Urbanic 080 60mm Grinder Review

The Urbanic 080 is the brother to the highly successful 070 grinder, with a twist. This grinder, unlike the 070, has stepless grinding. In addition to that, it offers very fast grinding, a decent build quality, good ergonomics, and most important it provides a good fluffy grind for espresso extractions.

Specifications

The 080 exhibits the following specifications:

– 60mm flat burrs (stainless steel or titanium for $30 more)

– 300 gram bean hopper

– 250 Watt motor

– 4.95 kg in weight, 120 x 235 x 395mm

– Handmade in Korea

Pros & Cons

This grinder really offers a lot of advantages for its price. It is small and handy, but packs a big punch for its size. It grinds espresso in fluffy mounds, and fast – about 2 grams per second. That makes it nearly twice as fast as my Eureka Specialita. It is also extremely easy to clean. Just remove the two screws in the front, remove the dial plate, and the front burr comes out on a spring, exposing the internals for easy cleaning. Finally, it is the most economical grinder I know of, with 60mm burrs.

As for what could be improved, I would like to see the dial oriented differently, and with a better indicator. It is not that easy to see where one is dialed in. Also, there is a medium amount of retention in the shoot, however this is a common thread with most grinders which are not designed for single dosing.

All in all, this is a nice grinder, hand made in Korea, and takes care of its workload quickly and with ease.