# What a difference a year makes



## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

So I was just sitting here thinking about changes in my life and things surrounding me since this time last year. Back then I was still using my trusty Gaggia Classic and an MC2, then in May last year the MC2 was replaced by a Brasilia RR55 OD, which was crammed in alongside the Classic on top of the freezer as this was the only space I had available back then. I thought that posting this could show those newer members what can be possible for not a very large outlay.

  2013-08-22 23.34.37 by charliejeal, on Flickr

Later on in the year I managed to find a bench/table that would fit in some dead space underneath a wall cupboard to use as proper coffee corner and so things became like this.

  2013-10-07 21.31.45 by charliejeal, on Flickr

Then the Sage Dual Boiler arrived for testing and reviewing last November.

  2014-01-27 13.36.36 by charliejeal, on Flickr

Then earlier this year along with Gary i got the opportunity to buy the Sage DB and the Smart Grinder as well, I promptly sold the Smart Grinder and My Classic to fund the upgrade and was happy with the Sage and my RR55 OD then as happens to us all sooner or later upgraditis bit me when I received some extra money at the beginning of April. So one Tuesday evening I phoned Dave (Coffechap) to talk about potential upgrades to the RR55 and ended up with a Eureka Mythos Delivered to me by Dave on Thursday morning the same week. So having spent a grand total of £375 in real terms since this time last year ( this is on top of the money I got back from selling other stuff on) my coffee corner now looks like this. So thank you to everyone that assisted in any way along my journey and hopefully the monkey is off my back for a while now as I can't think what I on demand grinder I could get that would outweigh the advantages the Mythos has and provide a substantial improvement whilst being affordable (this means short of a lottery win and moving to somewhere bigger there will be no EK43 coming my way).

  SAM_0124 by charliejeal, on Flickr


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Great set up and journey Charlie.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Charlie, we have not heard an awful lot about your experiences with the Mythos. Has it really replaced the Brasilia RR55, which after all, you did rate extremely highly!


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## marcuswar (Aug 19, 2013)

Nice setup Charlie, but am I the only person who thinks the Mythos looks like a Mr Whippy Ice-cream machine... I'll have a 99 please


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## c_squared (Jun 26, 2013)

Your bench is looking better and better Charlie!


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

dfk41 said:


> Charlie, we have not heard an awful lot about your experiences with the Mythos. Has it really replaced the Brasilia RR55, which after all, you did rate extremely highly!


I'm finding that the Mythos needs more care in dialling in as the adjustment scale is finer than the 80 steps of the RR55 but once dialled in the results in the cup are far better and I'll get used to the Mythos properly before long. The speed at which the Mythos grinds and the consistency of the grind are just excellent as is nice mound of coffee it delivers into the portafilters centre, which the RR55 also does, the amount of retention in the Mythos ~1g is great and less than the RR55 retains. The hopper on the Mythos though is far too bloody big, I mean 3kg capacity is crazy and I'm currently researching a possible group buy on the smaller 1kg Mythos One hoppers.

On reflection I think you have to go up to Mythos, Mazzer Royal/Major, maybe also a Cimbali Magnum or above to get significantly better than an RR55, if you want a quality on demand grinder then it eclipses all but the K30 amongst it's 64mm brethren( maybe the new Eureka 65mm burr OD grinder is good) and is a damn sight more affordable too, plus has far less grind path problems than a Mazzer as the exit from the burrs doesn't have a silly step in it. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend one of the paint finished rather than polished metal RR55s to anyone looking for a good but also affordable on demand grinder as you should be able to get a good example for the price of a brand new Mignon.

I was kind of sad to see the RR55 go , but was also happy to get my hands on a Mythos as previously I had never thought I could afford one or that one would fit in my kitchen, I guess I just need to find myself something like a Gaggia Achille now to put in the space where the hot water dispenser, which only gets used to warm cups anyway, currently is.


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## Jason1wood (Jun 1, 2012)

Looks a great setup. I really fancy trying a RR55 so got my eyes peeled for one now.


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

hmmmmmmm wonder who might have an achille lying around!


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## Soll (Nov 10, 2013)

Great looking set up Charlie, isn't it satisfying when you see progress made over time ? Having bought my Mythos originally to be paired with the Strega, I thought I would try it at work paired with the Cherub and it's been there ever since. So easy to use and customers are blown away with the coffee I make them they're expecting instant in a mug but when I serve them freshly roasted coffee prepared properly and in a nice cup they just love it!


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## GS11 (Feb 20, 2013)

Congrats Charlie. Very nice set-up.


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## Milanski (Oct 10, 2013)

Looking good! How long were you on the Classic/MC2 combo for??


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## welshrarebit (Apr 17, 2014)

Lovely looking setup, nice to see the progression for us newbies.


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## Daren (Jan 16, 2012)

Is that a swashed frog in front of the microwave in the first picture Charlie? (a couple of dips in a latte for a hallucinating brew - maybe the secret to your perceived lack of static on the RR55







)


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

Daren said:


> Is that a swashed frog in front of the microwave in the first picture Charlie? (a couple of dips in a latte for a hallucinating brew - maybe the secret to your perceived lack of static on the RR55
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It's actually a drinks coaster in the shape of a Koala made from Australian Eucalyptus wood.

Milanski, I was bought the Classic whilst living in Australia in 2007 as 40th birthday present from all the family, Classics are rather expensive over there, along with a Sunbeam grinder which went pop shortly before I moved back to the UK and was well out of it's warranty period so I made do for a while with my vintage Zassenhaus until hand grinding seriously pissed me off and bought the MC2 which I had for 2 years or so.


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## iroko (Nov 9, 2012)

Great to have pics of the journey, the mythos is a beast.


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## Thecatlinux (Mar 10, 2014)

Reading this post is not a good cure for upgraditis , nice set up Charlie . An OD is defiantly on my wish list so will be watching with interest and a little bit of envy to see how you get on with the mythos .


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

Thecatlinux said:


> Reading this post is not a good cure for upgraditis , nice set up Charlie . An OD is defiantly on my wish list so will be watching with interest and a little bit of envy to see how you get on with the mythos .


The Mythos is excellent I've been wanting one for a long time but had never thought I could fit one on my bench or could afford one either, I can't think what I could realistically and affordably get that would be OD and improve on the Mythos substantially, the Clima Pro version would just be a waste for home use, if there were a way to update it to run at low or high speeds like the Mythos Barista model I wouldn't mind doing that.

What took some getting used to was adjusting the grind level and getting a feel for what change made in terms of time, when you can grind 20g in 3.5 seconds or less this is critical lol.


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

charlie you can change the motor and capacitor for the slow speed variant, bella barista can get them in.....


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

Ah I didn't realise it needed a motor change that sounds pricey, I thought I remembered Coffeejohnny saying that his Mythos already had the right motor and the change was something easier to do than replace the entire motor.


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

nope his has a standard speed motor, it is not that pricey charlie, around £200 all in I think, but then you would have a brand new machine again, pretty much


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## Thecatlinux (Mar 10, 2014)

Excuse my ignorance but why do you want to modify the motor to get a slower speed ?


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

Thecatlinux said:


> Excuse my ignorance but why do you want to modify the motor to get a slower speed ?


Slower motor speed on a grinder like this equals even better grind quality, If I remember correctly the Mythos Barista can be switched between low and high speed.


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