Grinder Reviews

Koffee_Kosmo

A new Topic Heading for

Grinder Reviews

"Personal Grinder Review Thread"
When you get past the bling stage and into the settling in period of your grinder

Then its time for a honest Personal Owner Review

Discus Your

1] Make , Model & Year
2] First impressions
3] Pros & Cons of your grinder
4] Your journey from the beginning to the present
5] Recommend or Not
6] Mods to date (if any)
7] Closing notes
8] Anything else that's interesting

Rider

Well 11 'looks' so far and no bites... I vote KK leads the way ;D Your idea pal..... 😉

Koffee_Kosmo

1] Make , Model & Year Current grinder BNZ MD74 conical grinder Purchased second hand ex cafe 2] First impressions The grinder is big and tractor like in appearance 😃 just the way I like it and part of its attraction to me *Grinding is fast but not laboured even when I grind for Greek/Turkish style *Different grind to the grinder it replaced 3] Pros & Cons of your grinder Pros *Solid build *Grind quality is equal to the Robur (my opinion only) *Fast to grind a double @ 5 to 7 seconds *Fluffy grind *Stepped The steps are very fine for quick adjustment *Doser sweeps dead centre to the filter basket Cons *Cant find any at present 4] My journey from the beginning to the present Started with an Iberital Challenge grinder while I was waiting for my M4D to land in Australia The M4D was a great grinder very clean and was in use approx 8 months however as if by chance I was offered a Mazzer Major and decided to sell the M4D to fund the upgrade This happened again as an opportunity came to check out a near new BNZ MD74 at a good price How could I resist (well it was harder than you think because I really liked the Mazzer Major) That brings me to the present BNZ MD74 conical grinder 5] Recommend or Not *Definitely recommend this grinder 6] Mods to date (if any) *Have taken out the flaps and auto cut out of the doser chamber because it better suited to a home environment * Brush to sweep grinds from exit chute 7] Closing notes *Did not believe the difference in the cup. It was noticeable immediately *Grind is so good and so fluffy 8] Anything else that's interesting Visitors comments - "What the hell is that" ;D Specs - http://www.coffeemachinetechnologies.com.au/popups/md74.html KK

Gra

From: UREKA MONDIAL GRINDER REVIEW Model: Eureka Mondial Coffee Grinder 20 kg. These grinders are built like the preverbal brick sh#thouse and do a great job I was quite happily sup prised at the difference between the Mondial to the compak K3 in the cup. Adjustment is brilliant and a bit different as it's the bottom burr and motor that move the top burr is fixed just 3 screws to remove for cleaning easy peasy.. Mods:I removed the deflection plate so to make it easy to brush out the doser and have added some Velcro for clean sweeping plus remove tamper. The Eureka Mondial 20 Kg is a professional bar coffee grinder with doser, micrometrical grinding, dosing adjustment and tamper. Eureka Coffee Grinder specifications: Power 240/50 Hz - 0,35 Kw Single phase with overload thermic protection Hopper capacity 1.2 Kg Grinder blades

RichardM

1] Make , Model & Year Mazzer, Super Jolly, 2009 2] First impressions Solid Machine, very well built (coming from Sunbeam EM0480) 3] Pros & Cons of your grinder Pros - Cost second hand (I paid ~650) - Parts readily available - Large Grind spill tray - Relatively fast - Very solidly made Cons (for home use) - Leftover grinds in dosing chamber (see mods below) - Location of switch - Throws grinds to the left (see mod below) 4] Your journey from the beginning to the present I originally started my coffee journey with a Sunbeam EM0480, and thought it was the ducks nuts for a while, but after getting my technique down with my machine, I seemed to find myself constantly looking for something in between the steps - I'd either choke the machine, or pull a gushing shot. I did some research, found a supplier, and bought this Super Jolly second hand for $650, <2 years old, and looked brand new when I got it. As I'd done my research, I knew that it was a bit messy, and retained grinds in the hopper. A few mods later (see below) and all was well. The flavour profile of the coffee changed completely, and my missus, who resented the spend, very quickly changed her tune. It now sits proudly on its own bench. I love the look of this machine. I don't understand people who say they want something "unobtrusive". I want my coffee gear to sit out proudly and make a statement. 5] Recommend or Not Definitely recommend buying second hand. For home use, if buying new, I think there are much better options out there. 6] Mods to date (if any) Mod 1 - Put electrical tape on the sweepers in the dosing chamber to eliminate stray grinds. 6 months on, and I still haven't changed the tape. Mod 2 - http://thebeaningoflife.com/schectermatic < Basically took this, made it out of an ice cream container lid. This stopped all the messiness of the grinder. Mod 3 - (not really a mod) - Ripped off the stupid attached tamper thing. 7] Closing notes While I love this grinder and it produces a great result, the only thing that weighs on my mind is that it does suffer from a small amount of clumping. My consistency is perfect, so I doubt it actually matters. 8] Anything else that's interesting The only thing I really think would make this grinder suit me better would be if there was a pressure switch on the portafilter rest. I might consider that as a project for me some time.

Dry_bean

1] Mazzer Mini. 2] Solid build, heavy, well put together, runs quietly. 3] The mini does what it claims to do albeit a bit on the slow side, 18 grams espresso grind approx 30 seconds. Beans hang up on the burr screw recesses and need to be cleared each and every shot if you grind on demand (as I do) Ground coffee hangs in delivery chute and also must be brushed out each use. Doser does not sweep clean, clean up with a brush required each use. 4] It's been a reliable machine which grinds coffee very well but with little effort Mazzer could have made an average machine an excellent performer. 5] I'm sure there are better machines than this on the market however I'm not contemplating upgrading any time in the near future. 6] None, I can live with it's shortcomings, would recommend that if your in the market for a new grinder in this price range look further than the Mazzer mini. 7] It grinds coffee very well, the shortcomings are in the hopper chute, ground coffee delivery chute and doser area.

Lacehim

1] Make , Model & Year Compak K6 (Diamond), 2000, Red, Stepped 2] First impressions I bought this just before I sold my Miss Lucy which had a built in Rocky from a caf

Lacehim

1] Make , Model & Year Mahlkonig Vario purchased in 2011 from E61. 2] First impressions Well boxed on arrival from E61, the grinder comes tested from the factory and I used the supplied packet of grindz to clean the grinder before use as per the instructions. A nice touch and amazingly I dialled the grinder in first time for the lusso. Excellent. The grinder is very compact, feels well built and it

Chonski

1] Make , Model & Year Macap M4D - bought Sept 2011 2] First impressions Shiny, compact and fast 3] Pros & Cons of your grinder Pros - Fast - 8-8.5 secs for a double. I didn't think speed would bother me in a home setting but it's quite a handy feature - Compact enough to fit under my kitchen cabinets - Seems to be a very consistent grind - Micrometric adjustment is great and accurate - Timer seems pretty accurate when weighing doses, although changing grind setting does have an effect on this - Not overly loud and the fact that it does the job faster also helps it be quieter 🙂 - Although I'm not an expert taster, even I could taste the difference in the step up from a rocky Cons - Would be annoying to change settings often to grind for anything other than espresso - Does clump a bit although they do seem to disappear pretty easily when you settle. Part of the reason I wanted to upgrade was to avoid WDT and simplify wherever possible - I haven't measured it but there is some grind retention there - Being micrometric it can take a few shots to dial in again once you pull it apart to clean 4] Your journey from the beginning to the present Started with a Silvia and an EM0480. Still have the Silvia but with a PID Have gone from EM0480 -> Rocky (thanks Kevin Rudd / stimulus payment!) -> M4D (thanks stress for making me buy a new toy as stress relief!) 5] Recommend or Not Definitely, if you don't mind a bit of wastage and you are mainly interested in a single grind setting For me it was either the M4D or the Mazzer Mini E. I went with the M4D mainly because of the size, looks, reputation and speed (not necessarily in that order) 6] Mods to date (if any) 7] Closing notes 8] Anything else that's interesting

Brett_H

Saeco Ulisse 1] Make , Model & Year Saeco Ulisse or rebadged Fiorenzato F5 any other names??? Purchased:2010 Manual Dimensions w x h x d (mm) 230 x 615 x 270 Weight 14 kg Framework aluminium Single-phase power supply 230V/50Hz - 220V/60Hz Motor 350W / 1350 rpm Coffee bean hopper capacity 1.5 kg Hardened steel 64 mm flat grinders Aluminium dosing unit Possibility to adjust the quantity of ground coffee from 5.5 to 9 gr 2] First impressions As the huge box came up the path with the delivery man my wife said

JamesM

1] Make , Model & Year Baratza Preciso 2012 $330 (web price from retailer) 2] First impressions Looks plasticy, fairly simple 3] Pros & Cons of your grinder Pros: VERY little grind retention (almost none) Grinds container or interchangeable portafilter holder Timer (on the side) or front push-button 440+ stepped adjustments (macro and micro) USA designed, European-made Conical 40mm burr VERY fast Quiet Accurate (excellent grind consistency) Ease of switching grind settings for different brew methods (EG from espresso to filter) Very easy to re-calibrate (if needed) Incredible customer support (email, and social media (FB and Twitter) Cons: Looks less attractive than other grinders Portafilter holder whilst a good idea is a little messy (but does catch excess or fallen grinds for easy tipping in to the PF after dosing) 4] Your journey from the beginning to the present Sunbeam EM0480 Mazzer Mini (still own) Gaggia MDF Spong #3 (still own) Baratza Preciso (obviously still own) 5] Recommend or Not Highly recommended for someone that wants to be able to easily grind for multiple brew methods, quickly, quietly, with little mess. Especially if switching brew methods regularly throughout the day. This grinder is VERY easy to adjust back and forward from espresso to filter thanks to being stepped. Although not your traditional inaccurate stepped grinder thanks to micro adjustments. It's very fast (11 sec for a double spro), quiet (when grinding, but a little loud when the hopper is empty), holds back almost no grinds (excellent). (older burr shown in photo) The consistency of the grinds from this unit across all coarseness is something to see. It outperforms grinders that cost 4-6x the price of this one in some areas including consistency (lack of fines) and retention. In the cup, for espresso, I noticed no difference in taste compared to my Mazzer Mini. I have not been able to compare filter-brewed coffee's just yet but I expect there to be a difference due to the fines that the Mazzer Mini produces at coarser grind settings. Baratza are a bunch of coffee geeks like us, the support from them is brilliant. These grinders (I think) are distributed in AU by 5Senses, who also have outstanding customer service. The Preciso and Vario have undergone a number of burr re-designs which has improved them every time. Finally we are seeing really serious grind quality from grinders that are designed for use in the home by coffee enthusiasts. This grinder was recommended to me by a world-known Q-grader and origin traveller who personally uses one. Baratza grinders were also recently provided for use on the WBC2012 Marco brew bar. 6] Mods to date (if any) none needed 7] Closing notes This grinder fits somewhere in between sunbeam/breville for aesthetics, cost and build. But don't be fooled, it's far heavier than it appears. As for quality of output I would put it in the $1k-2k grinder range. If you like to brew different methods, or only brew filter coffee, seriously look at this unit. If you only brew espresso coffee, the portafilter holder might annoy you a little 8] Anything else that's interesting Designed in USA, Made in Taiwan, burr's from Europe. Multiple improvements made over time including new (quieter) gearbox and revised burr's

Kelsey

Thanks James, great review! As has been demonstrated in other threads recently, you don't necessarily need to spend big bucks to get a perfectly good grinder. It's great that we've got another choice in the sub-$500 market.

conikal

Is there a reason price ( RRP or Purchaced price) is not reported in the reviews ?

mallacoota

For price see the site where James bought from they are the only importers of this model that I know of correct me if I am wrong by all means.

conikal

Ok, .but I ment generally for all the reviews. Few ( if any ?) of the reviews here seem to mention price, so its not easy to get a sense of value when doing comparisons. It just seems that its "taboo" to mention price ?..when it is a basic factor in any decision for buying a new piece of equipment, and as local "Oz" prices are frequently so different to the rest of the world !.

Kelsey

Our members sometimes get special deals - I believe Lacehim and his Vario are an example - that the suppliers wouldn't necessarily want widely known. I can't see a reason not to include RRP however, unless there was a mod's decision not to that I'm not aware of.

JamesM

I don't see a problem putting at the least a retail price!?

Brett_H

JamesM wrote:

I don't see a problem putting at the least a retail price!?

Yep! I encourage people to put the rrp or shelf price on a product under review because rightly or wrongly its often the second place people look after the title!

Kelsey

Good to know, thanks Brett!

JamesM

Baratza Preciso is $330 web price from retailer. (sorry, couldn't figure out how to edit my post)