# Iberital MC2 or Mignon MK 2



## Beans (Dec 8, 2015)

Which one would you guys recommend?

And what are the differences between the two?


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Eureka Mignon every time.

But it costs a lot more. You'll pay £200 for a used Mignon, not sure what current retail is but guess 250. The Mignon is very well built, looks lovely, gives decent results at the price. Some say the grinds 'clump' a bit; the same has been said of £1k+ grinders and is a bit overdone as a 'problem' IMHO.

The MC2 is a small conical grinder, but suffers from inconsistency in grind size, is a PITA to dial in (and drifts), is noisy, looks and feels cheap. Grounds tend to get stuck on the lip of the chute. In its defence it IS cheap, but you get what you pay for. I had one as my first grinder, and if you buy one used (£80ish) it's ok to get you started and you can sell it on when you've saved up for a Mignon or Super Jolly. So if you're really strapped, get a used MC2 as a temporary measure (or a decent hand grinder which you can always use for brewed/take travelling). But if you have £200+ available it's worth spending it on the Mignon, an SJ, Brasilia etc


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

Mignon. It produces a better grind for both brewed and espresso.

To continue:

MC2 is conical; Mignon is flat.

MC2 is loud; Mignon is quiet.

MC2 is takes a long time to adjust; Mignon takes a few second to adjust.

MC2 grind isn't fluffy (but is clump free); Mignon grind is fluffy (but clumpy -- but this doesn't affect shot quality)


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## StuartS (Jan 2, 2015)

I have both atm. I used an mc2 for over two years and to be honest it was a good starter grinder.

The two grinders are quite different though.

Then mc2 has a conical burr set and the mignon has flat burrs but the main difference is the burr carrier/ adjustment. The mcs has a screw in top burr carrier which is made of a plastic/nylon material. Over time the threads wear and the top burr carrier can move during grinding. This means the consistency of the grind gets worse (range of particle sizes). It's not that great when new but it does get worse with age. Mc2 shares the burr assembly with other grinders of similar price (ascaso, fracino to name two)

the mignon has a fixed top burr (three screws hold the carrier in place) and adjsutable lower burr carrier which is much better mounted and more stable. The grind consistency is therefore better, so you should get a better espresso.

Build quality of the mc2 is pretty poor. The mignon is much better quality.

the mc2 is noisy and mignon quieter (enough to make a difference). You can remove the top carrier on the mignon for cleaning, put it back and there is no need to adjust anything - the grind is where you left it. You can't do this with the mc2 as you need to completely unscrew the top carrier. When it goes back there is a need to readjust (dial in ) and this can take a while. The mignon is easier to use generally.

a new mc2 is around 140, second hand around 70. A new mignon is 280 and secondhand around 180-200. If you have the money for the mignon, buy one. If not, buy something like an mc2.

If you're looking at a Classic, the mc2 will be a decent start but you'll probably want to upgrade at some stage.

some will recommend secondhand commercial grinders but they are large if you are short of space. The mignon is nice and small.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Boom! A salvo of posts all saying much the same thing in 4 minutes!


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## Beans (Dec 8, 2015)

Cheers guys!


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## cold war kid (Mar 12, 2010)

Whaat about a Lido E? I don't own one myself but I've heard good thing's about them.

I own an mc2 and it's not all that bad although all the negative comments above are true to a greater or lesser extent except that mine has never drifted. Don't forget though that you can come up with a list of problems for just about any sub £1000 grinder used in a domestic environment because the vast majority of the good ones aren't designed to be used like that.

Take a mazzer major for example. If you told someone that isn't into this hobby that you were going to spend the best part of a grand on a grinder and then take bits off it and put in sellotape and bit's of cardboard and plastic in it's place so it will work properly they'd cart you off to the funny farm.

Basically, if the choice is between the 2 you list then either buy a Mignon new if money is no problem or if it is, buy an mc2 second hand and when you've got the money together for something else you can sell it on for no loss so it's basically a free loan.

If it was my choice I'd get the mc2 and save for something substantially better and skip the Mignon altogether.


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