# Does the Iberital MC2 grind fine enough for espresso?



## rgoodcoffee (May 25, 2016)

Hi,

looking at one of these second hand for £75 to pair with my Gaggia classic but wondering if it will grind fine enough for espresso?

thanks in advance!


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Yes it will. It's a bit noisy and a bit inconsistent, the adjuster is a bit fiddly, but you can get a reasonable espresso from a classic and MC2. £75 is a fair price assuming good condition. For £75 there isn't much competition (Graef maybe? )


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## rgoodcoffee (May 25, 2016)

Okay thanks! Not sure I like the sound of the adjustment business though. I've been looking at a Casadio Theo 64 which it looks like I can pick up for £50, would this be a better option?

Thanks!!


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## jimbojohn55 (Jan 15, 2016)

the casadio is £500 new - are you looking at second hand? £50 would be a bargin S/H but will prob need new burrs - in the mean time try and get an on demand MC2 (not one with doser) I have the doser one at the moment and it actually works pretty well as the doser is pretty small, and the adjustment can be a pain at times but this type of infinite adjustment is found on the very top grinders - I suppose my point is it is more than able to grind espresso - in fact at its finest setting I was amazed to find that I had ground coffee with the texture of cornflour that my gaggia could not pump water through!

If your getting a S/H big comercial grinder beware of ones with a doser - they are huge dosers as ive just found out and retain stale coffee if not used in a commercial setting where they get used all day - see my thread " Pimp my rossi 45" - about to become doserless and become an "on demand" grinder.


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## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

jimbojohn55 said:


> the casadio is £500 new - are you looking at second hand? £50 would be a bargin S/H but will prob need new burrs - in the mean time try and get an on demand MC2 (not one with doser)
> 
> If your getting a S/H big comercial grinder beware of ones with a doser - they are huge as ive just found out and retain stale coffee if not used in a commercial setting where they get used all day - see my thread " Pimp my rossi 45" - about to become doserless and become an "on demand" grinder. cheers


You can often modify the doser with card or plastic fins to ensure they sweep cleanly. Dosers also break up clumps which are sometimes a problem in OD grinders. Don't rule out a grinder because of a doser...


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

I like a doser. Not sure why you think they retain huge amounts of coffee. Many on demand grinders retain coffee in the chute and burr carrier because of flaps added to stop the coffee spraying out too fast and going everywhere.

What's your budget? The MC2 will grind fine enough for espresso but how fine a grind it can produce isn't the only concern.


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## rgoodcoffee (May 25, 2016)

Rob1 said:


> I like a doser. Not sure why you think they retain huge amounts of coffee. Many on demand grinders retain coffee in the chute and burr carrier because of flaps added to stop the coffee spraying out too fast and going everywhere.
> 
> What's your budget? The MC2 will grind fine enough for espresso but how fine a grind it can produce isn't the only concern.


yeah I don't mind dosers too much. What do you meant by that? The consistency of the grind?


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

Yes. Grind consistency is important. You can clog up a basket with fines and have a large portion of the dose made up of large chunks and particles of varying sizes. They will all extract at different rates so your espresso will be a mix of properly, under, and over extracted coffee. I've read some things on the study of the shape of ground particles and how the varying surface areas affect the rate of extraction but there's probably not much use in thinking about that as I don't think there's much data on it; people tend to comment on how fluffy a grind feels and how compressible a dose is (though that could be related to consistency). From memory the MC2 grinds barely compressed.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

The Theo is a 64mm flat burr grinder so more like a super jolly. I think it might have stepped adjustment, (not sure) but it's a big £500 commercial and if it did need new burrs they're going to be £75-100. If you can pick one up for £50 and it works ok that's going to give much better results than an MC2, which is recommended more for its low price than anything else. The MC2 timer (doserless) that I had used to catch a bit of grinds up in the chute. You can't really call it a true OD because the timer setting is too vague to reliably get the correct amount.

tl:dr

64mm flat burr grinder is a bargain for £50 if it really works. MC2 is ok to get you started but you'll get better taste and ease of use from Mignon, Mini, SJ etc


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## Kman10 (Sep 3, 2014)

I've got an mc2 and I'm happy with it but I would recommend buying the best you can afford.


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## GrowlingDog (Apr 10, 2016)

I've got an MC2 auto as well. I can't say how good or bad it is as it's the only grinder I have ever had beyond a £10.00 cheapie from Amazon that was useless.

I would say the grind is not really consistent, there are bigger bits and smaller bits in the grind, but for the price it was compared to the better grinders out there I can live with that.

The timer on mine is fairly accurate, and once set I get a fairly accurate dose each grind.

Changing between beans can take a while to get the grind dialled in correctly, I'm not sure if this is the case with all grinders, I guess it is.

I'm sure it's not the best grinder in the world, but it's a good starter grinder and will grind well enough for Espresso, I use mine with a Gaggia classic.

I'm happy with mine, at least until I discover the joys of a better one.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

GrowlingDog said:


> I would say the grind is not really consistent, there are bigger bits and smaller bits in the grind...


This is normal, even in a grind considered "consistent".


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