# Best coffee grinders for espresso (£150 budget max)



## ChrisKon (Nov 18, 2020)

Hi all, quite new to the coffee world however I'm loving it!

I have a Delonghi Dedica alongside a Delonghi coffee grinder to go with however, the fine grind doesn't seem to be that fine.

My wife asked what I wanted for my birthday so I'm thinking....A COFFEE GRINDER!!

I've had a look at the Sage Dose Pro Burr grinder, does anyone have this and do you feel it's worth it? Is the grind fine enough?

I mainly have cortados/flat whites and occasionally, espressos.

If anyone could advise on coffee grinders for what I intend to use, that would be very much appreciated.

Kind regards

Chris


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## HDAV (Dec 28, 2012)

Have a search and you will soon find £150 doesn't go a long way when it comes to espresso grinders (electric ones at least) will get you a great hand grinder......

Welcome to the rabbit hole there are many videos on the subject this was just the one that came top when i looked for some the subject.....but explains some of things to look for in a grinder (noise level can be a really important factor in living with one.........) a few others in your ball park

https://baratza.com/grinder/encore/

https://www.ranciliogroup.com/rancilio/rocky/rocky/

https://www.ascaso.com/div-espresso-coffee-machines-grinders/i-mini-1.html

https://www.eureka.co.it/en/catalogo/prodotti/macinacaffè+on+demand/1/10.aspx


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## Missy (Mar 9, 2016)

I don't know why stuff has got so expensive! Chuck a little bit of extra cash in, for around £200 you can get a used super jolly. It's a bit like a Dalek on the worktop but not that huge. They're impossible to kill and you can tart them up as you go along!

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## Stox (Jul 19, 2020)

I started out with a Sage Smart Grinder Pro, which I understand to be substantially the same as the Dose Control Pro but with additional features and buttons:

- My one was able to crunch through anything I threw at it, including lightly roasted, high-altitude, single origin beans. It could always grind fine enough for me to hit the numbers in terms of yield and shot time using a Gaggia Classic, with enough margin to effectively choke it.

- For the price it is a good domestic grinder. However, the "pro" bit is pure marketing puff: with light domestic use (let's say up to 3 shots/day) it should last at least 2 years, this being the warranty period.

In summary, yes it will grind fine enough, and it's probably the least you can get away with buying a brand new grinder at this price point. However, if you find you want to take espresso more seriously as a hobby/learning experience (the fact that you are looking for something better suggests this may be the case) you will quickly realise the need to upgrade both the espresso machine and the grinder. There is a lot of material in these forums and elsewhere online. For example you could check out other videos on James Hoffman's YouTube channel (linked in a previous reply) where he has recently reviewed espresso machines and grinders at the cheaper end of the market.


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## cuprajake (Mar 30, 2020)

Mignon manule £240 del from @Black Cat Coffee 50mm burr grinder


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## matted (Sep 30, 2019)

A hand grinder is to my mind a great place to start.

Affordable, compact, quiet and switches up from espresso to v60 and so on very easily. Lets you get more familiar with ranges of grind and does not burn through beans or electricity dialling in or adjusting compared to motor driven grinders.

A used espresso capable made by knock, commandante with red clix or similar is under or close to your budget.


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## cuprajake (Mar 30, 2020)

Just a ball ache to do 😂


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## Catlady101 (Sep 26, 2020)

> 7 hours ago, HDAV said:
> 
> Have a search and you will soon find £150 doesn't go a long way when it comes to espresso grinders (electric ones at least) will get you a great hand grinder......
> 
> ...


 ah- I love the bit where he says the espresso ( from the niche) has a silky soft mouthfeel - if only I too could make coffel ike that 😊


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## matted (Sep 30, 2019)

Cuprajake said:


> Just a ball ache to do 😂


 true if you are impatient and can't wait approx or less than a minute to grind a shot or enough for a v60.


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## cuprajake (Mar 30, 2020)

or if you have a frozen shoulder like i do, grinding a hard bean practically impossible


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## ChrisKon (Nov 18, 2020)

Thanks for your reply all, i'm staring down the rabbit hole now and don't know if my pockets can afford me to jump in it!!!

I mean, this is what I have at the mo:

https://javahubcoffee.com/products/delonghi-kg79-electric-coffee-grinder-black?variant=35324388638873&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&utm_term=&utm_campaign=gs-2020-09-18-1&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign&hsa_acc=3165015150&hsa_cam=11154696871&hsa_grp=114973472608&hsa_ad=466277512310&hsa_src=u&hsa_tgt=pla-293946777986&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gclid=CjwKCAiAzNj9BRBDEiwAPsL0d54FcxLsKpVE0tQmjlpS1eDY2Zh1M0xRCpymJvViWRggY7HDEgHRaBoCw6YQAvD_BwE

Do you think the Sage smart grinder pro would be a big difference if I step up to it?

I've also heard good things about the Ibertal MC2, anyone have any thoughts on this grinder?

I'm loving trying to make the best espresso shot with what I have but I don't think I should upgrade machine as well as grinder (yet).


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## HDAV (Dec 28, 2012)

Have a search, back in 12/13/14 when I bought my set up (pre sage) the mc2 was quite popular as an entry espresso grinder at the time the suggested wisdom was to find a used commercial grinder you can also look at ascaso (Francino rebadged one as the piccino grinder) and the rancilio Rocky the mignon was the new kid on the block then iirc


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## matted (Sep 30, 2019)

Cuprajake said:


> or if you have a frozen shoulder like i do, grinding a hard bean practically impossible


 agree, that is a very good reason


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## 24774 (Mar 8, 2020)

ChrisKon said:


> I mean, this is what I have at the mo:


 Have a watch of this, includes the grinder you have linked. Conclusion - don't buy, save up and buy something better.






The Sage grinder you mention is £150 with the discount code. It'll be way better than these grinders but for £150 have a look in the For Sale section on this website.


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## Fiyo (Oct 25, 2020)

If you are thinking about buying a Sage grinder You can get 25% off on their website, at the moment with the code GLOBALCOFFEEFESTIVAL-KWNRTM5U. They were out of stock but available this morning again


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## profesor_historia (Sep 1, 2020)

ChrisKon said:


> Hi all, quite new to the coffee world however I'm loving it!
> 
> I have a Delonghi Dedica alongside a Delonghi coffee grinder to go with however, the fine grind doesn't seem to be that fine.
> 
> ...


Chris from my experience I can tell you that the best options regarding quality-price are the second hand ones. Here in the forum sometimes you can find very interesteting offers. I know may people may be reticent to this but muy point is that for 150£ you can get a better second hand grinder than a new one for the same money.

Or if you want new take a look to 1zpresso JX plus manual grinder, is perfectly for espresso, pour over etc. BTW, I think will be my auto gift from Santa









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