Ceado Life WAM Review

The Life series of grinders debuted as the first home coffee grinders from the Venice based manufacturer, Ceado. Consolidating years of commercial experience into a much more compact frame, the original Life grinder was introduced several years ago as an all-purpose home grinder that blended single-dosing and on-demand hopper fed operation. The Life later received an update in the form of the Life X, introducing new 50mm screwless burrs. In keeping with modern trends, Ceado has reimagined the Life to embrace grind-by-weight workflows with the new Life WAM (an acronym for Weight Adjustment Module) which incorporates technology originally introduced on the commercial REV series of espresso grinders.

Unlike the original Life and Life X, the Life WAM is an espresso focused grinder, owing to its design which is intended to tare portafilters for weight based grinding. That’s not the only change the grinder received however, as the display was also replaced with a much more user friendly touch screen, offering customizable color schemes and layouts among other things.

The Design

The Life WAM looks a lot like the Life X, with the most obvious changes being the addition of the WAM itself. The main main body of the grinder is more or less unchanged apart from the new portafilter holder which is a modified version of the WAM featured on the REV series grinders, as well as the small platform at the grinders’ base that houses the load cell. The full color touchscreen is 2.4” and features a number of configurations that offer several combinations of the programmable doses and the grinder’s manual mode button.

The main body of the grinder remains unchanged and there are still four available colors to choose from. That said, Ceado has scrapped the “Moka” color from previous versions, with available options being: Aquamarine, Black, Metal Grey, and White. The 300g bean hopper is still present and so is the stepless adjustment knob located on the bottom righthand side of the grinder. Overall the Life WAM retains the same playful character as previous models, albeit seated on top of a WAM.

Accessing the Burrs

The Life series are some of the easiest grinders to open and maintain, and the Life WAM is no exception. To get access to the burrs, simply close the bean shutter and remove the screw that secures the hopper in place. You can then lift off the hopper and set it aside.

The Life WAM has a silicone hopper support that can be removed by hand. Underneath, the upper burr carrier can be detached by removing just three screws. Because the Life WAM adjusts grind size by moving the bottom burr, you won't lose your grind size when opening the grinder for maintenance.

Programming and Customization

With the WAM, dosing is programmable by weight within 0.1g increments. When in weight-based mode you can select one of two modes of operation, Auto and Manual. In Auto mode you select your dose and then place your portafilter which is tared by the grinder and then your dose is ground automatically. In Manual mode, you place your portafilter first and then select the dose you want ground. There’s also a “Manual” button that you can press to start and press again to stop grinding.

To change the weight on a dose you simply press and hold the button for several seconds until presented with a programming screen. You can select to adjust the dose in either whole grams or tenths of a gram. If desired you can also change the grinding mode from weight-based to time-based to program in seconds and tenths of a second.

Making other programming changes such as changing the display color or layout can be accomplished in as few as three taps. You can also recalibrate the load cell if desired, using your portafilter as a reference.

Weight Based Accuracy

While quick and quiet grinding are both nice, I was very impressed with the accuracy of the weight based dosing on the Life WAM. Grinding five shots in a row with a target weight of 18g, the Life WAM produced an average dose of 17.87g. It’s worth mentioning that if you’re dialing in the grinder, the first three shots may be further off from your target than all subsequent doses as the adjusts internally to accommodate your coffee.

One thing I do want to mention regarding the weight based dispensing is that the display will not actively count up while grinding. Instead, the grinder will simply stop when your programmed target has been reached. While it took me a bit of getting used to, the results were so consistent that I forgot about it and simply enjoyed the results.

Converting to Time

Something that’s interesting that I noticed when switching from weight-based to time-based grinding is that the Life WAM will dynamically adjust the default time for a dose based on the number of grams you were grinding. For example, when switching to timed grinding with an 18g dose, that dose becomes 13.8 seconds of grinding time. That said, the grinder has no way of knowing your current grind setting and the conversion from grams to seconds appears to be fixed based on the weight, not based on any kind of stored grinding data after multiple grind cycles.

Grinding

Grinding on the Life WAM is pretty straightforward regardless of which mode you’re in. My recommendation is that if you use multiple baskets/portafilters or have different recipes for different coffees, stay in manual selection so you can choose the dose you want every time.

If you’re brewing the same coffee every morning, it doesn’t get easier than simply placing your portafilter and letting the Life WAM grind automatically. Sound wise, the Life WAM averages around 72 decibels and produces a pleasant whirring sound.

Because the WAM is designed for use with portafilters, the Life WAM is intended for a workflow that includes them. Built into the module is an adjustable portafilter holder that can accommodate both spouted and bottomless designs with spongy pads on the arms beneath for added stability while grinding. Coffee dispenses directly into the center of the portafilter with no static. Honestly I was actually pretty shocked given how messy coffee can be, but the Life WAM was one of the cleanest grinding experiences I’ve had in a while.

Dialing-In

Just like the Ceado Life X, the Life WAM uses a stepless adjustment knob with fixed reference points, meaning you can very easily return to existing settings when desired. I found that the espresso range begins around 1 on the dial. I was using our Crema Wave which is a medium roast composed of specialty grade coffee, so your mileage may vary for your exact espresso, but it's very easy to make minor adjustments to zero in on your setting. The knob has a gripped edge that allows for very precise movement.

The shots of Crema Wave we pulled from the Life WAM had more moderate acidity with a greater emphasis on sweetness and body by contrast.

The Burrs

Starting with the Life X, the Life series grinders have been equipped with a set of screwless 50mm flat steel burrs made from high alloy steel known as XB50. To extend hardness and longevity, the burrs are hardened at over 1000°C and cooled.

The lifespan is around 300KG based on roast level and the grinding profile helps to preserve flavor clarity. When we tested the Life WAM when dialed in for our diagnostic window, the results showed the highest concentration in the 200 and below micron range.

Retention

From the standpoint of grind retention, I also found the Life WAM to be pretty impressive. Loading 100g of coffee into the hopper and grinding through, the total coffee dispensed was 99.39g meaning only 0.61g were retained by the grinder.

Final Thoughts

It's been cool to see how Ceado has refined and repurposed the Life grinder platform since its original launch. The Life WAM delivers the convenience of on-demand weight based dosing with precise adjustment and incredibly easy maintenance. If you want a grinder that delivers sweet shots of espresso with body to match, the Life WAM is a perfect match.

Photography by Grace Walker

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