The Smart Grinder Pro replaced the original Breville Smart Grinder with more grind settings and better espresso performance. Here's exactly what changed and which one to buy.
Breville is a dependable name for any coffee devotee. The brand is known for manufacturing that is tech-centered for a seamless user experience.
Breville understands coffee and they understand one of the fundamental rules for superior coffee-making:
“Sixty grind settings, a pause button and true espresso fineness out of the box. The Pro fixed what the original got wrong.”
You can only make the perfect cup of coffee or espresso by using freshly ground beans optimized for your favorite extraction method.
The Final Shot: The Breville Smart Grinder Pro (BCG820) is the clear winner. It offers far more grind settings, grinds fine enough for espresso without modification, and adds a pause function. The original Smart Grinder (BCG800) has been discontinued, so the Pro is also the only one you can buy new.
Grind consistency should be a prime concern.
Both the Breville Smart Grinder and Breville Smart Grinder Pro offer professional grind quality that is calibrated to your dosing needs.
While both models are offered in the same product line by Breville, there are distinct differences that make each model stand out.
This review will highlight the key features of both grinders and explain the important differences between the two.
The BCG820 Smart Grinder Pro looks almost identical to the BCG800 Smart Grinder it replaced, but the changes inside make a real difference, especially for espresso.
These grinders are known as “smart” grinders, named to draw attention to the convenient digital interface. What else would you expect from Breville?
The machines are also smart in how they calibrate settings to your needs. As you change the grind settings for the beans you are using, both machines will adjust the doses automatically. Their upgraded dosing controls and auto-dosing scheme digitally calibrates each and every grinding session on the fly.
These grinders are fabricated with a shiny brushed stainless steel outer casing to match Breville’s beautiful high-end line of espresso machines. Both are offered in multiple color options including red, black and silver.
They both include the nice, air-tight, 1 pound bean hopper sealed with a hook. The bean hopper is removable and easy to use for storing beans. The airtight hopper is specially designed to safeguard the freshness of the beans.
Both grinders feature a bright LCD display, providing information on all available relevant options, like grind volume and coarseness. It’s incredibly helpful to be able to clearly see your grind settings, amount, and the number of shots or cups. The controls are also pretty simple.
In terms of functionality, both grinders are similar: both use stainless steel conical burrs.
An adjustable dial at the right side of the machine is used for adjustment for finer grinds or coarser grinds. They also come with a catch container that comes in handy when you are grinding for drip or French press. It is also extremely helpful for any overspill and it is removable for easy cleaning.
Both the grinders do come with portaholders; one large 58mm portafilter cradle and one smaller 54mm for Breville portafilters. This is a great feature you should always look for in a grinder if you’re a frequent espresso drinker.
Because these Breville coffee grinders feature nearly identical designs, they do have all of the same issues with maintenance. Very frequent cleaning is required for both of them. It is not wise to use oily beans frequently because they can gum up the machine. Unfortunately, some parts are a little hard to get to, for example, the grind chute.
Despite all the great features they come with, neither machine is able to save grind options for varied brewing methods.
Noise levels are typical for conical burr grinders: not silent, but quieter than most blade grinders.
The most significant improvement of the Pro is its ability to grind fine enough for espresso.
The Pro no longer requires twisting or adjusting to yield the special fine grind needed for espresso. You are able to calibrate for finer grinds in the regular settings dial. No more tinkering required for single-walled, non-pressurized portafilters.
On the Pro you are also able to fine tune in the internal burr for additional 35 more grind settings.
While BCG800XL has a moderate 25 grind settings, the BCG820 Pro features a massive 60 grind settings for a wider range of coarseness. The combination of these 60 settings allows you to manipulate your settings with pinpoint accuracy, helping you to obtain the perfect shot. This grinder is digitally enhanced to give you maximum flexibility and consistency with your grinds.
BCG800XL Smart Grinder doesn’t include a ‘pause’ option to halt the grind mid-flow. It features a standard start/stop button. In the case of BCG820 Pro, you can pause grinding and then resume whenever you want. You can also cancel the operation with the same button if you aren’t happy with the grind and want to adjust.
This makes grinding super-efficient. You can examine the grind anytime in the process so you can be sure that you are getting the results you need and your coffee beans are not wasted.
Its dose adjustment lets you fine-tune grind time in 0.2-second increments, and you can program the number of shots or cups for repeatable doses.
The original BCG800's biggest shortcoming was that it struggled to grind fine enough for non-pressurized espresso baskets. Breville offered owners a shim kit to fix this, and the Pro solved it from the factory.
In terms of shape and form, the Breville BCG820 Pro is relatively standard. The product has a size of 8.5” x 6.2” x 15.2”. The BCG800XL has the dimensions of 8.2 x 6 x 15.5 inches. The BCG820 Pro weighs 6.4 pounds which are a little bit heavier than the BCG800 Smart Grinder (6 pounds).
The original Smart Grinder is discontinued, so you'll only find it used. The Smart Grinder Pro remains one of the best-value espresso-capable grinders and is frequently on sale.
Both the Breville BCG800XL and BCG820XL Pro offer a professional quality grind with an appealing design that upholds the high standards of the Breville brand.
While they are considered consumer grade grinders, these grinders come with many of the bells and whistles that you would find on a commercial grinder.
The Smart Grinder Pro definitely wins this match-up thanks to its wider grind range and true espresso capability. If you're considering a used BCG800, make sure it has the shim kit installed, but for most people, a new Smart Grinder Pro is the smarter buy.
