# Best sub £200 grinder for use with Gaggia Classic (Mignon Crono v Macap M2D)



## EE232 (May 1, 2021)

Hi all,

I'm looking at buying a new Gaggia Classic and have been researching espresso grinders to go with it. So far I've seen that the Eureka Mignon Crono seems to be a good bet based on my limited reading. This can be bought for £180, making everything all in around £610.

At the same time though, I've seen that Gaggia Direct's website has a combo set (Classic, Macap M2D grinder and knock box) for £699. Is there a big step up in performance between this grinder and the Mignon? And would someone who's new to all this necessarily notice and appreciate this difference?

Any guidance on this front would be super appreciated, and any advice on what to look for would be great too (stepped v stepless, dosers and doseless, timers etc.)

I'm guessing this might be a pretty common type of thread so apologies if this is raking over old ground! Thanks in advance for any help.


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## 24774 (Mar 8, 2020)

EE232 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I'm looking at buying a new Gaggia Classic and have been researching espresso grinders to go with it. So far I've seen that the Eureka Mignon Crono seems to be a good bet based on my limited reading. This can be bought for £180, making everything all in around £610.
> 
> ...


 If I were you, for circa £610, I'd look in the classifieds on this site. There's a 3 month old £900 set up from Bella Barista for £650 (Grace + Specialita), A Sage DB, a couple of good Classics, a Specialita for £275, A Mignon Manuale for £185.

People don't really pay the full whack for the new Classic, they like the pre-2014 models with the mods. As for new £200 grinders new, I think the Crono is a good bet for entry level. Use the search function on the site if you haven't, there's a good amount of discussion on it. For £200 though...maybe secondhand is the way to go. I've just bought a great condition Mazzer for £250 for instance, that'll give a better grind than any new grinder of the same price. They are big, heavy and ugly though so there's a trade off there. The Crono is sleek and cool. And something like a Mazzer needs a bit of conversion for home use but we're talking £15 or less for a couple of Amazon bits.

That Gaggia deal for £699, that's a lot to my mind, I don't think that grinder is particularly good from what I can remember others saying, maybe someone with more knowledge can chime in about that.

Stepped, doserless etc is all about what you want. My current grinder is stepped, it has numbers that easily tells me what grind I'm on. But the stepless I've just bought allows much finer adjustment so that's better if you want more precision. Doser v doserless depends how you drink you coffee but most people for home use go doserless I think. Timer...again are you using the same bean and dose very time or changing up?


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## EE232 (May 1, 2021)

Hey,

Thanks for the advice, I'll do a little more research and definitely consider going second hand. Good to know the Eureka is a good choice if I do buy new though.

Thanks!


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

Look for a good, used Classic with the mods already done to it (i.e. 9 bar mod and Silvia steam wand. maybe even a PID) and you'll have a lot more left over for a grinder.

When I bought my first Gaggia Classic, I paired it with a Mazzer Major. You could at a push pick both up for half your budget but then spend another £100 on a doserless mod for the Major. There's also a Mazzer Super Jolly that'd suit the Classic as well. if you've any inkling of upgrading in the future then buying used is the way to go, then at least when you sell them you won't lose an awful lot compared to buying new.


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