# Bargain grinder anyone?



## vintagecigarman (Aug 10, 2009)

Looks like a standard beat up old Super Jolly to me:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mazzer-Luigi-Coffee-Grinder-/250992555794?pt=UK_Kitchen_Accessories&hash=item3a70527712#ht_500wt_1413

But it can't be, it came from a pub (via a car boot sale) and cost £1500!

Don't you just love the "they go for £400 - £500"?


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Exactly the sort of ebayer I avoid. You can smell the ignorance.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

That deserves some funny comments/questions in eBay. ''Will it grind tea'' for example


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## Monkey_Devil (Jul 11, 2011)

I agree with mike. Though I also reckon that when he says "it came from a pub" that perhaps it was...err...liberated...by dodgey people.


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## Spazbarista (Dec 6, 2011)

That's quite good spelling for someone from Gloucester


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## AlIam (Aug 30, 2011)

Is that one of these? http://www.a1coffee.co.uk/gbu0-prodshow/MAZZER3.html ie is £340 new the going rate?


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## vintagecigarman (Aug 10, 2009)

No. I reckon it's a Super Jolly - going for 389 + VAT new.

He thinks (if we are charitable and don't reckon he is pulling a fast one) that it's one of the much larger Mazzers which do cost 1500.

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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Bargain. Even comes with beans in the hopper. Hope they're extremely darkly roasted. I'll take 2 at full asking


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## DonRJ (Apr 3, 2010)

I have one of the bigger Mazzers and it was £250 on Ebay, now that was a bargain. This one would get a huge body swerve.


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## vintagecigarman (Aug 10, 2009)

It's been pulled!

Wonder is he's been watching here?

Need I be looking out for someone coming around to break my legs?


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Ha!

Maybe the true owner spotted it up for sale...


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## dougl (Jan 13, 2012)

Someone probably told him it is not a Luigi. He will probably relist it for what it is. He has NO feedback as a seller, so should be given a rather wide birth...


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## vintagecigarman (Aug 10, 2009)

dougl said:


> Someone probably told him it is not a Luigi.


You'll come across a fair few Mazzers on eBay described as a 'Luigi' - and it's generally an indication that the seller hasn't a clue about what he's selling. Mazzers have a plate on them reading 'MAZZER LUIGI SRL' - it's the maker's name, not the model!


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## SlowRoast (Sep 24, 2010)

Oops, that explains why I called our Mazzer at work a Luigi when it's just a Super Jolley. It couldn't handle it today, by the end when I was cleaning it, the chromed burr adjustment was too hot to touch, and the casing red hot, that can't be good... I blame the automatic fill thing!


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## dougl (Jan 13, 2012)

vintagecigarman said:


> You'll come across a fair few Mazzers on eBay described as a 'Luigi' - and it's generally an indication that the seller hasn't a clue about what he's selling. Mazzers have a plate on them reading 'MAZZER LUIGI SRL' - it's the maker's name, not the model!


Duh, silly me. I'm too new at this game. While we're talking Mazzers, I'm not that impressed with my Vario, which I've had for about a month now. Are you really impressed with the Mini E that you bought to replace it? And why - what does the mini do that the Vario doesn't? I see there is a new version out, where you can set the time to grind digitally. Hurrah! I'm seriously tempted.


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## brun (Dec 26, 2011)

You selling your vario ? Lol


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## dougl (Jan 13, 2012)

Not quite yet... do you want first dibs? ;-)


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## brun (Dec 26, 2011)

If the price is right I'd consider it but ill be ordering one in about 3 weeks


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## dougl (Jan 13, 2012)

Looks like you just might have come to terms with my upgraditis then. If I do sell it the price will be worthwhile... or at least what I consider to be worthwhile!


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## brun (Dec 26, 2011)

I can see now you have it bad lol


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## vintagecigarman (Aug 10, 2009)

Dougl: I went down much the same route as you, I never really got on with the Vario and sold it to a good home not long after I'd bought it. I've had a sort of love/hate relationship with the Mini-e. I loved it at first - so much better than the Vario - but then got very dissatisfied with it - didn't like the clumping or the inconsistency of the weight of grounds that it was throwing (more about that later). I researched and researched, but couldn't decide what its replacement was going to be ( I got quite boring about it on here). I was finally about to push the button on the beautiful 75mm-burred Anfim Super Caimano when the Mini-e started to behave itself. It seemed like it took a year to get settled in - whatever - the clumping is no longer an issue.

What is an issue for me is that the timer - which seems to put a ridiculous premium on the price of Mazzers - is, in my opinion, worthless. It could not be counted upon to throw a consistent weight of grounds - a variation of + or - 1.5 gm in an 18 gm dose was about par for the course. And then, of course, there was the problem that whenever you adjust the coarseness of the grind it throws off the doseage setting, so you are twiddling with the little screws again, and three or four doses later may (just) get the weight you were aiming for.

But there's a solution. Throw away the hopper, dose the throat with 18gm of beans, put a 58mm tamper in the throat and run the machine until all the beans are ground (you can here the change in note). Result - perfectly consistent and non-clumpy shots. Just a shame to waste all the money on the electronics. If I'd had my time over again I'd have gone for a dosered Super Jolly for less money than the Mini-e.

That said, I'm now happy to hang on to the Mini-e for a while longer, but I'm sure that the lust for the Anfim will take over in the long term. I wouldn't buy an electronically timed grind-on-demand again, but would use a measured dose of beans in a doser grinder, thwacking the doser as it grinds to give a pile of lovely light, fluffy, clump-free grounds - better than anything I've ever seen from a doserless.

All just personal opinion. Others love both the Vario and Mini-e, and I'd never try to change their minds.


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## jimbow (Oct 13, 2011)

Interestingly on Compak grinders, they seem to charge a premium for the doser version of each grinder i.e. the timer based, grind on-demand versions, labelled "Touch", appear cheaper than their doser equivalents.

I find that clumping does tend to be an issue with doser-less grinders although have also noticed that this seems to become less of an issue as the burrs become more seasoned. I find that the timed dose on the Compak is incredibly accurate - I find once set, for a given bean it gives the same dose to +/- 0.1g and more often than not gives exactly the same dose every time. I have noticed that certain conditions can affect the consistency as follows:

- following a clean, the first few doses will be inconsistent. The grinder seems to need a certain quantity of grounds in the machine to push out a consistent dose.

- freshness can affect consistency. I have yet to prove this satisfactorily but it seems that, much like when brewing espresso, really fresh beans can grind inconsistently.

- The level of beans within the hopper/grinder throat seems to affect the quantity and consistency of the dose. The grinding seems to be most consistent when there is some pressure, from the weight of beans above, pushing the beans down and between the burrs.


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## Fran (Dec 27, 2010)

I could also be interested in the Vario - but I have to ask, why aren't you happy with it?? Do you use it purely for espresso, or also for filter brews?


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## dougl (Jan 13, 2012)

I am reasonably happy with it, it does seem to be getting better as it beds in.


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## DonRJ (Apr 3, 2010)

Big Mazzer, titanium burrs, doser, flapping away merrily and absolutely no desire to upgrade. At 27kg and 72cm high though, it does loom rather ominously in the kitchen.

You know it makes sense


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## funinacup (Aug 30, 2010)

Do you have a photo of your grinder next to your machine in the kitchen Don?

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