# Gaggia MDF



## Phil104 (Apr 15, 2014)

As an entry level and for espresso only, what's the general view about the Gaggia MDF?


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

it does an ok job if you remember it is the bare minimum at entry level. better can be had on the second hand commercial grinder list, but they are not everyones cupof tea.


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

I think you can do better second hand personally, or save up and hold out a bit more for something like a Mignon. The MDF will not get the best out of the coffee and leave you wanting more.


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## Phil104 (Apr 15, 2014)

Thank you both for the advice - I'll be patient - maybe a second hand mignon will show up at some point. Looking at it, it's probably the right kind of size for the space that I have.


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## coffeebean (Jan 26, 2010)

Hi Phil,

What's your budget?

Andy


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## xiuxiuejar (Jan 24, 2012)

I am a fan of the MDF as a starter grinder but I may be alone in this. I still have one somewhere. It does a good job but you'll have to make it stepless (2 minute job) and it has a doser which some people see as a negative although I don't mind as dosers usually stop clumps in coffee. You can find them at bargain prices, so if you do get one, don't overpay. However, you really would be better off buying a second hand grinder from somebody on this forum. These days a decent second hand grinder can cost be had for around 200 more or less and it will serve you right through your coffee journey or, as so many on here have found, until you have the urge for an upgrade.

Also, if you buy second hand, you can enjoy your equipment and then pass it on without losing a lot of money. There is always a market for cared for coffee machinery. However, if the MDF is all your budget can stretch to, it will suffice.


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## Phil104 (Apr 15, 2014)

coffeebean said:


> Hi Phil,
> 
> What's your budget? Andy


Hi Andy.... I'm sorry but this is going to be a long answer to a short question. You and I imagine everyone on this forum will recognise this: my starting point budget is/was probably hopeless and I have come to realise that after about a week on the forum. So far I have been managing with a Hario slim for brewed coffee but I want to make a good shot of espresso. To that end, I have bought a classic from Adam on the forum, which I've not had chance to try out yet (work has intervened) and then started thinking about the grind, which to be honest I hadn't appreciated how critical it is. From exchanges on the forum, I began seriously to to think about the hausgrind (so in my mind had prepared myself to pay that much) but I might be waiting for a hausgrind until Christmas (2015). I was then looking at the MC2 and the Bartaza Encore, which apparently have their limitations. I don't want anything too large and industrial (there isn't the space and also I need it to look somewhat modest so I can deflate its true cost...) anyway, ideally, I would have liked to have paid up to £150 for a good second hand mignon but that might be unrealistic... and from what I have picked up from the forum, if anyone has an idea if that is unrealistic or not, you will. Alternatively, I need to squirrel away some money until I can get a discounted new one. Overall, and I have done this so many times with cycling stuff, I don't want to end up going down the false economy route - which might even happen with a hausgrind, I guess and by the sound of it an MDF (there a couple on the bay at the moment, which was prompted my initial post). Why is it so complicated? Or is that part of the fun?

Phil


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