Hi All,

I'm a newbie who's been doing some research and ready to make the jump from my Technivorm. I'm thinking of a 3 grinder set up, have narrowed in on my choices, and would like any additional / counter-advice to what I'm thinking. Here are my use requirements:

1.) Home use meaning on demand & per-cup. Will likely be doing 5-10 shots per day across all grinders, however this could increase as I love Americanos throughout the work day and could see making a thermos for work but not sure if that'd be worth it or not

2.) Will have a 50/50 mix of regular and decaf. No regular after 5pm for me and my wife likes decaf always. I'll use the buy-fresh-in-bulk strategy, storing the extra beans in mason jars in the freezer after a night of de-gassing before sealing the lids.

3.) I've learned that buying right once saves me $$ however there's a risk: when you're a noob you don't know what you don't know and that can contribute to buying wrong; thus my post!


Grinder #1 Candidates - Core Espresso Grinder
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Compak k-10
- Has the big conical burr set (like a Robur)
- Great reviews including TGP write-up
- Priced right, also I'm not liking the k-10 fresh so no worries about upgraditis, although I'd like doserless.
- Downside is that it's not doserless and it's not as pretty as the Mazzers to my eye.

Mazzer Major-e
- Great reviews and, come on, it's a Mazzer
- Doserless which really appeals to my per-cup thought
- Downside seems to be flat burrs: I know, big debate, but I'm thinking I want a conical in this mix and at this level

Mazzer Kony
- Sounds too "bright" for my tastes so it's probably out


Grinder #2 Candidates - Core Decaf Espresso Grinder & backup
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Mazzer Mini
- Price is right and it's a mazzer
- Should be overkill for decaf?
- Would rather put the doserless $$ on grinder #1 so a doser here is fine


Grinder #3 Candidates - French Press & Drip
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note: I don't do a lot of FP so this grinder is really for my Technivorm

Baratza Virtuoso
- My gut call: cheap, conical, and good reviews

Baratza Virtuoso Preciso
- For 50% more $$ the additional adjustment might be worth it for versatility

Baratza Vario
- Would be overkill, but I love the versatility and ground-up engineering by Kyle. Could be worth the extra $ just for that.


So that's the thinking and I'm getting close to pulling the trigger. As for the machine, I'm settled on the Izzo Alex Duetto II.

The Duetto II and the K10 make a very nice couple. Before I got the K10 I had a Anfim Super Caimano for a few months and before that a Mazzer Mini E. But the K10 really made the difference. Sweetness, body, cream, mouthfeel, syrup, richness were added when the K10 came around.

I had the K10 next to my friend's Robur. They are in the same league. Yes, the best shot was from the Robur, but all the other shots were very much alike. We also did some shots with his old grinder, a SJ, for reference. That difference was huge!

Since you like doser-less I can say get Macap M7D (same 68mm conical burr-set as K-10, awesome) and Baratza Vario as backup. Vario can be used for both espresso and french-press/drip and with two grinder instead of 3 you save some

grussgott wrote:3.) I've learned that buying right once saves me $$

True, but 'buying right' doesn't necessarily mean 'buying the best and most expensive possible'.
Right means the stuff that will make you feel like you've got your moneys' worth in pleasure, fun, utility or financial gains.
It's your money, but don't feel get your head all spinning from the mind-blowing setups in the "show your setup" thread.
Every comment made by persons on their new toys (I should've bought a $5k setup 5 years ago!) are inherently colored because they are new toys. I am probably just as guilty in some of my posts here.

Also, fwiw, the Virtuoso Preciso has a newer, supposedly better, burrset.

If you are into doserless (I am) then I have heard the Major-E is very good for home use, low wastage, low retention and very fast. Mini-E for decaf if you want to stick with the Mazzer genre for looks (the -E has bigger burrs than the normal Mini), otherwise I would think the Vario for decaf/press duties would be perfect.