Yes, it does grind the beans by itself but it has a dial for how fine the grind you want. I found for the bean I have, the middle setting seems to be the best.
I think at this point I've mastered the frothing process so I'm good there Just have to get the rest better.
I think I'm now paying a lot more attention into the details of mixing everything together and how each could interact and the difference it can produce.
At first when I just got the machine, I thought it would work more or less like the Keurig I have, hit the button and the drink is ready! At least when I watched the commercial, that's what it said Now I know, once I know the combination works with amount of water, grind setting, and milk, I should be able to program the machine to do what I want. But then it may take the fun out of making coffee