# First Comandante C40 reviews and Lido2 pricing



## Java Jive (Sep 21, 2013)

Have you read the first reviews on the Comandante C40 by users on the American forum home-barista.com ? It's not a happy story from the US, to the point that the US distributor is said to be removing the units from sale for now. The thread is this one and the US reviews start around page 8 with good pics of burr problems.

Given this may take the manufacturer some time to resolve, if at all, I'm wondering how much the Lido2 might sell for. I know there are a few people here who have the original Lido and would love to know how much it cost and the import duties/tax you were charged on top. Also, how long was shipping? It may make more sense for me to buy an electric grinder at this point.

Thanks for any insights.


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

Don't forget that MadeByKnock also have the larger of their two handgrinder models launching soon and made in the UK


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## Gangstarrrrr (Mar 4, 2013)

What are you grinding for? Espresso, pour over etc? What kit will it be paired with?

If espresso I can recommend a pharos. Quality piece of kit.


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

Interesting reading, it's a good concept and very small but at $150 for something same standard as a porlex? Their facebook page still just has loads of quotes from coffee people, and no reference to the quality issues. Hope the importer gets his money back.

VAT would be 20% on top of the price you pay OE (including shipping), and the courier will probably add a £10 fee themselves for the 'trouble'.


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## Java Jive (Sep 21, 2013)

Gangstarrrrr, I have a cafetiere, a moka pot and an Aeropress and and usually I'm brewing just for 2. I doubt we'll get into espresso at home. I was looking at these higher-end hand grinders in the hope they'll give me a top quality, uniform grind for brewed at a reasonable price.

The Comandante seems to be ruling itself out for now but I don't know what the Lido2 or the made-by-knock grinder might cost. It may be they come to market at a price that's much the same as a 'good-for-brewed' electric grinder. If that's the case, and if the grind quality is similar, then I'd lean towards an electric for when we do have company and need to grind greater quantities.

Originally I didn't want to spend more than £100-£125 but I also don't want to waste money on a sub-par grinder.


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## orphanespresso (Apr 5, 2013)

Hello all...good to see a bit of notice of the upcoming Lido 2 manual grinder on the UK board here. We just gave the first look showing of the complete prototype at Coffee Fest Seattle with a very good response to all of the new features on the grinder...very user friendly not to mention quite beautiful overall.

We plan to reduce your dependence on purchasing retail from OE by using stockists in your countries. Our target price is 175 USD but have no problem with your local brick and mortar underselling our website price.

We are currently about 2 months behind schedule (due mainly to our obsession for getting even the smallest bits right), that and 3 rounds of prototyping!

Apologies that our promotion lacks the entertaining pizzazz of the C40....just plodding along here, knowing that if done right the Lido 2 will generally promote itself.

Thank you for your interest in our latest project

Barb and Doug Garrott

Orphan Espresso


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

I think that guys here would be interested in not only the lido 2 but the possibility of getting the Pharos over here at a good price as well, is this possible?


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## orphanespresso (Apr 5, 2013)

The Lido 1 outsold the Pharos by about 2 to 1....likely due to many more people hand grinding for all the different brew methods than using a manual mill for espresso day in and day out. By changing the parts manufacturing methods from cutting to casting we are making the Lido 2 a scalable product and we will likely approach building the large conical into an espresso centric grinder not unlike the Pharos at some point in the future.

For now we finish the Lido 2 and then see where these hand grinders take us.


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## Monkey_Devil (Jul 11, 2011)

Looking forward to the Lido 2 being available. I do like the OE approach to marketing and demographic feedback. I've used a porlex for brewing at work for ages now and it's just not that good. I need to pin down at least one variable which can be the grind (we have water boilers instead of kettles at work so temperature is all guess work).


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## Java Jive (Sep 21, 2013)

Thank you so much for posting an update here and that's really excellent news about using UK stockists. The vagaries of shipping times, and cost of import duties and ridiculous handling fees we are charged for international goods by the Royal Mail etc., is a huge disincentive to buy anything outside the EU for me personally.

It's strange that the Comandante Facebook page has had no updates since 30th September and not a single customer comment has appeared since then either. That manufacturer silence actually worries me more than the first user reviews.

Now I just need to decide if I can live with buying pre-ground or using my blade grinder for the next few months, or succumb to the siren call of an electric.


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