Baratza
Baratza's reputation is built on grind quality, serviceability and price, and plastic is how it hits the price. Every model in the range uses a plastic hopper and a plastic grounds bin, and no metal or glass hopper has ever been offered — the only alternate hoppers Baratza sells are also plastic.
The Forté is the better of the two families: the manufacturer confirms an aluminum grind chamber and a cast zinc body, though the discharge chute and anti-static flapper are polymer. The Sette is the honest worst case, and Baratza says so plainly — "Construction Material: ABS Plastic," with an "antistatic plastic" grounds bin. Its marketing describes a straight-through path where coffee falls from the burrs into the portafilter, but the service manual has you remove a discrete exit chute from a plastic cone burr holder.
How clear are their specs?
Better than most on parts, weaker than it looks on materials. Baratza publishes downloadable parts lists and exploded diagrams for every model, and helpfully prefixes metal parts with "Metal" ("Metal Threaded Grind Chamber," "Metal Portaholder") — which makes unlabeled parts informative. The Sette spec sheets are among the very few places in the whole grinder category where a manufacturer names an actual resin.
Products to avoid
Documented so you know what to skip — each still has a full breakdown and sources.
