Cuisinart SG-10 Electric Spice-and-Nut Grinder, Stainless/Black, Mini

I bought this grinder with some trepidation because the first several reviews were quite negative. I'm glad I bought it because it is proving to be a star. I use it for a range of things - hard legumes and spices, including Indian spices, seeds, softer spices, breadcrumbs, etc. I've occasionally used it with wet grinding of pastes (ginger, garlic, chutneys, etc) if it's not too runny.It has several unique features that are difficult to find in a grinder this size:- Its size is just right - small enough to grind small quantities of things like spices without having a huge leftover to store for weeks; large enough that you don't need too many rounds when grinding larger quantities- Blade design seems efficient. It seems to completely pulverize anything I put in it (including hard spices) in a small fraction of the time it takes for other grinders (like coffee grinders). It does this so fast that the motor has never been even close to overheating. And it seems to work well always - I haven't yet discovered anything it won't grind well- So far, its longevity is good (about 8 months) - it has lasted longer than all of the highly rated coffee grinders I tried to use for these purposes- Cleanup is trivial. The importance of this is hard to overstate. Other grinders such as coffee grinders claim easy cleanup but this is an order of magnitude better. You can simply take the bowl and lid off completely and put them in the dishwasher and they will come out fully clean. No more fiddling with brushes etc. to try to remove the bits and residues of spices that are left in the fixed bowls of other grinders.The only concerns so far:- The lid has a rubber ring that seems necessary for a good seal; if that is missing some of the spice/ground material might escape the bowl during grinding. The rubber ring is not small, but it's easy to lose in the dishwasher etc. if not careful- Wet grinding seems a bit risky. The bowl can allow liquid to escape through the bottom and this could possibly enter the motor casing and damage the motor (though this hasn't happened to me so far). So this may not be suitable for wet grinding and isn't quite like a miniature full-featured grinder, which is what is really needed.Pretty glad to have found this after trying to use coffee grinders as spice grinders for several years with limited success.

Great gadget. Simple and easy to use. Very quick grinding, most of the time just a few seconds are required. I use it for spices- whole allspice, milk thistle seeds, coriander, etc- and it works beautifully. Put the spices (or whatever) into the cup, press on the top, and in no time at all you have a powder. Very quiet. Very easy to clean. What else could you want? And a very nice price too.

This is great for grinding all my dry items like flax seeds, nuts to make flour, etc. I have not tried "wet" ingredients so can't comment on leakage from those items. It's so easy to clean as you just remove the cup and wash. A couple of minor criticisms: 1) The design of the bottom of the cup because there's a hole to attach to the base is sometimes difficult to dry thoroughly even if air-drying. Water gets trapped in there. 2) the blade where it is attached is a little "jiggly". I'm not sure if that's by design but it makes me wonder how long this will last if it's not by design.

I purchased to grind both seasonings, and coffee for my percolator. Due to the 1st negative (below), grind larger portions (half a cup full). It grinds coffee well and it only takes a few pulses to make a large grind which I need. I'm pretty sure I could make the grind as fine as powdered sugar if I wanted.Negatives:1. It pushes product to the sides away from the blades. If you are only grinding a small quantitiy, you will have to shake it every 2-3 pulses to get the product back under the blades. Not a deal breaker, but can be a nuisance.2. You need to rest the grinder if you are doing a lot of grinding. It does get hot quick if you are grinding large quantities. If the grinder is getting hot, I'm sure the blades are too... not good for the product your grinding up.3. Grinded material falls between the cup and grinder since there isn't a good seal. A bit of a pain to clean it, but not anything to cry about.Pros:1. It's a good grinder designed for light to moderate use, which is what most households use it for.2. No lingering smells after cleaning since it's stainless steel.3. Easy to clean.

I use this to grind nuts for smoothies. It does a great job on Almonds, Brazil Nuts, Walnuts,and Pumpkin seeds.