# Where to buy Gaggia MDF?



## Cheshire Phill (Dec 4, 2013)

Finally decided I'm after buying a black Gaggia MDF to go with my little cubika - does anyone know where I can get the best deal on one?

I just missed one on the for sale board here, and don't really want to spend £200 on one, have seen them at about £180, but often with Euro plug so probably not worth it.

Any experience on this forum please&#8230;I have yet to get to the beans bit, but have OK so far with ground Illy/Lavassa/Kimbo etc. so far...

Thanks for any tips!!

Cheshire Phill


----------



## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Cheshire Phill said:


> Finally decided I'm after buying a black Gaggia MDF to go with my little cubika - does anyone know where I can get the best deal on one?
> 
> I just missed one on the for sale board here, and don't really want to spend £200 on one, have seen them at about £180, but often with Euro plug so probably not worth it.
> 
> ...


Hi there and welcome

The mdf seem to come up a fair bit on eBay. That one for sale on here has been on a little whole , so bad luck missing it . I wouldn't necessarily see the vlaue in buying one new for £180 . There have been used mignions for £200 recently , so gives you a bench mark of what can be had for similar money.

Beans wise , fresh beans in decent grinder will give you a better taste than pre bought.

Looking at the pre bought you have it may suggest you like something with a mid to darkish roast.

Perhaps try online roasters such as extract, union or rave , when your grinder is delivered .


----------



## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

Just to add a +1 to Boot's opinion it's just not worth buying an MDF brand new, they have a doser who's handle seems to break a lot according to anecdotal evidence and they are stepped not stepless and that seems to drive a lot people crazy in the end and they have to resort to bodges with PTFE tape to make them stepless. If you absolutely have to buy brand new and won't entertain the idea of second hand then at £180-200 there isn't that much choice that is considered to be capable of a decent espresso grind.The choices are mainly :

The Iberital MC2 ~£147 brand new (you want the Auto model not the dosered one), it's capable of a decent espresso grind, has stepless adjustment via a worm drive, which can be a plus or a minus depending on if you want to swap grind between a brewed method and espresso, it's not the nicest looking girl in the school either and sounds like its grinding concrete in use, but the noise is only for a a little while.

The Sage Smart Grinder which is £199 and comes with a 2 year warranty, it has some nice features is a stepped adjustment with the grind size indicated on it's screen, it supposedly keeps the dose constant for you whatever the grind level, is a whole lot nice looking than the MC2, it has a better system for holding the portafilter while you grind, and comes with swappable inserts to do this for 53mm and 58mm portafilters, it's easier to access the burrs to facilitate cleaning. However it's very new on the market in the UK so there is not much empirical evidence about it's capabilities and long term reliability( although if purchased at John Lewis can include a 5 year warranty for a little extra cash). Both myself and Coffeechap have Smart Grinders for review purposes directly from Sage at the moment so it's worth waiting to see what our conclusions about it are, we will be giving them a thorough workout and in my case directly comparing it to my ex-commercial Brasilia RR55 OD grinder which cost me £175 used which seems fair to me as money wise they cost about the same when I factor in the new burrs for the RR55.

If you aren't welded to the idea of new then used can offer huge savings, and if bought via the classifieds on here you can be pretty sure they have been looked after by a fellow enthusiast. The Iberital MC2 crops up for sale here fairly regularly as people upgrade and can be had for around £85 plus carriage, a Eureka Mignon which is well respected on here is considered to be a step up from an MC2 and looks a whole lot nicer as well can be had for around £220 plus carriage. The other option if space and looks aren't a driving factor is to talk to Coffeechap and see what he has available at the moment, buying from him is risk free as he strips down, refurbs and services the grinders he sells so they're pretty much as good as new, if you could stretch your budget to ~£250 you could save yourself money in the long term by buying an ex-commercial grinder from him as this would stay with you as and when you upgrade your machine.

At the end of the day you pay your money and take your choice, but always remember that particularly at the lower end of the espresso machine market is a far more critical part of the equation than the machine as it "prepares" your ingredient i.e. the coffee beans.

As an aside have you depressurised your Cubika's portafilter yet or just using it "as is"?


----------



## Cheshire Phill (Dec 4, 2013)

Guys, thanks very much for the advice, I'm a bit concerned about the "best looking girl in the school thing though!

My wife is very keen on how "my things" look in "her kitchen", and she has a load of Onyx black Kitchenaid stuff - mixer, blender, food processor etc. I did actually flirt with the idea of the Kitchenaid coffee grinder at £150, but pretty sure it wouldn't be too good&#8230;.although their food mixers are seen as the dogs.

The Cubika only just survives on looks though!!

Given that I'm coming from a low position here - I made an OK testing espresso the other day made with beans I ground with a £30 Russell Hobbs blade grinder&#8230;.what about buying a used MDF on eBay? I'm watching one, might get it for around £80&#8230;could get me going?

Incidentally, I've asked some other Qs in the Lounge, including "can I use a depressurised portafilter?"

I'll start looking at the Sage then...

Thanks!!

Cheshire Phill


----------



## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

£80 isn't a bad price for an MDF , don't go much higher tho . Blade grinders won't do it for you,as. You have discovered. Have posted on your other thread , re grinders .


----------

