# Eureka Mignon First Impressions



## hashluck

Eureka Mignon First Impressions (or how to spend a Sunday afternoon wasting a lot of coffee beans and getting as high as a kite on caffeine)

I took delivery of my gloss black Eureka Mignon Coffee Grinder last weekend but only today have had a chance to set it up and have a play. The Eureka Mignon is manufactured by Conti Valerio srl in Italy who as far as I can tell mainly manufacture commercial machines and do very little marketing regarding this grinder which is available in the UK from Bella Barista for £260 (and possibly elsewhere).

If I might start at the end and say that me and this machine are going to get on just fine hopefully for many years to come!

First impressions out of the box.

a) The Gloss Black is not very gloss! Bella Barista warned me about this giving me a chance to select another colour if I wished. You might think it is Matt Black until you see the Matt Black! The Orange and Red versions are very vibrant should you feel brave enough. In any case I stayed with the 'gloss' black. I get the impression this is a different finish from previous versions and maybe they just use what they have to hand!

b) It is a very solid compact machine and largely well finished, especially for the price, but there are some slightly sharp edges on, say, the PF Fork and the Hopper Tab and the microswitch plate is a little wonky looking but overall nothing to worry about. It looks are an acquired taste but I like it and the heavy build means when you press against the dosing switch for example the machine stands firm.

c) The User Guide is not very helpful and applies to the model without the manual/timer switch, but the machine is so easy to use this is not an issue.

d) Setting the Timer could be easier (the adjustment is under the machine) but it is pretty much set and forget and I suspect most will use the machine in manual mode (machine keeps dosing as long as you keep the switch pressed with the PF or container) anyway.

e) My large Krups PF would not rest on the PF Fork and enable the switch to be activated so I had to dose into a measuring cup. Not an issue.

Using the grinder...

I started by using some cheap pre-packed beans whilst I practised. I wound the machine to the finest setting and adjusted coarser until the machine actually was able to grind the beans. This resulted in a very fine grind which I expected my machine to choke on.

My machine coped and I was left with a nice dry puck but the coffee tasted very sour. I kept winding the machine coarser and the taste improved but was still overall disappointing. I had to wind to a coarse setting that left me with an OK taste and a wet puck. Probably the best compromise. At this point I had run out of the cheap beans and had to use the beans Bella Barista had been kind enough to give me when purchasing the grinder (a nice touch thank you BB) and a bean we had played with at Bella Barista with different grind settings so I could see (taste rather) what I was aiming for.

A note on setting the grind on the Eureka. It is incredibly easy and quite fine adjustments can be made but with which it is very easy to see the difference between settings. I am only dialling in for espresso and it might take a couple of complete turns to go between espresso and French Press but it would not be out of the question depending how often you wanted to do so. That said even half a turn of the adjustment wheel was enough for a very noticeably coarser grind so it may be even easier than I am suggested. The numbered wheel makes it very easy to get back to where you were.

Back to the BB beans...

Using the rather relatively coarse setting I had settled on for the cheap beans I ground some of the BB beans, dosed and tamped. Turned my PF upside down and the coffee promptly fell out! Clearly a finer grind was required for these beans! I was going to have to go through the whole dialling in process again with the new bean!

I dialled in one increment finer on the wheel. This time the coffee stayed in the PF and I was left with a slightly wet puck but OMG what a lovely cup of coffee! Proper Beans Means Proper Taste. I could not believe the difference with the first shot even though I have read on here countless times how important it is as well as taste testing at BB.

I dialled in finer and got to the point that the taste was erring on sour and then dialled back. Too far back and the taste got a little muddy so I am close to having a sweet spot for these beans. However by this stage, despite only taking small sips, I was getting a bit of a buzz and my taste buds were crying enough. Rather like an amateur wine taster I guess I should not have been drinking quite as much as I was as opposed to just tasting!

All the while I had nice dry pucks as well in my preferred range.

On a better machine I would also look at extraction times but my ageing Krups did not really change between grinds, instead it let me know based on coffee actually staying in the PF when turned upside down after tamping and on taste, extraction times not really changing much based on grind to my surprise. There was noticeably less crema when the grind was too fine as well though.

With the cheaper beans I noticed some clumping but really not an issue. With the BB beans I noticed no clumping but what I thought may be static (beans clinging to the machine around the PF fork) but actually I think this might be down to more oils in the better beans as opposed to the much drier cheaper beans. This was more apparent on a coarser grind setting. Not an issue in either case.

I was also delighted with just how quiet the Eureka is and also how little mess there was. This was a big concern and really it got all the coffee in the measuring cup. Even better there was no coffee clinging to the dosing tube (pouring lip as they call it) or in the hopper meaning nothing left going stale in there. This again was something I was expecting and it just did not happen. I can only give this machine a big thumbs up in all those areas I have read negative reviews of other grinders.

As I said, me and this machine are going to get on just fine.

I would like to heartily recommend it but I am a newbie and do not have a point of reference against other grinders. A main selling point for me is the compact footprint and other more expensive machines I could have afforded would not have fitted in my kitchen. Even as a newbie though the ease of which I was able to adjust and differentiate between different beans and grinds so quickly must speak volumes. This is all the grinder I need for the foreseeable future. Next a new machine. Watch this space.

Thanks for reading..


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## DonRJ

Very thorough and enthusiastic write up hashluck, I think most of us have encountered the caffeine overdose whilst dialing in a new grinder, all part of the fun and a good learning experience too.

I await with interest to see how long you hold out / take time to choose the next addition to your coffee corner and of course what you end up getting.


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## Glenn

Thanks for taking the time to write up the first impressions.

It will be interesting to see how the perception develops and how much you willl need to tweak the grind for each new bean type now that you've found a reference point setting

Bean type shouldn't affect whether the coffee stays in the portafilter when flipped upside down - this is regulated by tamping pressure, which willl also have an effect on the extraction

Try increasing the dose weight, with a slightly firmer tamp and see if you get a drier puck

Have you taken any photos of the grinder yet? I'd be keen to see the Gloss finish


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## hashluck

Hi Glenn, I will try and get some pictures up.

All my pucks are pretty dry, I just noted that with the cheap beans I needed a coarser setting for better taste which led to a relatively wetter puck (but not wet wet).

I honestly did not feel like I changed anything regarding dose and tamp pressure when changing between beans though I hear what you say. All I can say is that on the same grind setting the cheaper beans clumped and the better beans 'seemed' coarser but I think that was because they did not clump. Not sure if that makes any sense?


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## hashluck

Pics attached. As I said one might think this is the 'matt' finish until one sees the matt which is very flat indeed. Second picture also shows the static cling which was only apparent with the better, fresher beans.


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## BanishInstant

An interesting read - thanks.


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## MonkeyHarris

Good informative read. I like the reviews like this. I'm sure you'll both be very happy together. My K3 is similar with the dosing timer underneath (what bright spark thought that was a good place to put it?) I now weigh my beans and only chuck in the amount I want so I don't use the timer anymore. I did the same as you in trying to dial in using cheap supermarket beans but this ended up being a waste of time as they were a fair way off normal fresh beans. Now I'm in the zone with my grinder I find it very easy to dial in new beans. Usually not more than a few mm turn of the collar. It'll probably take you a few kilos till you're at one with the Mignon but it's a great feeling when you can dial in new beans with one shot.

Let the learning begin


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## DonRJ

The Mazzers come with a sticker on the grind adjustment collar, put on at the factory to indicate the setting for espresso. This makes for very easy dialing in as you have a start point that will be pretty close to what you want. After the serious stripdown and clean on arrival I set it there and since then have only had to adjust slightly between that point at six and a half on the dial and seven which is a bit less fine on the grind dependent on the bean used. Currently a gnats gnarly bit off seven for Jabberwocky beans.

A very different dialing in experience compared to the Iberital MC2 which took a fair old time getting there with the worm drive and loads of beans too


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## hashluck

MonkeyHarris said:


> Good informative read. I like the reviews like this. I'm sure you'll both be very happy together. My K3 is similar with the dosing timer underneath (what bright spark thought that was a good place to put it?) I now weigh my beans and only chuck in the amount I want so I don't use the timer anymore.


Whilst I also only put in the hopper (roughly in my case) what I need, a good point on the Eureka is it has a simple switch between manual and timer mode. Not sure if the K3 is the same but it has only been added to the Eureka fairly recently so whether they were responding to the competition or user feedback or both I do not know. In any case I can see timer mode being useful in a commercial environment to ensure correct dosing and catering for different users but manual mode makes most sense for home.


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## hashluck

DonRJ said:


> The Mazzers come with a sticker on the grind adjustment collar, put on at the factory to indicate the setting for espresso. This makes for very easy dialing in as you have a start point that will be pretty close to what you want. After the serious stripdown and clean on arrival I set it there and since then have only had to adjust slightly between that point at six and a half on the dial and seven which is a bit less fine on the grind dependent on the bean used. Currently a gnats gnarly bit off seven for Jabberwocky beans.
> 
> A very different dialing in experience compared to the Iberital MC2 which took a fair old time getting there with the worm drive and loads of beans too


I have read somewhere that the Eureka only adjusts the lower burr which reduces any worm gear slack and means the setting remains even if you remove the top burr for cleaning. I could be wrong about that but it sounds good!


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## DonRJ

You are right about the burrs hashluck, unusually the Mignon has an adjustable lower burr, so should make for easy cleaning without the need to find your grind setting again which would be a pain with the worm drive. With the Mazzers you just make a note of where you are set on the grind collar markings, spin the collar off, lift out the top burr and springs and clean away. refit the parts and spin the collar back to where you were.


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## odjob

Spot on, only lower burr adjusts, to hopefully give a more consistent grind size, and regulated even after cleaning......

This is a lovely little machine, solidly built, with an overall good finish in all areas. This is one of Claudette's (Bella Barista) favorite grinders for the prosumer...........or as I like to call us espressosaddos!

I have the white version - just like a big ipod, and find it grinds well with all fresh beans. I have been lucky enough to have guided tours around Wogan's in Bristol, Rave coffee in Wiltshire, The coffee roaster in Shirley, Pollards in Sheffield....etc.

By far the most important part to this whole process is the bean, followed by pretty much everything! Each part must be correct for your individual machine, technique etc. It took me a long time, and lots of advice to eventually bring the whole show together on my various lever machines, however, the beans being 1-3 wks old, and packaged correctly (one way valve with resealable top), made all the difference.

My preferred supplier is Pollards of Sheffield, as Simon (owner 3rd gen?), has a real passion, and is one of the top authorities on this subject in the industry. I called in again today, and evidently they have just opened a shop in Sheffield that sells directly.

...........and finally, lets remember that this is coffee, not life and death. It's fun, and science, and fun, and great coffee, and fun, all rolled into one!

make mine a double.....

Odjob.


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## odjob

Please take a look........it aint pretty, but I enjoyed making it.

Odjob.


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## ChiarasDad

Very nice video, and I like that pretty blue cup as well


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## MonkeyHarris

Nice video.


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## odjob

Why thank you.

Beautiful cup and saucer, stolen......ermmmmm.....purchased from work (way too nice for work cups), so now I have 2!


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