# Eureka Mignon



## LondonDynaslow (Jan 7, 2016)

Hi all. I'm new! Had my Gaggia Classic for somewhere over 10 years and its predecessor (I killed the boiler) for 5 before that. Finally getting round to choosing a grinder after using Illy ground. I wanted the smallest reasonably pretty espresso-capable one I could find and that seems to be the Mignon in chrome, having mulled over the MDF, i-Mini and Rocky. Firstly, although I've been "lurking" and read lots of comments on it, anyone going to say "no don't, it's rubbish, choose one of the others"? Secondly, anyone know of the best price from a reputable seller please?

BTW I'm afraid I've already gone way over what I was going to spend and something massive just won't work.


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

Hi there, and welcome to the forum. Having owned an Eureka Mignon for 3 years, I think it is a great grinder, and, from what I've read so far, it is a far superior one over the other three you mentioned in your post.

As per price, it seems you can get a mk2 second hand in this forum for around £200, whereas a new one would cost you around £280 from Bella Barista.

There is a quite an old but yet comprehensive and thorough review of this grinder, compared to others in the same category here:

https://www.bellabarista.co.uk/pdf/compactgrinder1closerlookv3.pdf


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## Phil104 (Apr 15, 2014)

You really can't go wrong with a Mignon for the price and no reason why a s/h on the forum wouldn't deliver


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## StuartS (Jan 2, 2015)

I can also recommend the mignon but consider the colours. Gloss black is a nice finish and goes with most things. Quite a bit cheaper too.

very consistent but clumpy. You will need to break the clumps up before tamping - takes a few seconds when you get it into your routine.

cleaning the mignon is very easy and when its back together the grind is unchanged.


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## Novisteel (Dec 20, 2015)

I use a Rocky doserless which is a "stepped" grinder and find that the "steps" are too large to finesse the grind for Espresso. If buying again I would favour a "stepless".


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## LondonDynaslow (Jan 7, 2016)

Thanks all


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

With bella barista you get a spare set of burrs and im led to believe you may also get a bag of coffee thrown in. Ive also read their aftersales are great, but doubt you would have any trouble with the grinder in question £309.95 for chrome.

Off ebay you can get one for £266.88 delivered. No free burrs and comes from germany.

Seeing as how you mentioned reputable seller it sounds like bella barista is the one to go for. But thought id just point out the cheapest price ive seen it for.

If anyone knows of a cheaper place to get the chrome eureka mignon from i would appreciate the heads up


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## kms (Nov 20, 2013)

Had my Classic since 2005 and for 8 of those years struggled with a Gaggia MM. Joined this forum lurked and learned and went for the shiney, shiney chrome Mignon. Couldn't believe the difference in the results in the cup. Yes it clumps a little but certainly works for me and the Classic.


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## LondonDynaslow (Jan 7, 2016)

kms said:


> Had my Classic since 2005 and for 8 of those years struggled with a Gaggia MM. Joined this forum lurked and learned and went for the shiney, shiney chrome Mignon. Couldn't believe the difference in the results in the cup. Yes it clumps a little but certainly works for me and the Classic.


Thanks!

I'm not sure I even understand why clumping is a big problem. At the moment I'm measuring out a spoon of ground Illy which goes into the basket in the shape of the measuring spoon like a sandcastle. Isn't that a huge clump? Then I just squish it with the tamper. In fact, I measure one spoon, squish lightly, then repeat with a harder tamp. Mostly I do it like this to avoid mess!


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Preground doesn't clump - it's too coarse, too dry, and even if there were clumps they'd be gone by the time you opened the bag. Clumping refers to the habit that some grinders have of pushing out little blocks of finely ground coffee that remain intact when they get to the basket. The finer the grind the more likely they are to appear but some grinders are more susceptible. Their importance is debatable - some people go to great lengths modifying grinders or poking about with cocktail sticks. The theory is that by presenting a less-than-flat bed to your tamper, you might end up with areas of greater compression but I suspect the effect is marginal if any and not worth worrying about - even Matt Perger says that they'll fall apart as soon as you wave a tamper near them so not to worry. As usual, opinions differ!

It is better to pay attention to the level of the coffee in the basket (is it flat, heaped, or worse, sloping?) The mound of coffee can be evened out by tapping with your hand in the horizontal plane and air pockets initially broken by tapping vertically on the bench so that when you tamp, the grinds are already fairly flat and even across the basket so the density should be fairly uniform. That at least is what I'm led to believe from reading Matt's 'Barista Hustles'.

Obviously it's nicer if your grinder dumps a beautiful dose of fluffy grinds into the basket that need minimal distribution or prep. This is rare on most grinders (even some very expensive ones) so I wouldn't let it put you off buying something like a Mignon.


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

There was even a poll on here about clumping.

I dont think it matters for what its worth.

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?26320-Clumping-why-do-you-care&highlight=clumping+poll


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## StuartS (Jan 2, 2015)

I believe it's better to break up the clumps and use something like wst to distribute the grinds. A final sideways shake is enough to get things reasonably level before tamping. Takes me about 15s and i'm happy with the results.

i use Rave Italian Job and the clumps can be big. They don't all break up by tapping or shaking. Other beans may be less clumpy.


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## PeteHr (Nov 18, 2015)

2 months in with the Mignon now and yes it does clump. Is it a problem ? Not really (IMHO) so long as you give things a stir to break up the clumps. I have found by experience that not breaking the clumps down can result in inconsistent shots (sometimes gushers) which I don't get if I break the clumps up, shake/tap a bit, then tamp.

The degree of clumping is very coffee dependent. Currently I'm drinking Coffee Compass Hill and Valley Espresso blend. This really does clump, to the extent that unless you shake/level a few times as you grind (I don't use timed, so it's not an issue) clumps are flying out of the filter basket before I've got sufficient coffee in there !

Lovely coffee though - thoroughly recommended to those of you that really like a good, strong Italian coffee. Yum....


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## LondonDynaslow (Jan 7, 2016)

Well.. I shall order it! Thanks all. I'm just waiting to see if BB will give me some kind of CFUK discount.

And my neighbour seems to have read my mind somehow and brought this back from Ethiopia!


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## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

LondonDynaslow said:


> I'm just waiting to see if BB will give me some kind of CFUK discount.


Erm. Let us know if they do? Good luck with that.


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## LondonDynaslow (Jan 7, 2016)

jonc said:


> Erm. Let us know if they do? Good luck with that.


I didn't think it likely but there was a box for discount codes so I Googled it and this came up http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17022


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## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

LondonDynaslow said:


> I didn't think it likely but there was a box for discount codes so I Googled it and this came up http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17022


Well I bought a 75e and they certainly didn't offer me a discount!

Having said that I know there's at least one member who says they get one.


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## StuartS (Jan 2, 2015)

Mine was delivered next day for normal delivery rate. No discount as such, just very good service.


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## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

Yeah service was good to be fair.


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## LondonDynaslow (Jan 7, 2016)

StuartS said:


> Mine was delivered next day for normal delivery rate. No discount as such, just very good service.


Did you call them or just write CFUK member in the notes somewhere?


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## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

LondonDynaslow said:


> Did you call them or just write CFUK member in the notes somewhere?


I'm not sure 4 days membership to a free-to-join forum is going to help you much.

(I don't mean this to sound harsh!)


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## LondonDynaslow (Jan 7, 2016)

jonc said:


> I'm not sure 4 days membership to a free-to-join forum is going to help you much.
> 
> (I don't mean this to sound harsh!)


Haha


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## StuartS (Jan 2, 2015)

i called them but didn't mention CFUK


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## LondonDynaslow (Jan 7, 2016)

I just ordered it and paid the normal price. Sounds like they are a great shop.


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## Phil104 (Apr 15, 2014)

Well done - and they are - great after sales and very responsive to emails if you get stuck with it (although pretty much most of what you ended by way of information is on the forum). If you haven't already, it's worth investing in a brush to clear out the chute and for general cleaning.


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## LondonDynaslow (Jan 7, 2016)

Ta daa!


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Shiny! C'mon now, don't be shy, get some beanage in that hopper lad! Looks great - no wonder these are described as being 'high WAF' - so small and cute, but good grinds.


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## LondonDynaslow (Jan 7, 2016)

hotmetal said:


> Shiny! C'mon now, don't be shy, get some beanage in that hopper lad! Looks great - no wonder these are described as being 'high WAF' - so small and cute, but good grinds.


I've had a quick go. Choked it at first, backed off 1 notch, closed up 0.5 and got about 20 sec double shot. That's my first (3) attempt(s) ever using a grinder but it's fairly intuitive - good job, given the "instructions" and randomly placed sticker on the knob...

And yes she actually *likes* it!


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Result! Rapid dialling in there. Good coffee for you from now on! It will probably improve in consistency after it's seasoned. Some people get hold of some old stale beans and run maybe 5kg through just to deburr the burrs (somehow that sounds wrong but that's effectively what seasoning means in this context). Or you can just use it and watch it settle down over a few weeks.


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

Nice purchase, and compliments the classic really well in the chrome.

Did you get any free beans sent with it ? <thats a deal breaker for me src="%7B___base_url___%7D/uploads/emoticons/wink.png.ec0da91ed6be61eac47b026a1189c21c.png" alt=""></thats>


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## StuartS (Jan 2, 2015)

You will find that the Mignon grind adjustment is very very sensitive.

FWIW I have ditched the portafilter support (use a naked anyway) and I don't use the timer. I also press the start tab with my left thumb (portafilter in right hand) instead of pushing the filter against it - I find it easier to keep the grinder running this way).

Enjoy using it!


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## Stanic (Dec 12, 2015)

looks very neat next to the Gaggia!

I have had mine (in matt black) for a month now, feels like the burrs are seasoning now because I had to tighten it for around one revolution over the last week (I have glued a tiny white plastic arrow as an indicator under the dial)


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## LondonDynaslow (Jan 7, 2016)

Jumbo Ratty said:


> Nice purchase, and compliments the classic really well in the chrome.
> 
> Did you get any free beans sent with it ? <thats a deal breaker for me src="%7B___base_url___%7D/uploads/emoticons/wink.png.ec0da91ed6be61eac47b026a1189c21c.png" alt=""></thats>


Free beans x 1 and free upgrade to express delivery!


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