# Grind off clash of the titans



## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

After the success of the first grinder event and having time to reflect on what went well and what could have been done so much better, it is tentatively that I begin my journey on the second of the grinder events that I wanted to complete, the "Clash of the Titans". The last event was pretty much a one person crusade (with help from others during the latter stages) which I am keen to avoid this time round.

The concept here is about ultimately pitching the best grinders money can buy against each other in a quest to see which is best, crucially this time the key aspect will be in the cup performance as these grinders will be (wrongly) rarely used in the home environment so a lot of the criteria from the first event (in my eyes) are completely irrelavent here. What truely matters is the quality and consistency of the grind and how this impacts on the flavour profile of the subsequent coffee produced.

I intend to run two days this time, one for the forum members, which will involve many other activities and be an allround get to gether as per the first grind off event, it will give members the opportunity to try out some kit they may only ever dream of, but most importantly it will demonstrate the kind of coffee that is acheivable with the best input, i.e. perfectly ground coffee, that realistically can only be done on the high end grinders. The second day will be about coffee shops and the industry, coming together to explore how truly great ground coffee impacts on the output of their business.

So with all this in mind I wanted to start up the thread to again gauge some opinions of what the forum wants from the day, how we go about organising the event, what are the expectations of the attendees, How much should the event cost? (people will be expected to pay up front for this and all payments will be non refundable, this is to counter people pulling out at the last minute and will gauge the commitment of the forum to the event).

The event will once again be run at Rave coffee as Rob will completely support this event as he did the last and to be honest his venue lends itself perfectly to the demands required, however if someone thinks they have a better solution then please say as i am open to suggestions.

Ok The grinders

Eureka Mythos

Elektra Nino

Mazzer kony e

Mazzer Robur e

Mazzer Royal e

Compak K10 fresh

Mahlkonig K30 Barista

HG1

Versalab

Anfim super caimano OD

la cimbali magnum conic

plus a couple of concepts in the making.

I am confident that I will put this lineup together so they should make for an interesting comparison. Evaluations of the taste will be conducted on a rather special lever and a rather special pump driven machine but all will be revealed nearer the time........

The date is yet to be confirmed but expect late october early november to give enough time from the forum event in september at bella barista.

I look forward to your ideas and suggestions.


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## Spukey (Nov 4, 2012)

Can't wait to see the K10 Fresh, Super Caimano OD, and the rarer Nino against each other. Infact as these are OD alot are rare unless you want to pay thousands. Most of all i am looking forward ro seeing how they go against the highly rated super grinder the Mythos.

Also looking forward to seeing the Versalab in action, can the small grinder compete with the beasts, I especially like the concept of Flat and conical burrs in one grinder.

The concept grinders also sound interesting.

I will be attending and will also help where i can, just let me know mate.


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## lookseehear (Jul 16, 2010)

I will definitely be at this one having missed the other grind off. I was also toying with the idea of bringing my Duetto along to compare a fairly top end home machine against a commercial machine when paired with a Titan grinder.

If this isn't something members want to see I don't have to bring it but if there's interest I might be able to.


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## reneb (Nov 2, 2011)

i think that's a great idea luke, would be very interesting to see how a high end domestic machine fares against a commercial machine.

i also think it might be a good idea to have one of the best performing grinders from the previous grind off for comparison.


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## Spukey (Nov 4, 2012)

reneb said:


> i think that's a great idea luke, would be very interesting to see how a high end domestic machine fares against a commercial machine.
> 
> i also think it might be a good idea to have one of the best performing grinders from the previous grind off for comparison.


Thats a good idea, probably the Brasilia RR55 OD as all the others in this are on demand and the Brasilia did well, in the taste aswell if i remember correctly. Also it has become a popular grinder on here.


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Not sure that the smaller grinders will make it to this as it is about the top end grinders against each other.


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## Spukey (Nov 4, 2012)

coffeechap said:


> Not sure that the smaller grinders will make it to this as it is about the top end grinders against each other.


I know what you are saying but it would be nice to see the difference between the better performing smaller commercial grinders such as the Brasillia against the bigger beasts. To demonstrate the difference in speed and grind quality to see if the size/cost difference is worth it for you.

However i do agree it is and should be mainly about finding the best grinder in the world, World Heavy Weight Champion haha


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

This is a Grind Event, not a machine event. Nobody will learn anything about grinders if you bring in a second variable such as a Duetto. There is no point in bringing in any non, 100% commercial machines as this is a day purely for them. Sorry!


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## Southpaw (Feb 26, 2012)

Missed the first event but will make this one. Best good to see what these big guns can do.


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## gman147 (Jul 7, 2012)

I strongly disagree. I think bringing the Duetto (or other home machines) is a great idea. If the idea of the grind-off is to compare and contrast and learn about commercial Grinders then surely it is of utmost benefit to see the capability of these grinders used on a 'home' machine which most of the attendees will own... Albeit the Alex is pretty much the best home machine you can get, I'd rather see someone bring along a Cherub or something which are more commonly used. That way, you can measure the benefits of these top end commercial grinders more accurately instead of going to this grind off, making an unreal espresso, buy the same grinder and using it on a lower end machine and thinking to yourself, "what happened there..."

Using a commercial machine with these grinders is all well and good, but what benefit is it to the home user? That is, if the pitch is indeed the option of the home user owning one of these machines, then surely see them perform and grind for one of the 'home' machines is of top priority. You don't test drive your new car on a track, you test it where you are going to be driving it i.e. on the road.

Of course, if the event is purely about grinders and how the perform as an independent variable then keep it how it is.

Just my tuppence, everyone will have their opinion of course


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Interesting debate, playing devils advocate , one could suggest that putting these monsters through their paces on one commercial machine, will give us an idea of how to bench mark them against each other. There is such a diverse range of machines on here .would someone with a lever learn much a bout what a mythos tastes like thorough a cherub? Or would someone learn more spending time doing a direct taste comparison on one high end machine ? Dunno..... Again not saying a disagree with your point of view , just presenting an alternative....


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## gman147 (Jul 7, 2012)

Ha! on re-reading my post, it does come across a little strongly. It wasn't intended that way. It's hard to get across emotion via text. Just was merely throwing a few ideas in the mix..

/me digs myself out of hole....


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

poona said:


> Ha! on re-reading my post, it does come across a little strongly. It wasn't intended that way. It's hard to get across emotion via text. Just was merely throwing a few ideas in the mix..
> 
> /me digs myself out of hole....


Don't worry mate, didnt come across strongly to me, at all . As they say there are no bad ideas ( currently making breadcrumbs on my magnum grinder ..,,







) as I said somewhere else , I'm at home today child care with no one to talk to, so just putting up opinions etc, as you are the only adults I can talk to today. personally I like the idea of a ultimate show down between these monsters , winner takes all, but that doesn't mean I am in the majority or right ( ask my staff at work , hardly ever am I right .. ). So no offence taken, no hole to dig out of !


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

It would be good (once a winning grinder is found) to then try it on the pro machine(s) AND a simple home machine. It places the importance of grinder into context for those considering the leap to this class of grinder.

Would be too much of a ball ache to try all grinders on both machines tho.

So , perhaps one day, a ''machine-off'' could take place. Vibe versus Rotary versus Lever versus pressure profiled......


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

garydyke1 said:


> It would be good (once a winning grinder is found) to then try it on the pro machine(s) AND a simple home machine. It places the importance of grinder into context for those considering the leap to this class of grinder.
> 
> Would be too much of a ball ache to try all grinders on both machines tho.
> 
> So , perhaps one day, a ''machine-off'' could take place. Vibe versus Rotary versus Lever versus pressure profiled......


That's an interesting compromise Gary ,which simple home machine would you use? As for the machine off, has anyone seen the Cimbalit machine/ grinder that is wifi etc.Will my espresso machine , one day look like Metal mickey or something from Battlestar Galattica.....


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Actually the idea of Metal Mickey asking me to pull his lever to make a double shot is most distressing...


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

Mrboots2u said:


> Actually the idea of Metal Mickey asking me to pull his lever to make a double shot is most distressing...


You almost owed me a new monitor then, read that while drinking coffee, pure comedy genius. Maybe we can be the entertainment at the Atkinsons do lol.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

You aint seen me make coffee yet, thats pretty funny ....


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Why a Duetto. That suggests, that in the same vein as people on here blindly thought the SJ was unbeatable (when it clearly was), that the Duetto is alos top of its tree. It might be in some peoples opinion of course, but that does not make it right.

The idea of playing on a Prosumer machine once the real event has finished is fine, but since the two most popular machines on the forum seem to be Classics and Cherubs, would it not make more sense to include those.


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## gman147 (Jul 7, 2012)

Yeah Cherub would be an excellent choice as we mentioned. The Duetto was merely offered because from what I gather, that's what the chap owns. I don't think it was offered for any other reason?


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Hell, why not even a gaggia classic, its what most people seem to start with (and keep for about a month) ???

We had an MC2-ground-shot pulled on the San Remo at the last shindig......


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## gman147 (Jul 7, 2012)

How'd that go?


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Wasnt shocking actually, just a nice shot really. It did take several years to dial-in however ; )


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## gman147 (Jul 7, 2012)

Haha yeah, 100 turns off the worm wheel. Was a dream when I got the mazzer, so much easier to dial.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

If you could attach a ships-wheel then it would be a dream grinder for the hard of hearing sailors amongst us


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## dsc (Jun 7, 2013)

Just a thought, I'd be happy to offer my heavily modified Mazzer Major for the grinder clash. It's been tested before by James Hoffman against his Caimano and it was up there in the top notch category. The only issue is, someone would have to come and collect it, or, time-dependent, I might be able to bring it to the clash. Also the ZR-71 (code name for my grinder project) might be ready at that time as well.

Regards,

T.


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

would be fantastic to have the zr-71 there, I personally think that the Major is not quite up there with the other grinders, although I do appreciate the extent of the modifications you have done, this event is for unmodified grinders.


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## dsc (Jun 7, 2013)

No worries Dave, just a thought. I'm actually meeting someone today to talk about parts etc. for the ZR-71, so fingers crossed, it will be ready, or at least partially ready for the titan grind off.

Regards,

T.


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Wanted to update people on the next big grinder event. Due to the fact that we are having a forum day at bella barista in september, I have elected to postpone the clash of the titans event until next year probably around may/June again, this will prevent anyone having to make a choice between events. It will also mean I can plan it much more in depth to build upon the success of the grindoff, apologies to those expecting it this year........


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## dsc (Jun 7, 2013)

When in Sept? any details? I'm not far away, so should be ok to attend

Regards,

T.


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