# Budding new coffee geek replacing a DeLonghi KG79



## iain_benson (Aug 21, 2013)

Hi,

I recently made a foolish mistake! I was getting fed up of grinding beans with my crappy little hand grinder (mainly for cafetière, occasionally for filter) and decided to go to John Lewis and pick up an electric grinder, and the DeLonghi KG79 looked okay, it was variable and claimed to be a burr grinder and was a reasonable price. At this point I had done zero research, beyond knowing that burr is better than blade, which is pretty much just common sense, and didn't realise how important the grinder is.

Shiny new grinder in hand I decided I would try the espresso machine bit of my ancient morphy richards again, only to find it still produced crap coffee. After a bit of research I found out the difference between steam and pump espresso machines and then got hold of a Gaggia Classic. After still producing not great espresso, and finding the coarsest grind in the cafetière was giving me sludge in my cup I did some research on grinders. Ooops!

John Lewis have a pretty returns policey so are now the proud owners of one slightly used DeLonghi grinder, and I am back with my crappy little hand grinder with a wooden drawer, and the research continues.

I've read various form pages, reviews and the grind-off results and am even more unsure than when I started. For starters, I though conical burrs are supposed to be better than flat, but there were only two conicals in the grind off and both of those scored relatively low, and most of the machines people rave about seem to be flat. I was thinking doserless, but if I just load the grinder with what I need then a doser is probably not a problem. I was thinking Iberital MC2, as I've seen quite a few people recommend it, but I gather it's not great for changing between grinds for espresso/cafetière. I like the looks/reviews of the Mahlkonig Vario and the Mazzer Mini, but I don't like the prices ... yes, I know, buy cheap buy twice!

So, I guess the main requirements are not too far over £200 if I can help it and easily adjustable between coarse/fine, so probably stepped, which means I'm probably thinking Rancilio Rocky. Does anyone want to help change my mind?

Iain


----------



## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Hi Ian - did wonder when reading your previous post - what grinder you had bought to go with your shiny new Classic. Best way to make your £200 budget go further is to buy second hand - that way, if and when you decide to upgrade, you will not lose much. Get in touch with coffeechap on this forum - he's helped loads of members sort out their grinder needs. Conical grinders are supposed to be better for lever espresso machines. You won't find any grinder that is suited for grinding beans for espresso or cafetiere. Get a grinder for espresso and use the hand grinder for cafetiere.


----------



## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

Welcome to the Forum. I hope you are enjoying your coffee journey.

My immediate suggestion is to have a word with Coffeechap. He can help you through the coffee grinder maze & may have something at a good price for you.


----------



## Kyle548 (Jan 24, 2013)

iain_benson said:


> Hi,
> 
> I recently made a foolish mistake! I was getting fed up of grinding beans with my crappy little hand grinder (mainly for cafetière, occasionally for filter) and decided to go to John Lewis and pick up an electric grinder, and the DeLonghi KG79 looked okay, it was variable and claimed to be a burr grinder and was a reasonable price. At this point I had done zero research, beyond knowing that burr is better than blade, which is pretty much just common sense, and didn't realise how important the grinder is.
> 
> ...


Technically, your steam machine produces something along the lines of a moka pot brew, not espresso. But a mokapot would be better, anyway.

I think you cant go wrong with a MM or a Vario and you will probably have these outlast a few different coffee machine upgrades; especially in regards to the Mini, as people pair these with much bigger machines than you can get on a budget anyway.

The only problem is, if you get a grinder that can do all grinds, you usually sacrifice grind quality of a certain range.

For instance the Vario does a good espresso grind, but for french press, to get the most out of it you would be better fitting steel burrs designed for coaser grinds. In the case you fit these new burrs though, you lose some of the ability to produce espresso grinds.

As for the Rocky, I think many people start with them and they are not a bad grinder, but expect to want to upgrade really soon.


----------



## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

The gaggia mm suffers terribly from static, the rocky is not a bad grinder but you will probably want to upgrade it , it will do both espresso and French press but it is sometimes difficult to dial in for espresso due to the size of the steps. If you have the size get a commercial grinder, I believe gangstarrrr posted a great deal from gum tree on one oft most regarded grinders the Brasilia rr55 od so have a look in the deals section


----------



## iain_benson (Aug 21, 2013)

That looks like a pretty good deal, though it's huge, so I'd have to persuade my wife to drive us out to Bury to collect it. We're away this weekend though, but if it's still there when we get back I may get in touch with them. I notice there is also a Mazzer super jolly in Bury going for £250

I am slightly wary about second hand, as there must be a reason for getting rid of it and my immediate thought is 'What's wrong with it?' but if it's commercial grade it should be pretty robust.

Any idea what it's like in terms of adjustability for different grinds?


----------



## drude (Apr 22, 2013)

Although it's stepless there are 80 marked positions on the adjustment collar so it's pretty easy to get roughly back to the same place. However, I've never tried switching to coarser grind and back as I use a second grinder for brewed coffee. When I get a grinder dialled in just right I tend not to move it until I change beans. It's a great grinder for that price, but discontinued so eventually spares may become difficult to source (the manufacturer has gone into administration).


----------



## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

The rr55 is a better grinder than the Mazzer IMHO Charliej has sourced parts for it so not really a problem, more often than not the reason for selling is unfortunately due to a shop closing down. I would check it over fully before taking it, it should be fairly quiet when no beans in it. Make sure you check it grinds properly, perhaps there is a member nearby who could check it first, worth a try and a pint!


----------



## iain_benson (Aug 21, 2013)

The Brasilia RR55 went before I had a chance, so I decided to drop a little bit more cash and go with the Vario. I've just tried to calibrate it, but am too tired to think properly and work out what I need to do, so will try again when I haven't been out at work all day.

I'm grinding 15g, and I think tamping reasonably consistently, though I think I should probably use the bathroom scales to calibrate my tamp!

On grinder setting 2J it quite definitely choked the machine, taking ages before generating a very drippy black flow, so that is definitely too fine. 2N took about 15s to produce 2floz of coffee, but it blonded (very subjective measure) after about 7s, so that's too coarse I think.

The coarsest setting (10W) looks reasonable for a cafeitiere, it's a bit finer that I would expect, but is pretty consistent which is more important really, and I found my old bodum one cup pour over that I take to work to use if it is too fine.

the adventure continues!


----------

