chamber. The product guide covers component names, startup steps, and maintenance tips.
"I really like the black and the gold — it goes beautifully with my coffee setup. Even as a showpiece just sitting on the table, it's beautiful."
First impressions: build & aesthetics
Out of the box, this coffee grinder makes a surprisingly strong visual impression. The matte black housing paired with gold accents feels premium for the price point. The locking mechanism on the burr assembly is a genuine quality-of-life feature. It snaps open easily for cleaning without fumbling with screws.
The grind timer and start button sit on the right-hand side, and the built-in LED light illuminates the bean hopper. A practical touch that helps you monitor bean levels. The burrs look well-machined and the overall construction feels solid rather than plasticky.
The dial-in process
Using approximately 18 g of freshly roasted beans from a local roaster, the grinder was put straight to work. With 75 grind settings, there's plenty of room to dial in for espresso specifically. Here's how the first two attempts played out:
The second shot — ground finer, tamped properly, and dosed with the portafilter in place — came out with excellent crema and a balanced flavor profile. The 30-second extraction at roughly a 1:2 yield is right in the sweet spot for most espresso styles.
Anti-static & the WDT workaround
The espresso grinder does include an anti-static feature, but real-world testing shows it's more of a marketing checkbox than a genuine solution. Static clinging and ground clumping were still present enough to warrant using a WDT (Weiss Distribution Tool) before tamping. This is standard practice for budget grinders in this class — nothing to be alarmed about, but worth knowing if you're expecting a static-free workflow out of the box.
Step-by-step: how to get your best shot
- Pair with an unpressurized portafilter basket for the cleanest espresso flavor — a pressurized basket masks grind inconsistencies.
- Use the tap-to-clean button after every session to purge lingering grounds from the burr chamber.
- The built-in grind light is helpful for low-light kitchen setups — a small but appreciated detail.
- Give it 2–3 "seasoning" runs with cheap beans before dialing in your good roast.
Final verdict
For the price point, the conical burr grinder delivers where it matters most: grind consistency and shot quality. It won't replace a Niche Zero, but for a first serious espresso grinder, it's an outstanding value that upgrade from a blade grinder. The black-and-gold design is genuinely attractive, the 75-step adjustment range gives you real dialing flexibility, and the multi-size portafilter holders make it compatible with most home machines.
The anti-static feature is the one area where expectations should be managed. Keep a WDT tool nearby and you'll have no issues. Also consider upgrading to an unpressurized basket (available cheaply on AliExpress) to get the most out of the grinder's capabilities.
