# Advice on choosing a decent, first purchase coffee grinder?



## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

Hi.

Looking for advice on which coffee grinder to choose. I've never owned or used one before. Will consider second hand as I'm sure I'll get far more bang for my buck. I'm a sucker for upgraditis and with that in mind will considering spending the top end of my budget now if that means I don't feel a need to upgrade a year or so down the line.

Originally was thinking of spending between £100 to £150 on a brand new grinder but after reading various posts on these forums about how important a good quality grinder is, I've upped that dramatically to £200 to £250.

Don't have a coffee machine yet but have been on the look out for a Gaggia Classic (new or modded second hand model) although I'm also considering a Rancilio Silvia v3. I'm a milk-based coffee drinker. Will usually be making between 1 and 3 coffee's at a time, usually no more than once per day or every other day.

A few random models that I've jotted down after reading up or watching odd youtube videos etc:

Mazzer Super Jolly

Mazzer Mini

Eureka Mignon mk 2

Macap M4

Iberital MC2

Any and all advice appreciated.

Thanks.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Drop coffeechap a pm re grinders in the price range , as excellent source of knowledge and quality items

Reconditioned will buy you a lot more at the price

I personally would remove the MC2 from the last given the extra budget you have given yourself.

Bigger burr sizes lead to better consistency of grind

Think about whether you want something with a doser ( super jolly and mini ) or on demand ( mignion in that list )

Whether you like the idea of single dosing or leaving a few beans in a hopper..

Dont limit yourself to Mazzers on the second hand market there is value to be had in other grinders but ask Coffeechap what he as currently that may suit your needs ....


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

The Iberital MC2 is about £150 new and very entry level, if yoyu are willing to go up to £250 you can do much better.

coffeebean on here is a forum sponsor and is doing a brand new Eureka Mignon delivered for £265, these have a really small footprint and well regarded as a mini home grinder here.

£250 would also buy you a nice second hand commercial grinder, pm coffeechap who refurbishes grinders and sells them on to see what he has, also there are classified forums here that you will get access to once you reach 10 posts. Mazzer's are a solid choice for second hand grinders.


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## xiuxiuejar (Jan 24, 2012)

If you have a budget and the will, do not get an MC2 - they are a waste. If you want to buy new then a Mignon is possibly your best bet. The Mazzer mini is small but gives people with limited space the ability to have a commercial build machine at home and the SJ is a bigger version but not huge with the benefits of bigger burrs. I'm a fan of the Mazzers and if you're interested in them you should speak to coffeechap as he's always got some nice examples.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

I personally don't consider the Iberital MC2 worth buying. If you have upped the budget significantly then I echo the other comments in this thread. A few things to consider though.

How important is size

Understand the implications of a Doser

Do you intend to upgrade grinder again soon

How important is new to you

With a second hand grinder, you're unlikely to lose any money on it, if you buy well, with a new one you may loose a little more, but you get to choose exactly what you want.


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

Mrboots2u said:


> Think about whether you want something with a doser ( super jolly and mini ) or on demand ( mignion in that list )
> 
> Whether you like the idea of single dosing or leaving a few beans in a hopper.


Not sure I know the difference between having a doser or on demand? What I have in mind from watching various youtube videos is having the ground coffee exiting the grinder and straight into the porterfilter below either directly or after pulling one a side lever (thwacker?) a number or times.

Would single dosing be my better option to avoid left over stale beans left in the machine?


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

You kinda described both there.

On Demand the coffee exits the burrs straight into your portafilter

Doser has a chamber to catch the grinds, traditionally used in a high volume coffee shop, but at home can still be used and the 'doser thwack' helps break up the grounds.

Edit: ALWAYS single dose unless you plan to use the rest of the coffee within the next few minutes.


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

DavecUK said:


> How important is size
> 
> Understand the implications of a Doser
> 
> ...


Size is a factor. If it's not huge then it will sit next to my espresso machine which is my preference. If it's larger and certainly if too tall to sit beneath a standard height kitchen wall cupboard then it will need to live elsewhere and would mean walking to and fro whenever making a coffee. I don't fancy one with one of those huge bean hoppers like you see in commercial enviroments.

Doser is what I think I'd like.

Hope not to want to upgrade anytime soon hence the much higher budget to begin with for this, my first ever grinder.

Had not considered a second hand grinder until stumbling across this forum and now that I can see you can get a good second hand commercial machine, which hopefully will last me many, many years to come, I am not bothered by the grinder needing to be a new one.

Thanks.


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

Can someone please explain the difference between a timer and non-timer version of Mazzer Super Jolly for example?


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## xiuxiuejar (Jan 24, 2012)

I don't know what all the fuss is with OD. If you go for an expensive grinder, then OD is a good option but I've never had problems with a doser - in fact, quite the opposite, the doser is an effective way of delivering clump free, non static, well distributed grinds to the portafilter. ALWAYS grind for each coffee though and NEVER leave ground coffee in the doser as it starts deteriorating almost straight away. I would suggest that you don't even leave the unground beans in the hopper either. If you spend money on a good grinder and then good, nicely freshly roasted beans, it's worth keeping them properly. The best coffee comes from the correct handling of good product with the help of good equipment - but even good equipment can't make good coffee if you don't handle the raw materials well.


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## welshrarebit (Apr 17, 2014)

The SJ isn't that large with the hopper mod, seems the best performance for the price.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

D_Evans said:


> You kinda described both there.
> 
> On Demand the coffee exits the burrs straight into your portafilter
> 
> ...


You can put coffee beans in a hopper and use then over the next few hours....some people will notice a difference in freshness some won't

There isn't law against single dosing


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## xiuxiuejar (Jan 24, 2012)

DoubleShot said:


> Can someone please explain the difference between a timer and non-timer version of Mazzer Super Jolly for example?


timer has a round switch which you turn (like an old egg timer) that grinds for a certain amount of time. The other has a switch. It's really easy to change the timer for a switch if you really want. Remember that these machines are made for bars and the idea is to grind beans for a few coffee while doing other tasks.


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

D_Evans said:


> Edit: ALWAYS single dose unless you plan to use the rest of the coffee within the next few minutes.


http://londiniumespresso.com/blog/single-dosing-forget-it


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

jeebsy said:


> http://londiniumespresso.com/blog/single-dosing-forget-it


Interesting read that link.

I don't think I'll get through a full bag of freshly roasted coffee beans in 7 days. Probably more like 2-3 weeks. I've invested in a couple of Vacu Vin coffee storage containers (1.3 litre and 0.65 litre)


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## MrShades (Jul 29, 2009)

Sounds like a Mazzer SJ with hopper mod would fit your budget and need - and short of spending many hundred more will give you the best bang for your buck. Talk to Coffeechap or keep an eye open in the 'For sale' section on here.


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

Agree with you MrShades, that's what I was leaning towards prior to starting this thread. I often google products that I see in members signature that I've not heard of before and after seeing the price of a Compak K10 Fresh, almost passed out.


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

DoubleShot said:


> Agree with you MrShades, that's what I was leaning towards prior to starting this thread. I often google products that I see in members signature that I've not heard of before and after seeing the price of a Compak K10 Fresh, almost passed out.


Lol don't look at the price of a Eureka or Nuova Simonelli Mythos then. Dave(Coffeechap) often has grinders other than Mazzers which are as good or in some cases a lot better and as they aren't a Mazzer cost less. If you definitely want an On Demand grinder then in your price range there isn't a great deal of choice, Brand New the only real option is the Eureka Mignon, which are available in several different colours and have a very small footprint , but can have serious clumping issues but the best deal on via the forum on these is £265, one of the Mazzers or other commercial grinders will give a much better grind quality though, again for a fraction more than your budget the best value used commercial On Demand grinder is the Brasilia/Rossi RR55, which are tbh a much better grinder than the Super Jolly, On Demand Mazzers unless you are extremely lucky are out of your price bracket.

Good luck with your search and remember don't cheap out on the grinder, a well considered purchase of an ex commercial grinder should last you through an upgrade or 2.


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

Brasilia/Rossi RR55 added to shortlist. Will need to do some reading up as know nothing about that model.

Thanks.


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

DoubleShot said:


> Interesting read that link.
> 
> I don't think I'll get through a full bag of freshly roasted coffee beans in 7 days. Probably more like 2-3 weeks. I've invested in a couple of Vacu Vin coffee storage containers (1.3 litre and 0.65 litre)


2x 18g doubles a day and you'll do a 250g bag in a week


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

DoubleShot said:


> Interesting read that link.
> 
> I don't think I'll get through a full bag of freshly roasted coffee beans in 7 days. Probably more like 2-3 weeks. I've invested in a couple of Vacu Vin coffee storage containers (1.3 litre and 0.65 litre)


You'd be surprised, as Jeebsy said if you have 2 coffees a day it's a kilo a month.


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## dwalsh1 (Mar 3, 2010)

jeebsy said:


> http://londiniumespresso.com/blog/single-dosing-forget-it


I like what Reiss is saying but you can't rely on the grinders timer giving you around 18 grams every time you use it. I've read on HB that some HBers use a dark room timer that overrides the grinder timer. Has anybody experimented with this idea?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Unsure if it's the timing element that does this ( inaccurate dosing ) or the fact that at various points more coffee is pushed out from anti static screens and or released for the grind path . Especially say with the amount a k10 fresh retains .

More or less beans in the hopper might mean more or less weight , more or less coffee being pushed through for the same time ..

Dunno ?


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

I thought the big electronic timers were pretty accurate (or at least accurate enough to work with)?


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## dwalsh1 (Mar 3, 2010)

jeebsy said:


> I thought the big electronic timers were pretty accurate (or at least accurate enough to work with)?


I have a dosered Mazzer major timer. I wouldn't trust the timer to grind 18 grams with a hopper full of beans. I'm thinking external digital timer that is accurate to within 0.1 seconds. That way you can rely on grinding 250grams in 7 days referring back to your earlier thread.


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Is that customised with a timer? I'm talking about these rather than the doser timers:

View attachment 6536


Auberins and Sestos do external timer units


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

jeebsy said:


> I thought the big electronic timers were pretty accurate (or at least accurate enough to work with)?


The Mythos is pretty damn accurate even giving only a tiny variance when I'm down to the last bits in the hopper. I don't think the timers on dooser models are anywhere near as accurate as their purpose is kind of different in as much as it's for filling the doser in commercial use rather than grinding per shot.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Read the Londinium blog, I don't disagree that having a hopper with a reasonable amount of beans e.g. a days worth is a bad thing. However, one thing is a bit worrisome.



> take your big bag of fresh gourmet roasted coffee, cut the top off, and pour it all into the hopper and enjoy that lovely rattling sound of the beans dropping into the hopper. stick the lid on the hopper and get on with your life.


I would never do this...ever, it's really bad advice. Always, always check your coffee before you put it in the grinder. For years I have put the coffee into the hopper lid and checked it, then poured said coffee into the grinder. If I am putting a fair bit in I will do it in stages, checking each lot of beans. There are those of us who have found stones bit's of wire and goodness knows what in our coffee, and those who are going to. It's better to find foreign objects yourself than let the burrs do it.

I cleaned my Mini E last week, the burrs have been in 6 years, possibly half way through their life...but sharp, not dulled, not a mark or ding on them....because as yet, a stone or similar, has never been through my grinder. I remember a "top roaster" once telling me his coffee doesn't have stones in it, because it's good quality coffee...and this was the reason he didn't have a destoner, metal detector or magnets on the roaster. Well I got news for you, any coffee no matter how good, can have a foreign object in it. I have seen stones that look exactly the same as a roasted coffee bean before.


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