Remus, you're talking to the guy who was grinding for his sunbeam with a mazzer mini! A grinder that was at least twice the price of the machine! EDIT: the main problem I had with a cheaper grinder was the adjustmentability - one notch would choke the machine, the next notch would gush too quickly - there was too much making up for the grinder by adjusting the dose and tamp. On a more serious note - if you're just after a machine at this point in time, best bet would be either a sunbeam 6900, or a gaggia, or a saeco vv. The latter two may annoy you with the froth enhancers on the steam wand ... If you are keen on a griner, the solis/delonghi will do the trick fine. Yeah, you'll get static problems, and there will be some inconsistency, but you don't really notice it til you turn your kitchen into a mad scientist espresso lab ... other than that, for a bit of a treat when people come over, you could get a manual grinder (look for a brand called 'zassenhaus' - they're about $90 ... my dad has one, and it's so much better than the $30 manual one I got from myer), and either invite your guests to grind their own (a little novelty for fun), or bring the grinder out to the dinner table and grind there. You get a good workout too!
