Time for yet another new grinder. I use it for french press or more lately pour-over coffee, never espresso as our espresso machine has a built-in grinder. Though I guess some day if that died and we decided to replace over a repair we could end up with something different. I've been through countless coffee grinders costing between $20 and probably around $100 over the years. They never seem to last very long. I've only ever bought mass market brands at mass market retailers. The current one is a Mr. Coffee that was about $50--it had decent reviews at the time and I decided to try something less expensive and I think we've gotten about 2 years out of this one which is actually pretty long (reading current reviews, sounds like we are one of the lucky ones.) Its never been great, just OK, creating a decent amount of fines even on a coarse setting. The problem is in the timer which has been shutting off after a second more and more frequently. Its push-to-start, and only starts when you release the button so there's way to hold it on and the situation is getting urgent.
I've been considering spending a little more this time but I'd like to stay under $250. It better hold up if I spend in that range though. I'd like a timer because who has the patience to time with a watch while waiting for morning coffee? I know they say you should do it by weight but after a few mornings I've been able to adjust the timer to grind the perfect amount consistently and a scale drives up the cost considerably. Before someone suggests it, I'm not interested in a manual grinder--again the whole work before coffee thing.