# Who is the Mahlkonig distributor in the UK????



## m4lcs67 (Mar 16, 2014)

Does anyone know who is their distributor in the UK? Also Eureka as I am wanting some more detailed info on a couple of grinders, but the info that I need I cannot find.

Thanks


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Bella Barista sell the Eureka grinders, sure they can give you details

Although no one seems to currently have the new Mignion specs if thats what you are after.

Coffee Omega are a licensed dealer for Mahlkonig also

There are contact details here...

*Ditting MAHLKÖNIG UK Limited*

Station Lane Industrial Estate, Station Lane, Unit 54

S41 9QX, Old Whittington, Chesterfield

Phone: 07837843718


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Waterford are the Mahlkonig distributors for Varios

Try Bella Barista for Eureka products


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## funinacup (Aug 30, 2010)

Also check out Machina Espresso for Eureka gear.


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

Which models are you interested in m4lcs67? Someone on the forum may have the information you need ror even if you are lucky one of the grinders themselves near you.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

m4lcs67 said:


> Does anyone know who is their distributor in the UK? Also Eureka as I am wanting some more detailed info on a couple of grinders, but the info that I need I cannot find.
> 
> Thanks


Quote from BB website below.

Bella Barista are the official UK Stockists of Eureka Grinders from Florence, Italy.


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## m4lcs67 (Mar 16, 2014)

Thanks fellas for your advice. With regards to which grinder I am going to get it is going to be a toss-up between the Eureka Mignon and the Mahlkonig Vario. Yes they are quite wide in price, but also in specs as well. One is significantly cheaper while the other is better specced and has features that I really like the sound of, so price isn't the only consideration. Space is a consideration, therefore the footprint needs to be small.


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Vario has a pretty compact footprint - not too tall either.


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

What is your question, exactly? Glenn and myself have a Vario, and several members have a Mignon so we can probably answer it for you.

They both have very small footprints for grinders.


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

I would suggest that before considering a Home Vario further you do a thorough forum search and do the same on the Home Barista forum about the sheer number of people that have issues with grind levels drifting quite wildly, also read Davecuk's review of them both on the Bella Barista website.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Charliej said:


> I would suggest that before considering a Home Vario further you do a thorough forum search and do the same on the Home Barista forum about the sheer number of people that have issues with grind levels drifting quite wildly, also read Davecuk's review of them both on the Bella Barista website.


Trouble is no one believes me <lol>, bella barista still sell quite a few Varios, on the bright side, at least they published the review.</lol>

What a shame he can't fit a larger grinder in...the Eureka Zenith 65E, really good...every day I use it, I'm liking it more and more...probably see my Mini E up for sale soon (I checked with the person who gave it to me as a present and they don't mind).


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## Blackstone (Aug 5, 2012)

Davecuk - what would you consider to be the best bang for buck in the compact grinder cat?


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## m4lcs67 (Mar 16, 2014)

I like the fact that the Vario has ceramic burrs which are supposed to last twice the length of time as steel ones (although the ceramic burrs are more than twice the price to replace). I also like the fact that you can get to the burrs on the Vario easily to clean. To be fair I haven't been able to find out about accessibility on the Mignon for cleaning of the burrs, so the jury is out in that regard. On the Vario there is virtually no retention of the grind in the machine.

Both grinders have timers, so it is possible to set them to get a measured dose (or as close as it is possible without getting the scales out). 99% of the time I will be using the grinder for espresso, so the thing will be set-up for that. The Vario also has many different settings to choose from in order to get the grind to the consistency that you are looking for. All the buttons for the Vario are easily accessible whereas the Mignon seems to have them scattered all over the place. The Vario does look nicer than the Mignon (although many like the design of the Mignon and it is beginning to grow on me a little). And after all it is how well it grinds coffee that ultimately counts. It could be the prettiest machine known to man, but if it cannot cut the mustard where it counts then it is a pointless exercise.

The Vario is quiet.

The Mignon is know to clump, but is that really a problem?

The Mignon however is considerably cheaper, and while that isn't an issue as I can comfortably afford the Vario is the Vario worth the additional cost over the Mignon?

Also finally. No one can give me an indication of whether you can just weigh out a dose of beans for a couple of shots and run either machine until the ground coffee has come out into the portafilter without damaging the burrs. That will aid with dosing I would assume in conjunction with the timer on both grinders.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Malc, this is an emotive subject! Have you read the review Dave did for BB a few years ago? On here, Vario owners will defend Varios and Mignons the same. I have had both and am biased (not really but others will say so). The M weighs a comparative ton and is made of the usual grinder materials and will last a lifetime. The burrs come off with 3 screws from memory. The V was one of the most hyped up entrants into the market. I had one of the first ones (trading down from a K30) available in the UK. I was extremely unimpressed from day one and after a short space of time, both sliders started to move up and down when grinding. I returned it to be told it had no fault. I then suggested that they view the dvd I had placed in the box and I received a new one.

The V looks nice, is small, has lots of clever electronics on it but ask yourself if you think it will be around for years and years. it must be about 6/7 or so years since they were launched and the same fault, the sliders, still gets talked about regularly. If you were able to go to BB you could try both grinders, but in truth, if you ask for views on a forum people will vote for what hey own.

I would not buy another Vario but would have a Mignon tomorrow, if needs dictated. If ou have not seen the review I talk about, please say so and someone will post the link. the Mignon can clump a bit with certain (darker) beans but so does an HG One in as much as you have to distribute the grind, so I do not see that as a particular problem


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Hi you can run the burrs without Coffee in and not damage them, I fact when your re adjusting burrs to a finer grind it is advised you do this while the burrs are running !

All grinders will retain some grounds to one degree or another .

Zero retention and electronic grinder are a holy grail sought by many. ....

Hence with eirher if you put 18 g in you won't get 18 g out just by keeping in running .this is why some people uses camera lens hoods to help blow out that last half a gram retained in the burrs or Shute ....

Re clumping on the mignion ,some people will perform WDT ( Weiss distribution techinique - essentially stirring with a cocktail stick ) to unclump and redistribute fines ....clumping will depend on then type of bean being used ( roast level ) and how fine youa re grinding it though.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Link to review mentioned

http://www.bellabarista.co.uk/pdf/compact-grinder-1-closerlook.pdf


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## m4lcs67 (Mar 16, 2014)

Thanks for the link, Mr Boots. The Mignon does seem to be the darling of the compact grinders and the one that possibly the majority of people use/recommend. Hmmm. What colour????







. It will live in between my Classic which is polished steel and my fridge which is domestic appliance white. Decisions, decisions.


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## charris (Feb 17, 2014)

The vario has one advantage that might be significant for some: you can change the burrs and use it for coarser brew coffee when you decide to upgrade to a better espresso grinder. I like this idea, and I think systematic kid has done exactly this.


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

The Vario clumps with darker roasts, but not lighter-medium.

You can single dose, but you do get slight popcorning.

Retention is probably around ~0.5-1g

I wouldn't recommend switching between grinds without purging some beans through it, I really wouldn't recommend it at all actually and use a hand grinder for brewed.

You may need to recalibrate the grinder from time to time with an allen key, if this scares you dont buy one.

The mignon and vario both have lots of settings to dial in perfectly, the only difference is the mignon has a knob and the vario has sliders. Dialling in requires practice and getting to know your grinder, once you do they both will be easy to dial in new beans.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Blackstone said:


> Davecuk - what would you consider to be the best bang for buck in the compact grinder cat?


Well the vario I thought looked nice, had lots of features, was quiet...but like I said in the review, it's not enough and I had long term concerns over longevity and problems. I think I have been proved right with the 100s of pages on Coffeegeek for the Baratza Vario all full of problems....you don't see that sort of thread where other grinders are concerned...jeez, i would have thought that was frightening enough.

The Eureka Mignon (and I used one extensively before), is what I feel is the minimum decent compact grinder at a good price....now that's me and I know people would disagree. if the 2 grinders were free and I had a choice, it would be the Mignon every time. Smply because I know I'm not likely to get problems or have to play around with it for 10 years or more.

if you can stretch a bit get a Mini E used...mine will be up for sale soon.

If you can make the space, get a used commecial

If you must have new and can make a bit of space, then the Eureka Zenith 65E for £499 is stonking value (as a special forum offer)


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## Blackstone (Aug 5, 2012)

DavecUK said:


> Well the vario I thought looked nice, had lots of features, was quiet...but like I said in the review, it's not enough and I had long term concerns over longevity and problems. I think I have been proved right with the 100s of pages on Coffeegeek for the Baratza Vario all full of problems....you don't see that sort of thread where other grinders are concerned...jeez, i would have thought that was frightening enough.
> 
> The Eureka Mignon (and I used one extensively before), is what I feel is the minimum decent compact grinder at a good price....now that's me and I know people would disagree. if the 2 grinders were free and I had a choice, it would be the Mignon every time. Smply because I know I'm not likely to get problems or have to play around with it for 10 years or more.
> 
> ...


Cheers.

Sadly commercial is not an option just yet as space is an issue. I'm really in the market for something to tie me over for the next year or 2 before I upgrade house so that I can upgrade grinder.

Do you mean the Mini E is good value at £499 as I thought the Mignon was sub £300?


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

2nd hand mini E comes in around that range


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

jeebsy said:


> 2nd hand mini E comes in around that range


really, what should I be asking for mine do you think?...small hopper, burrs immaculate 50% used I spose



> Do you mean the Mini E is good value at £499 as I thought the Mignon was sub £300?


No I meant theEureka Zenith 65E for £499 is stonking value (as a special forum offer), see the deals section....excellent grinder. I have no idea what price to put my one owner Mazzer Mini E up for. I usually let stuff go far too cheap....and I just found out I have 4 bloody tyres to buy!!


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

I wouldn't take less than £350 for it Dave at the lowest


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

coffeechap said:


> I wouldn't take less than £350 for it Dave at the lowest


I shall bear that in mind thx....I have a habit of letting things go far to cheaply


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