# My first impression of Eureka Mignon



## hilltopbrews (May 17, 2013)

It's been less than a day that the courier delivered my chrome Eureka Mignon. I bought it for £275 including delivery, brand new. I've spent hours playing around with it. It is actually one of the prettiest grinders I have ever seen.

Previously, i owned Iberital Mc2 and it's a pain in the arse to adjust the grind. With Eureka Mignon, the dial is in the front and it's numbered. It's so easy to dial it in. It took me less than half an hour to get the correct grind for my sage db. I have managed to grind for aeropress, v60 and espresso. Have made notes to remember for future use. It's easier to count the rotation as the dial is numbered.

I love the fact that you can set it to manual or timed/automatic setting. This is a great feature especially if you use a weighing scale.

The first time I tried to grind some beans, nothing came out. You could hear it whirring so I went into semi-panic mode. So I decided to read the manual and it seems I missed the part where I'm suppose to pull the tab that's in the bottom of the hopper! No wonder there were no beans going through! That's another great feature to have. I find the tab's quality quite cheap. Anyway, I set the dial to the coarsest setting first to "condition" the grinder. Then adjusted the grinder to fine grind setting. There are some clumps but that could be due to the mahogany roasted beans or the fact that the grind path/chute is small. It seems that the size of the path/chute depends on the burr's location or how it's been dialled in. When you look at how the burrs move when dialling, ONLY the lower burr moves up and down. So when dialling it to coarse setting, the burr goes down making the grind path/chute wider. Dialling it to fine setting, burr goes up making the grind path smaller. Not exactly quite sure if this is the grinder's assembly as I am only basing my opinion on what I see so far. Beans can be another factor. Mahogany roast have more surface oil so the moisture can be a factor. Truth be told, these clumps are not a problem at all. I made a "de-clumper" out of a needle attached to a cork and use it to break it down. Tapping the portafilter/basket on the counter also helps in breaking it down too.

The fork is metal which is a step up from iberital's plastic bit. The portafilter sits nicely on top and the trigger above the fork which I think is a better location for that. With Iberital, the trigger is in between the fork which isn't exactly practical especially if you're using bottomless portafilter. I also love the fact that the fork can be lowered or raised. I've put mine at the highest and it seems to catch every grind. It's less messy too.

It's a very heavy machine. Much heavier than iberital. It's also so compact and sits so nicely on the counter. It's a pretty grinder.

Like I said, I've only had this for less than a day and still have a long way to bond with my grinder. However, at £275, i can't help but feel that I've made a great purchase. Now I get why it's so popular here in the forums!


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## Eyedee (Sep 13, 2010)

If my experience is anything to go by, you will actually taste a difference in the two grinders.

Ian


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## hilltopbrews (May 17, 2013)

Eyedee said:


> If my experience is anything to go by, you will actually taste a difference in the two grinders.
> 
> Ian


I actually noticed a huge difference when I upgraded to a dual boiler and now with the new grinder. It's a lot more robust. Thanks.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Nice write up. I do think the Mignon is a nice looking grinder, compact too and reasonably priced. I haven't had one but I did have the Iberital MC2 and if anything gives you upgraditis it's living with an MC2. They're good to get started without breaking the bank but I think you did the right thing upgrading so you can make the most of your DB. Enjoy your new and improved coffee in the morning!


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## cold war kid (Mar 12, 2010)

Weird. I've started a thread asking for advice from anyone who's upgraded from an MC2 to something else and when I click back the first thread I see is yours. I'd be grateful if in a couple of days after you've had a play and seasoned your blades somewhat you could post again on your findings in the cup as everybody seems to mention the thing's you highlight but I'm struggling to find much info on whether there's a distinct difference in the taste profile after moving away from an MC2.


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## hilltopbrews (May 17, 2013)

cold war kid said:


> Weird. I've started a thread asking for advice from anyone who's upgraded from an MC2 to something else and when I click back the first thread I see is yours. I'd be grateful if in a couple of days after you've had a play and seasoned your blades somewhat you could post again on your findings in the cup as everybody seems to mention the thing's you highlight but I'm struggling to find much info on whether there's a distinct difference in the taste profile after moving away from an MC2.


I'm about to sell my iberital mc2. While I still have the grinder, I am happy to do a taste test. Will start in the am.


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## hilltopbrews (May 17, 2013)

@cold war kid I know I promised a taste difference but I was unable to use the iberital mc2 as it had to be packed. While waiting for the mignon to be delivered, I kept getting a slightly Over extracted coffee when using iberital with my db.

Anyway, I'm working by memory here for the taste test and there is quite a noticeable difference in taste between the two grinders. For the past week, I've been using mahogany roast jam pit and used the left overs in the new grinder.

One thing to take note is that the burrs are completely different which is a major factor for the coffee quality and taste. Eureka is a flat burr and the iberital is a conical burr grinder.

With the iberital, when I need to grind for more than 3 cups of coffee, it tends to get warm which I believe is common among conical burr grinders. With the mignon, I have grind a lot of coffee yesterday as I was adjusting it to the correct or acceptable setting and the grounds are cool.

The mahogany jampit coffee using iberital mc2 and gaggia Classic, it had that wonderful dark chocolate note but according to the roaster's note, there should be citrus acidity which I never got. With the eureka mignon and db, it is a lot richer, robust and very chocolate-y. it's a lot smoother and more pronounced chocolate note. That's all I got and I probably still need to dial it finer to get that citrusy note. I cannot tell you if that was caused by the grinder or the db.

Hope I've not confused you too much!


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

the eureka is a stepped grinder ? which version is that ?


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## hilltopbrews (May 17, 2013)

Mrboots2u said:


> the eureka is a stepped grinder ? which version is that ?


Mk2 instantaneous auto/manual.


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## hilltopbrews (May 17, 2013)

Mrboots2u said:


> the eureka is a stepped grinder ? which version is that ?


Urgh just read the description of the eureka in bella barista my apologies it's a stepless grinder! Editing my previous quote.

Thanks for letting me know


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## pherrington1982 (Oct 6, 2015)

Nice write up there Sarah, I'm just about to buy one of these myself as my first 'proper' grinder. I've taken note to not pay attention to the number rather the turn, thanks for that tip!

How much did you run through on the coarse setting to 'condition' it?


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## coffeebean (Jan 26, 2010)

pherrington1982 said:


> Nice write up there Sarah, I'm just about to buy one of these myself as my first 'proper' grinder.


Great choice of grinder!


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## hilltopbrews (May 17, 2013)

pherrington1982 said:


> Nice write up there Sarah, I'm just about to buy one of these myself as my first 'proper' grinder. I've taken note to not pay attention to the number rather the turn, thanks for that tip!
> 
> How much did you run through on the coarse setting to 'condition' it?


I think for the price and the quality of the grinder you've made a great a choice. It's not like mazzer jolly or any of those high end grinders but it is a great start. I actually wish I started with a mignon than with the iberital.

As per conditioning it, I probably went through 100g of old coffee. It's just to "clean" it and then used up another 100g to get to the right or acceptable grind setting for espresso. It's not very difficult to do so with the mignon. With the iberital, it took me ages to get to the setting I want. However, bear in mind the espresso grind setting varies from bean to bean.

This is my 3rd day of using the mignon, the only disadvantage I would say is the hopper. The bottom part of the hopper could've been slanted more. I weigh my beans then put it in the grinder then weigh them again after. I have to make sure the beans are not sitting on the four corners else it won't slide down. Ideally, you could put the whole bag in but the hopper is clear and not airtight. I don't want to degrade the beans freshness by putting a whole bag in.

I'm very tempted to buy a blackout window film to cover the hopper and a clear silicone/rubber gasket to fit around the lid to make it airtight. It might work.


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## rors19 (Jul 21, 2015)

Nice informative post o/p! Thanks


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## Caddy (Jul 24, 2015)

Great thread. I'm considering the Mignon. There doesn't seem to be much competition for such a compact quality grinder.


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## hilltopbrews (May 17, 2013)

I've just ordered a 50mm and a 58mm silicon lens hood. 50mm to replace hopper and the 58mm for my portafilter. It's getting to point where it's getting too messy! If the 50mm lens hood does not work as a hopper, I'll just get a wide jam funnel which I'm sure will work.

Still a very good grinder!


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## hilltopbrews (May 17, 2013)

Used grindz to clean burrs but it's so dusty!


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Sarah, use a cocon desert pot from tesco for the portafilter, they come usually mango flavoured in packs of 6, simply cut the bottom off. They are thin and work very well as a catcha for the portafilter, I've been using them for years.

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=281936102


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## Eyedee (Sep 13, 2010)

Sarah, check out this thread for a 3D printed catcha, I have one fits on to the PF securely.

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?22400-FOR-SALE-3D-Printed-Parts&highlight=printer

Ian


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## hilltopbrews (May 17, 2013)

DavecUK said:


> Sarah, use a cocon desert pot from tesco for the portafilter, they come usually mango flavoured in packs of 6, simply cut the bottom off. They are thin and work very well as a catcha for the portafilter, I've been using them for years.
> 
> http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=281936102


I've actually been using yogurt pots but want to upgrade that pot! Thanks! There's no tesco where I live in afraid


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Sarah0817 said:


> I've actually been using yogurt pots but want to upgrade that pot! Thanks! There's no tesco where I live in afraid


Other stores sell them, not just testco, chinese supermarkets, sainsburys etc..


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