Capresso Infinity Review
Pros: Relatively inexpensive, decently quiet
Cons: Poor grind consistency for a burr model, chute hangs onto a lot of grinds
Manufacturer: Capresso
Our Verdict
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 This Product
Capresso Infinity | |||||
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| Awards |  | ||||
| Price | $100 List $99.95 at Amazon | $100 List $99.95 at Amazon | $25 List $22.99 at Amazon | Check Price at Amazon | $40 List $29.99 at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Pros | Relatively inexpensive, decently quiet | Good grind consistency, relatively inexpensive | Relatively clean and easy to use, quieter than most blade models | Inexpensive, small footprint | Cheaper than a burr model, very little spillage |
| Cons | Poor grind consistency for a burr model, chute hangs onto a lot of grinds | Somewhat loud, can make a mess | Produces inconsistent grinds | Inconsistant grind-sizes, heavy static | More expensive than many other blade models, inconsistent grinds |
| Bottom Line | Offers burr technology on the cheap, but falls short of being a good value overall | Excellent performance and one of the best values on the market make this a great choice | One of the better blade models on the market, but definitely don't expect it to produce consistent grinds | A basic burr grinder one-step above a blade grinder, providing mediocre grind consistency | A standard blade model that may be a bit more expensive than many are hoping |
| Rating Categories | Capresso Infinity | Bodum Bistro | Mr. Coffee 12 Cup E... | Krups GX500050 | KitchenAid Blade |
| Grind Consistency (35%) | |||||
| Cleanliness (25%) | |||||
| User Friendliness (25%) | |||||
| Noise (15%) | |||||
| Specs | Capresso Infinity | Bodum Bistro | Mr. Coffee 12 Cup E... | Krups GX500050 | KitchenAid Blade |
| Grinding Mechanism | Conical burr | Conical burr | Blade | Flat burr | Blade |
| Burr/Blade Material | Stainless steel | Stainless steel | Stainless steel | Metallic | Stainless steel |
| Dosing Mechanism | Timer | Timer | Timer | Timer | Manual |
| Best Brew Application | Pour over | Pour over, french press | Pour over, french press | Pour over, french press | Pour over, french press |
| Dimensions | 14.6" x 9.6" x 7.8" | 7.6" x 7.1" x 12.5" | 5" x 5" x 9" | 4.29" x 7.24" x 10.4" | 7.1" x 4.1" x 3.7" |
| Weight | 4 lbs | 3.2 lbs | 1.7 lbs | 3.2 lbs | 2.6 lbs |
| Cup Material | Plastic | Plastic | Plastic, metal | Plastic | Metal |
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Capresso Infinity isn't a bad grinder, but in our opinion, it fails to find a meaningful niche for itself in the current market. Other inexpensive burr models do a significantly better job, and there are much less expensive blade models that aren't too far off from the Infinity's performance.
Performance Comparison
Likes
The only thing we would say we really like about the Infinity is the fact that the noise it makes is a bit less offensive than the squeals of most of the other lower-priced burr grinders on the market. It registered just 83 decibels on our noise meter, making it one of the quieter models of the bunch. The pitch it emits is a bit lower than that of most comparable models as well, so the overall sound is a bit less grating. The pitch undulates a bit, which makes the noise more noticeable, but it never verges into full-on annoying territory.
Dislikes
Our biggest qualm with the Infinity is its grind consistency. You would both hope and expect that a burr grinder would be a step up in terms of grind consistency when compared to any blade grinder. While the Infinity is a step up from all the blade models we tested, it's only by a small degree.
The biggest problem with the grind consistency is its propensity to create fine coffee dust (often referred to as fines). These fines expose more surface area to water and cause the water to move through the grinds more slowly, leading to over-extraction. When we ran grinds from the Infinity through a series of sieve shakers, we found a whopping 30% of those grinds to be fines, something we saw in no other burr grinder.
Apart from creating a lot of fines, the Infinity also tends to hang onto a lot of grinds in its chute. This often leads to multiple grams of coffee spilling out of said chute, creating a mess on your counter. After every use, we ended up tapping the machine to release all of those pent-up grinds so they wouldn't affect the tests we ran next.
Our final complaint is the lower burr of this machine is quite difficult to remove and clean. That problem is especially frustrating since so many grinds tend to get stuck in the machine.
Value
While the Capresso Infinity is inexpensive for a burr grinder, we don't think it presents a very good value within its price range. There are other, similarly priced burr grinders that outdid it in almost all of our tests, and you could spend much less on a blade grinder without sacrificing too much performance.
Conclusion
While there's nothing we absolutely hate about the Capresso Infinity, there's nothing we absolutely love either. No matter your needs or budget, we think you'll be able to find a grinder that better suits your situation.
— Max Mutter and Michelle Powell
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