DeLonghi KG521MvsMelitta Calibra

A built-in dispenser is a system to automatically portion and deposit out ground coffee. The doses are normally measured in 1/2/etc 'cups' of grinds - i.e enough grounds to make a single cup of coffee.

This helps reduce mess from grinding coffee, and makes transferring the grounds to the coffee maker much easier.

'Coffee Bean Capacity' denotes the amount of coffee beans that the grinder can hold at once time.

A larger capacity means that more coffee can be ground in a single session, without the need to refill the grinder.

'Grinder settings' denotes the amount of different grind levels (very fine, medium, coarse, omnigrind, etc) that you can choose from when using the device.

More grinder settings means that the device is more versatile, and can produce grounds for use in many different types of coffee maker.

A timer function on a grinder allows you to set the coffee beans to grind for a set amount of time (10 seconds, 30 seconds, etc). The grinder will turn on for the time selected, then automatically disengage.

When using a blade grinder, a timer is helpful because increased time is the main way to achieve a finer grind - however you have to be careful not to give it too much time, otherwise the coffee will end up overground and burnt by the friction. Therefore a timer can help give a uniform grind level.