# Iberital MC2 vs Sage Smart Grinder Pro vs Eureka Mignon



## colm1989 (Nov 17, 2014)

So I've been making do with a rhino hand grinder alongside my gaggia classic until I could afford something above entry level (like the Iberital MC2) that won't need upgrading in a few months...and hopefully I'll be making that purchase in the next fortnight once all the Christmas shopping is done...

Ideal budget is about £200 for something new, which is right on the money for a sage smart grinder pro. However, despite all my reading up, I'm struggling to understand whether it is worth the £75 premium over the Iberital MC2? Or indeed is the Eureka Mignon that much better that I should spend the extra £80 now and be done with it?

I should mention that space is at a premium, so an ex-commercial monster is not an option.

I'd make 2 coffees a day at home mon-fri, and maybe 4-6 at home fri-sun, so not excessive amounts...


----------



## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

up your budget and pick up a 2nd hand decent mazzer for £300.

I have the MC and you will get bored of it very quickly...


----------



## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Out of those 3 I'd say Eureka all the way for me


----------



## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Mignon or Mazzer mini if you can get one for a decent price


----------



## colm1989 (Nov 17, 2014)

Thanks for the responses, but lets say the mignon has now become slightly out of reach, and £200 is the max budget....is the sage £60 better than the Iberital?

A used ex-commercial machine isn't an option due to space restrictions.


----------



## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

sage has lots of electronics to go wrong. it is crap anyway. yes i have had one. define crap. depends on your expectations and usage. is it better than an mc2... undoubtedly

mignons do come up on here if you wait for £200 or under


----------



## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

Hang around and keep an eye on the F/S section, in fact I would subscribe to it, if your lucky you will get a really decent grinder for your money, but be prepared to wait for a month or so, especially as I imagine there will be a lull around Xmas.


----------



## tictok (Dec 1, 2013)

I went from a fairly rubbish burr grinder (think it might have been a £30 Krupps model which I heavily modded and eventually burnt out the motor) to a second hand Eureka Mignon for less than £200. That was well over a year ago now.

I know that there are far better (and more expensive) grinders out there, but the Mignon totally transformed my coffee so I would say it's worth it. Takes a little to get dialled in perfectly for any given blend, but as long as you not using different beans every other day it's fine.

I think a red mignon looks cool too









I would try and catch a decent used one.

I have no experience of an Iberital or Sage though...


----------



## Eyedee (Sep 13, 2010)

Had the MC2 and upgraded to a Mignon. Using the same bag of beans, same coffee machine, the taste was so different I though I had ground different beans.

Ian


----------



## colm1989 (Nov 17, 2014)

Thanks lads, would love to be able to hold out until a bargain comes up, but the hand grinder I had been using to get buy until something suitable did come up has just this week gone bust. I'm going home for 2 weeks tomorrow morning so I'll make do with my brothers hario when I'm home, but will be buying something the day/week I arrive back, be it an iberital/sage/etc.


----------



## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

colm1989 said:


> Thanks lads, would love to be able to hold out until a bargain comes up, but the hand grinder I had been using to get buy until something suitable did come up has just this week gone bust. I'm going home for 2 weeks tomorrow morning so I'll make do with my brothers hario when I'm home, but will be buying something the day/week I arrive back, be it an iberital/sage/etc.


Ask for money for christmas


----------



## colm1989 (Nov 17, 2014)

Dylan said:


> Ask for money for christmas


Hahaha Santa stopped listening to me a long time ago...


----------



## mrsimba (Mar 17, 2014)

A second hand Mignion is defiantly within price range I sold mine back in September for that & it was mint so worth holding out for another.

Wether you make 1 cup a day or 20 a good grinder will give you the better cup everytime! I've gone from a KitchenAid - [email protected]! to a Rocky - good but stepped, but still a solid little grinder & paired with a Sylvia made a nice cup, to a Mignion which was very good, to now a 65e which is just exceptional! & that I think will be the end of my grinder 'journey' as everything better than the 65e is just H U G E!!!


----------



## PeterF (Aug 25, 2014)

The Grinder is the most important link in the chain. You get a far better cup of coffee using a Mignion + Gaggia Classic than a Sage + £2000 espresso machine. Also commercial grinders for eg Mazzer Super Jolly are not that big at all, especially if you replace the hopper with a lens hood.


----------



## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

PeterF said:


> You get a far better cup of coffee using a Mignion + Gaggia Classic than a Sage + £2000 espresso machine.


Whilst the rule about grinder being the most important part of the equation is true, I wouldn't agree with the above statement. The Classic can be a seriously weak link, and whilst the very best espresso out of a classic and Mignon may be better that the best out of a sage plus high end machine, the consistency would be light years ahead on the better machine.


----------



## colm1989 (Nov 17, 2014)

Sorry to drag this up again, but in the sub £200, immediately available bracket, would I be better off with something like an OE Lido 2 over an entry level electric grinder?

To save you reading the thread again, the hand grinder I had been making do with has broken so I need to pick something up with 24 hours of getting back to London next week (or else order online today to make sure it's there when I get back).


----------



## colm1989 (Nov 17, 2014)

Also, because amazon and john lewis offer click and collect or locker collection etc. the graef cm80/95 and ascaso i1 are also options.

So...sage smart grinder, cm80, cm95, ascaso i1 or OE lido 2?


----------



## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

A lido works better as a brewed grinder, this is what is was designed for .

It can do espresso , wouldn't want it as my primarily grinder

For ease of use and if for espresso , id just wait it out and get a electric grinder like the mignon , i know its above the £200 but buy in haste and see on for a loss at leisure....Perhaps do without ground coffee for a month , save the cash and get something proper first time out, rather than something in a rush , you might regret later...

Other than that check the Graef review on here for under £200, id take the acaso iff the list , the sage doesn't seem to have stood up to a huge amount of use so far.

Lido 2 is a brewed grinder again


----------



## np123 (Dec 15, 2014)

colm1989 said:


> Also, because amazon and john lewis offer click and collect or locker collection etc. the graef cm80/95 and ascaso i1 are also options.
> 
> So...sage smart grinder, cm80, cm95, ascaso i1 or OE lido 2?


I never thought of looking at John Lewis. Will do now though!


----------



## qpop (Jan 4, 2015)

I'd like to weigh in on the Smart Grinder Pro - it's pretty well reviewed in the US (branded Breville over there) and Australia, but I've found very little about it in the UK.

My wife bought me one for Christmas as she said it looked best on the counter.

I don't grind for espresso, but there is a serious amount of fine control, and burr adjustment within the grinder to go finer.

They seem to have listened to the feedback about the original Smart Grinder and improved it.

If I manage to fix my Gaggia Coffee Deluxe I'll report back about espresso but it seems a pretty reasonable effort for £170 (which my wife managed to find it for).


----------



## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

For filter they are great little grinders

They are also capable of espresso grind. The one I reviewed needed shimming but when shimmed performed well - when paired with the Sage Dual Boiler

I didn't have it long enough to find that it ran too hot or have any issues


----------



## summiteverest (Jan 2, 2015)

wow, as a new member just starting out, it is truly amazing what a difference a grinder makes. Without the help of this forum I would for certain never realise how important they are.


----------



## bishbosher (Dec 23, 2014)

Hi All,

I have just upgraded to the mignon doser and used for the first time this morning. granted it will take me a while to dial in properly but just wanted to ask, has anyone experienced it getting quite warm? After a fair bit of grinding about 20mins to dial in there was a bit of intermittent chirping as the burrs got closer but now grinding about right for an espresso. was quite warm though by the end and a slight burnt smell which i put down to the first run. the burnt smell did clear after a few more grinds.

Cheers


----------

