in depth review ·Aug 05, 2020

Ceado E37S Grinder - In Depth Review

*Commissioned Review*

The Caedo E37S is definitely a grinder that, at least to me seems to receive a fair amount of attention. A lot of people seem to want it, and even more people have questions about it. It's a pro grade commercial grinder which many people use in the prosumer market, that is a much more manageable size than some of the giant commercial grinders that are on the market. Measuring 17-1/2 inches, under new building code, it should fit under your cabinets but you will most likely need to pull out in order to fill it. I still recommend checking your cabinet height, because one section of cabinets in my kitchen is a bit short. Overall it is a very manageable size making this beast an attractive option for home use as well as using in coffee shops.

I was kind of surprised opening the box. Everything seemed well padded but no custom foam to hold the grinder in place. Seems more than ample. I was also surprised to see that the top burr and adjustment ring assembly was removed for shipment. Assembly is extremely easy using a Phillips head screw driver. Being that this assembly is easily removed, it is the easiest grinder I have found to be able to open regularly for cleaning. The adjustment ring assembly also retains the grind setting and does not require recalibration once reinstalled. A big win and no reason for you to not clean out your grind chamber more often.

I really like the hopper design. It seems like so many brands have finger holes to grip the lid. I rarely use, and those pockets seem to collect dust. The Caedo has a flat lid that fits onto the hopper very solidly. The bean shut off also feels very solid considering it is all plastic. Some brands flop around or feel very cheap. The rubber gasket that holds the hopper has grooves to fit around the bean shut off very elegantly. The gasket also holds the hopper in place securely without a set screw.

The grind adjustment mechanism is the best I have ever used. It is so easy to fine adjust the stepless adjustment ring using the worm gear. Also unlike many grinders, I feel like the dial is very easy to read the setting, and actually useful compared to some. When ordering your grinder, make sure that you select the version with the worm gear adjustment, or at least know that they have a version that uses a more traditional adjustment ring. To me the worm gear is worth a few extra dollars, but fear not, the normal version will work just as well. Another feature that I did not realize immediately is that the metal dial ring slides inside of the black carrier, so you can set your normal grind setting on 1 for example, and inch left or right to dial it in. I have highlighted what I am talking about in the video below.

Ceado states that taking the top burr holder off for cleaning will not throw off your grind setting. I found this to be true. You might end up bumping or turning the knob a bit when you take the top off, so be careful, but once reinstalled I did not need to adjust any more than I would on any given day if it seemed a hair off.

The display on the newer models is very understated and blends into the top of the unit in a very elegant manner. In a way it almost doesn’t seem like a display. The display itself is very small with a couple of buttons for single and double shot dose selection, +/- buttons for selection, as well as a set button to go into the setting menu. While I was able to figure out how to adjust the grind time without the manual, it wasn’t the simplest or most intuitive.

To set the grind time hold down the set button for a couple of seconds and it will go into the program mode. It starts in the single shot. To change to double shot hit the + button and hit set again. From there use the +/- buttons to increase or decrease time. Once the time is set hit the set button again. There are other options such as language, worn burr alert, etc.

Ceado E37S Espresso Grinder Functions from Barrett on Vimeo.

I have mixed feelings on the portafilter fork and chute. The fork is rubberized which is nice to prevent your shiny portafilers from getting scratched up. There is a tab to hold the top rim of the basket if you want the filter to stay in the cradle hands free. That tab is adjustable depending on the height of your portafilter, easy to adjust. The part that feels awkward to me is that to hit the button to trigger the dose, the portafilter isn’t centered under the chute and tends to pile the grounds at the back of the filter. If you are in manual dose mode you will need to hold the button down, but if you are in trigger mode, you can pull the portafilter forward to center under the chute! It is all how you set up your grinder and how you plan to use it.

EDIT - I still agree with what I said above, but as the burrs wore in more, the grounds started falling out the chute much better. Something to know, your burrs will take some time to break in.

Ceado E37S Grinding 18g Dose from Barrett on Vimeo.

The tray is unique and I really like it. No giant tray sitting out on the counter, so it saves a lot of space. The other upside of having the tray attached is that if you move the grinder for cleaning or filling the hopper, the tray is attached. It is mounted slightly elevated and attached to the base. Some trays seem to get a lot of use because the grinder is a mess. So far mine has stayed very clean. A simple wipe every few days keeps it clean.

If you happen to get a bit of coffee in the indention on the frame under the tray, Ceado has you covered with a groove to sweep the grounds, a nice feature.

There is an on/off switch located on the back at the base. There is not any reason why you would need to turn the grinder off, but if you wish, it is not the most accessible depending on your setup.

The burrs are very reminiscent to the Compak F8 that I reviewed a while back. Both identical diameter at 83mm. The grind quality is awesome and also extremely similar to the Compak F8. The grounds are very fluffy and look uniform. Tamping leads to a very smooth and polished puck. The motor and grind chamber is mounted on sound dampening motor mounts. Caedo says that their grinder is much quieter than the average comparable grinder, up to 30% quieter. The verdict? It is noticeably quieter than any grinder I have used.

Lets look at seemingly the hottest topic in the espresso world, grind retention. Ceado also sells a single dose grinder, so how clean does the inside stay and how much might it actually retain? To conduct the test, I ran the grinder completely out of beans and removed the top. Below is a picture of the burrs as I found them. Quite clean! The grind chamber itself is where the grounds were accumulating, which is pretty normal amongst all grinders out there. There are little sweepers to sweep the grounds into the chute. I spent some time with a brush to extract as much of the grounds as possible.

After cleaning the chamber and burr, brushing out into a cup.

The Verdict on grind retention? Approximately 1.3 grams of retained grounds. Granted some of this is residual build up. I am sure some people won't like seeing this, but that is not very much retention as this is a large very well built grinder with larger burrs. For me, I have never had any issues with taste. The overall design of the grinder really does not retain very many grounds. The chute is open and easy to clean, the grounds fall out of the grind chamber directly into the portafilter. As I mentioned above, removing the top is a piece of cake, so there is no reason why you wouldn't vacuum out your burrs once a month, or even more often.

View Inside the chute

The most important question, how does it taste? It tastes great! Let me go into a few things on likes and dislikes. The grinder is easy to use and easy to adjust on a daily basis. It took me a little bit of time to chase the electronic dose time/weight at the proper grind size. Not uncommon with electronic dosing when first getting used to your grinder. I have found it easiest to trigger the dose using the button in the portafilter cradle, but then pulling the portafilter back instead of using the hook to hold the basket. The reason is so that it fills the basket in the center. Chasing the age of your beans as they age is very easy to fine adjust using the worm gear adjustment ring, making it less of a hassle of over or under adjusting. Probably my biggest complaint about this grinder is that it seems to fill the portafilter in a line shaped mound. If you go directly from the grinder to tamping without using a whisk or blind shaker, I get this weird mohawk extraction. I have tried with multiple brands of portafilter baskets (ECM, VST, and IMS), and on 2 espresso machines (Rocket Giotto and EMC Classika) with identical results. I spoke with two other people that own this grinder, and they stated they would see the same thing, but a simple whisk of the grounds and the extraction looks great every time. I also tried a distribution tool, it did not seem to help with much, if anything for a more even extraction. A simple WDT whisk and light shake was all I needed.

Below is the line shaped extraction after no further prep other than tamping.

Below, same dose, same beans but using a WDT whisk.

Overall, the grinder is superb quality all around. High tolerance machining with a lot of attention to detail, more than most. It is a bit understated with a somewhat less grand looking design, but the specifications of the motor/burrs/and compact size makes it a great option for both home and a shop. I have been using the black version, but they sell a white model as well. If you plan on using in a shop, there are larger hoppers for sale. Parting words, if it fits your budget the Ceado E37S should be at the top of your must consider list.

This grinder came from www.espressooutlet.net

https://www.espressooutlet.net/ceado-e37s-v2-espresso-coffee-grinder/

Likes:

Built like a tank
Great, probably the best grind adjustment mechanism I have used.
For this caliber of grinder with large burrs, the short stature is great for home use or a busy shop. Some of these grinders are very very tall. The Caedo is less than 3 inches taller than the Sette 270.
Something about the display is more elegant than some. Very simple, smaller numbers. Doesn’t have this glowing cheap looking display.
I like the hopper design. Everything about it feels solid. Funny for me the lid is an important feature, and the lid on the Ceado is great!
The top is easy to remove for cleaning and retains its adjustment when reinstalled.

Indifferent/User Preference:

If you are a dosing funnel user, you probably will not be able to use a funnel with this machine, or it will be awkward. To grind the beans you push the portafilter against a button to trigger the grind.
During the first few times dosing, it felt like the chute was a bit too far forward. Seemed to fill the back of my basket first. I never really had issues because the grind is so controllable.
While it doesn’t look bad, it is not as stylish as some competitors

Dislike:

Setting the grinder timer can be a bit awkward at first, but I figured it out without the manual, so that is a plus. It could be a bit easier. Do it a few times and you will be a pro.
For me to get a consistent extraction I had to use a whisk or blind shaker to get the grounds distributed in a way that the extraction was centered in the naked portafilter. Not doing so lead to under extracted sides.

Extras:

Below: Mazzer Super Jolly with the shortest hopper they make VS Ceado E37S

Below: Rocket Fausto VS Ceado E37S

Below: Ceado E37S VS Baratza Sette 270