# Eureka Mignon vs. Smart Grinder Pro - your advice



## delgag64

After making do for far too long with a cheap Krups burr grinder, which eventually gave up the ghost at finer settings, I decided I needed to upgrade to a decent grinder with integrated portafilter holder for use with my Gaggia Classic. I read around and ultimately settled on the Breville/Sage Smart Grinder Pro, as it seemed well-priced, packed full of easy to use convenient features and more or less capable for espresso (I tend to stick with dark roasts so thought it should probably suit).

Having ordered the SGP from Amazon (who were going to take a week to deliver it) I then spotted a new Eureka Mignon mk2 going for about £240 in my local kitchenware shop. They also sold the SGP, but for only £20 less, so no competition I thought. I haggled for some free goodies to come with it (pointing out that a new model was about to come out) and bought it there and then. Cancelled the SGP.

Having got the Mignon home, it's clearly a well-built and lovely looking machine. But I'm worried that I might have bitten off more than I can chew. Compared to the SGP, dialling in seems tricky and whereas the stepped dial (I know generally unfavoured in these parts) on the SGP make it easier to switch between grind settings (I occasionally do pour over) and to frequently change beans, I'm always worried about losing the sweet spot on the Mignon. There's also the clumping, and the fiddly timer. I think the fundamental issue is that, as an entry level grinder user, I was looking for something a bit simpler, rather than the Swiss watch of grinders. I know in the long-run I probably would have needed to upgrade at some point anyway, and that the Mignon is great for longevity and has better burrs.

What would your advice be? Stick it out with the Mignon and learn to master it - in the long-run getting a better cup - or go for the SGP? I even wonder about buying the SGP and keeping both, for different purposes. While a bit excessive it would be just about affordable. I reckon I'd end up using the SGP for espresso in that case, meaning the Mignon risks becoming a a bit of a relic.


----------



## GingerBen

Stick with it. It's a better espresso grinder for sure. Not sure it's designed for pourover though so you might struggle with that. The sgp is a jack of all trades but master of none from my experience. If you want a separate filter grinder buy a feldgrind.


----------



## AndyJH

The SGP is a pretty good grinder to be honest and very easy to use. Personally I grind into a pot and use a tooth pick or something similar to de-clump before transferring into the pf, same could be done with the Mignon. Not tried the Mignon myself but most seem to rate it as a better grinder than the SGP though. Have to admit that due to the ease of use of the SGP, I do go back to it on occasion. The one downside to the SGP is that you will want to upgrade at some point. Perhaps consider the Niche later on when more is known about it and undoubtably it will be better than both the Mignon and SGP.


----------



## khampal

I have the SGP and it's fine for brewed coffee, but I wouldn't recommend it if you're doing espresso.


----------



## Planter

I use a SGP for a decaf grinder for Espresso and it works perfectly well for that. Its far from flawless, but is acceptable, especially for the price.


----------



## ajohn

I've used Sage grinders for some time. One on a Barista Express and other a Sage Grinder Pro. I'm comparing that after a fashion with a Mazzer Mini A at the moment. The Mazzer is a recent purchase.

I use what should be a tricky oily bean a lot, kgs of it. I haven't had any clogging or clumping problems with Sage grinders so have had no need to poke around in grounds, I only use them for espresso. It looks to me so far that they will grind as fine as my Mazzer. That view may change marginally but probably not.

I doubt if a Sage grinder will last as long as the Mignon but home use is often a lot different even to light commercial use. In the past Sage have put versions out that may need shimming and also one with a plastic part that wore out - fair bit of use though. Both aspects have been updated.

Drawbacks as I see them. Stepped adjustment so might find the need to use a smaller adjustment to reach "perfection". That hasn't bean a serious problem for me. They are very good at producing a huge pile of grounds. Not a problem if the grinder has a pause which the separate ones have. On a BE the answer is to set for a 1/2 dose. The last factor especially if some one want to use a timed grind is that they need to grind a certain amount of beans before the output will settle down. The posh word for this is permanent retention. It will trap some each time a dose is ground until it settles down. It might take as much as 100g to do that. In practice I think it's a lot less than that. Once settled that leaves the usual grinder foibles. Depending on how accurate the dose needs to be small adjustments may need making to the time now and again. Some suggest checking the dose daily.

I think just about all grinders need to build up a certain amount of permanent retention before the dose will be consistent with time.

The last aspect is taste. There is a feeling about that no grinder at the cost of a Sage one can't produce a decent drink. Some people also have problems of one sort or another with them - dialling in etc. I haven't. Some say that they produce a different taste - pass that's the main thing I want to compare with my Mazzer. There is also an argument that conical burrs will produce a different taste to flat and even that bigger flat will be different again. Budget can figure in how far people are prepared to go. One thing I do know is that at the cheaper end it is possible to do worse than Sage - I sent one make back.

Yes maybe that doesn't help. I know I have been in the same place as you. Most people seem to wonder about buying another grinder at some point, sometimes within days of buying one. I'd suggest you buy one or the other and persistently use it for while.

Oh forgot - If sage always finish of adjusting finer even if you are going coarser and just like all grinders you should run it while going finer.

John

-


----------



## delgag64

Thanks all for the well thought out responses. I am still tempted, for £160 from Amazon, to have a go with the SGP, but day by day I come to adjust to the Mignon more. Tonight I did some grinding (with a very dark bean) and was really pleased with what I saw in the basket - the finest and most consistent grind I've ever had. Managing to get a decent looking crema and the right extraction time/volume.

Ultimately I think my dosing is the last remaining element, as for the moment I'm using an awful Salter scale which doesn't even really measure accurately to 2g, let alone 0.1, so I'm tending to over dose and over extract (see the two singles). Some photos...


----------



## Bruce Boogie

The Mignon is a great proper, albeit "baby", grinder.

Yes, it takes time to learn how to use it, the art of coffee making is not instant!

Patience, practice and pulling lots of espressos will pay off in the end.

Once you master a Mignon you will be good to use any grinder (once you learn the control system). I might be tempted to upgrade provided it fitted into my kitchen and was significantly better than my Mignon.

I was very pleased to find my Mignon coped brilliantly with my Christmas present La Pavoni Professional ~ I usually get a wonderful espresso from it, occasionally it goes all wrong ~ just like life.


----------



## Forestboy

we have a mignon + silvia at work and no complaints, although we don't tweak things much. Curious to where I could learn about mastering the mignon?


----------

