# New question alert: Advise which grinder for budget of £150 to pair w/ Gaggia classic



## andycummings (Dec 1, 2013)

Hi all,

I am sure this topic has been covered many times and apologies for asking again but I have a Gaggia Classic (will be adding PID soon) but have been informed that a good grinder is a must have - so budget of £150 in hand what would be a good grinder to go with the classic. More than happy to obtain 2nd hand - and if it fits in the coffee cupboard - then looks not important - if it does not fit then - the other half will insist on good looks as well!

Regards

Andy


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

£150 isn't going to get you a really decent grinder to pair with your Classic - even second hand. It will get you an MC2 - which isn't fantastic. How much are you spending on a PID? You may well be advised to put that into your grinder fund and look to spend £200+ which will pay dividends to your shots much more than a PID will - especially in the short term. Best grinder in its class is the Mignon - they come up second hand on the forum too.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Hi there and welcome .....

Yep comes up a for bit . First suggestion mc2 pre owned £80-100 . Beyond that £200 will get you a pre owned mignion onto e sales thread or a new safe smart grinder . Other stuff comes up on eBay bargain to be had , if you are prepared to repair , repaint or repackaged certain paerts.

Agree your better of putting more money into a grinder than a PID


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## andycummings (Dec 1, 2013)

OK - being new to this then PID was next years purchase so could stretch the budget to £200 if needed but no more...and delay/drop teh purchase of PID or am I going to go with what appears to be the route of many newbies - an MC2?

regards

andy


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Hold off and source a used Mignon ideally from the forum - it will be an ideal match for your Classic and come in around your revised budget.


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

Or you could maybe stretch to £250 and talk to Coffeechap and see what he has available at the moment, as at ~£250 you're getting into ex commercial grinder territory and they would be a keeper as you start to upgrade in terms of machine. The grinder is to be honest more important that the machine, I bought a used Brasilia grinder earlier this year and it totally transformed my coffee for the better over the MC2 I had prior to the upgrade. If you look at it this way the grinder prepares your ingredient for your machine. I currently have a Sage Dual Boiler and a Smart Grinder for reviewing and my Brasilia is far far better than the Sage grinder, the results in the cup taste far better, I only paid £175 for my Brasilia, but at that price I had to fully strip it down, clean and service it, which if you aren't afraid of a little work and have some knowledge of mechanical and electrical stuff isn't too bad.


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## andycummings (Dec 1, 2013)

Many thanks to all for your advice - very much appreciated - good to see such a friendly forum here









regards

andy


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## Cheshire Phill (Dec 4, 2013)

So I have a Gaggia Cubika Plus, and having started reading up on this forum, have run a few shots through it timed, and I'm thinking I'll have to get a grinder?

I weighed 16.5g of Lavazza ground for espresso, and tamped it pretty hard. In 20s, I collected 2x50ml of espresso and the puck was dry and knocked out OK in one piece.

Have done this a few times, with the same result, so am I right in thinking that the grind isn't fine enough? Despite being bought for this purpose?

Now I know my Cubika isn't all that, (pressurised) and the coffee is bought as-is, but apart from tamping harder, I don't have any other way of improving this do I?

I've read I should be looking for maybe 26ml in 26s, so I'm miles off! guessing its time to get my own grinder then?

Help appreciated...

Phill


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Hi Phill I did have one of these briefly.

As it's a pressurised porter filter the shots will be much shorter.


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

Cheshire Phill said:


> So I have a Gaggia Cubika Plus, and having started reading up on this forum, have run a few shots through it timed, and I'm thinking I'll have to get a grinder?
> 
> I weighed 16.5g of Lavazza ground for espresso, and tamped it pretty hard. In 20s, I collected 2x50ml of espresso and the puck was dry and knocked out OK in one piece.
> 
> ...


Hi there phill. Don't worry about times if you are using pre ground and pressurised baskets. It really only applies to using fresh ground coffee and normal baskets. The pressurised ones are designed for use with pre ground. You could try increasing the dose of coffee a bit and tamping hard but you're still unlikely to manage the time you're expecting. Buying some fresh roasted coffee even if it is ground for you would help with the flavour in a big way but no pre ground will ever be perfect for every machine because every machine is different. That's why you'll find most here if not all buy a grinder and grind their own adjusting as required.


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