Hi all,

Not sure how it really happened (and it happened rather quickly) but I got myself a new hobby/pastime/lifestyle 'thingey' just last week...to cut a short story even shorter, following christmas gifts of vouchers/money, I decided to slightly upgrade my Bialetti stove top for an espresso machine. Ended up purchasing a machine I wasn't happy with and which I'm returning today for a better (gaggia) model. Still on the amateur end of things (the money and extra space confines my choices) however, I nevertheless want to spend just a little more (I have a birthday coming up...) on a decent grinder which won't get me in trouble with the missus (again - space, aesthetics and money come into play).

So having a good scan around these boards I thought the Ascaso i mini would be a suitable choice. It's within my limits cash wise and will also find a home on the kitchen worktop (of which there is little space left).
Shopping around (uk sites) I found a very good price for the i-imini - a good £20 cheaper than the nearest rival. However whilst on the site I also saw an Ascaso i2 for the same price as other sites are selling the i mini for. Physically they look slightly different (the i2 looks a little bulkier, sturdier perhaps?) but they both seem to be conical burr grinders which leaves me wondering what other, if any, differences there are?

Many thanks.

Just to add, I understand that both the Ascaso I mini and the I 2 have conical burrs over the I 1's flat burr...which, to be honest, I have no understanding of any benefits (or negatives) they might bring.

i2 and i1 don't differ very much. The version with doser has an important disadvantage - the doser itself. A friend of mine had bought it for home use and very soon some elements of the doser broke into pieces. Bad luck perhaps, however I wouldn't recommend this doser for even medium volumes of coffee.

Yes - I don't think I'll be going for the doser models. Just wondering whether the I-2 and I-Mini has, apart from size, any other differences (they're both conical burr grinders).
I won't be overdoing the coffee making each day (perhaps 2 - 4 espresso's on a given day) so perhaps the smaller I-Mini would suffice. The 'lip' for the portafilter might be handy though, and I guess if the I-2 is heavier, it won't shift around as much on the workbench.

Cheers.

thaxton wrote:i2 and i1 don't differ very much. The version with doser has an important disadvantage - the doser itself. A friend of mine had bought it for home use and very soon some elements of the doser broke into pieces. Bad luck perhaps, however I wouldn't recommend this doser for even medium volumes of coffee.

Actually, although identical from the outside, they differ a great deal internally. It's unfortunate that they are sometimes lumped together when reviews are made.

The I-2 is a conical burr grinder, with the burrs mounted in a plastic threaded holder. In the one I had (and returned) the manufacturing tolerances weren't up to it, so they wobbled around too much for grind consistency.

The I-1 has flat burrs in a brass (?) burr carrier which is reported to be a much better and solid setup. The price is generally higher than for the I-2.

My experience was a couple of years ago, so possibly improvements have been made to the I-2 since, and also to the other often reported problem with the non-doser version's spout cracking up (as mine was).

They are both relatively inexpensive, and you probably shouldn't expect commercial component quality or longevity.

My first-hand experience is entirely with the i-Mini... with which I've been very pleased. In fact, when I bought my second Gaggia Factory lever machine, I bought a second i-Mini for it without hesitation. Both of my i-Minis have the black cast aluminum housing. For overall aesthetics and compact practical design the i-Mini can't be beat... FWIW, in my house it passed the all-coveted "spousal approval test" when nothing else on the market even came close

My general understanding is that the innards of the i-Mini and i2 are quite similar (with the innards of the i1 being different), though I stand ready to stand corrected on this if anyone knows better...

I've heard that the clear plastic spout of the i2 is prone to breakage. Not so with the spout of the i-Mini, as the i-Mini's spout is an integral part of the i-Mini's cast aluminum metal housing. Though, the spout of the i-Mini is prone to retaining grounds... requiring an occasional thwak with a rubber mallet, an occasional "nose pick" (pardon the image...) with a chopstick, or the occasional mid-dose rocking/thwwacking motion on the counter of the whole machine on its front or back rubber feet. Don't know if the i2 requires similar gyrations to occasionally clear the ground from the chute... But don't take these occasional gyrations as an indictment of the i-Mini - just part of the character of the machine... Overall it's a great bargain and an excellent choice, especially if price, size and aesthetics are a concern...

r-gordon-7

Thanks for all the comments. @keepitsimple: absolutely - I think this should see me through as I start my journey in espressoland. I simply cannot afford anything approaching the more commercial levels at the moment...and I have a small portion of 'real estate' left on the benchtop...the i Mini will just about fit.

@r-gordon-7. Given I've found a good price for this and it's small size, I think I've made my mind up now. I've just saved (all going well!) over £100 on a gaggia classic via ebay, so I can probably grab the Ascaso i Mini this month now....just have to find a good UK fresh coffee dealer and my coffee path commences...
Incidentally, what (in real terms) capacity does the iMini hold? I don't suppose I'll be making more than 2-4 espresso's per day...

Huge thanks for the comments and advice.

Cheers.

Dave, the i-Mini has a hopper capacity of 250g. I've never put more beans in either of my i-Minis at any one time than I'd likely grind for 3 or 4 doubles - and usually no more than 1 or 2 doubles at a time... which is to say only a small fraction of its hopper's capacity - barely up to or above the "little three-legged plastic stool" (finger guard) inside the hopper at its bottom.

r-gordon-7

I think 'she's' the one for me then. For little over £100 (although that price fluctuates somewhat depending on where your mouse takes you in googleland) I can just about justify that. To think my Bialetti stove top and pre ground coffee was doing me ok for the past couple of years...!

Cheers r-gordon!

...oh and any linkies for gauging how to judge when the beans have been ground just right would be massivel appreciated. I'm anticipating a few trials and errors there. Should I purchase a packet of pre ground (espresso - cheap and cheerful) and try and attain a similar consistency of grounds? From what I've read on this type of (stepless) grinder it takes a good few turns of the dial to hit the spot...!

Cheers.

There seems to be a newer version of the i Mini out at the moment:

http://www.myespresso.co.uk/produ...---stainless-steel

This appears to have been put on that site overnight. Aside from the chrome look, it also appears to have a couple of physical alterations also. Whether this has addressed any of the coffee clumping in the chute issues I don't know. Might be another option however.

Interesting - this new Ascaso stainless steel i-Mini has an external appearance that looks somewhat like the Le Lit PL53. The Le Lit is a grinder that a lot of folks on H-B love, has "innards" that are essentially identical to the "old" Ascaso i-Mini, has a "boxy" stainless steel exterior unlike the "old" i-Mini's more rounded cast aluminum exterior and instead much like this more boxy "new" stainless steel Ascaso i-Mini, and I think was a US-only import. (If you search, you'll find many references to the Le Lit, e.g... Visit here ) However, this new Ascaso seems to have a larger conical burr than either the old i-Mini or the Le Lit.

As for how to judge the proper grind... with the i-Mini and my Gaggia Factory lever machine, here's what I did (not that what I did is necessaily correct...) I started by turning the i-Mini's fine/course knob far into the "fine" range ("many, many, many" turns clockwise - "many, many, many" being, of course, a very precise technical term of art... ) Basically, I wanted to get it to the point where the burrs were just touching and the grinder wouldn't grind - essentially to get the grinder to the "finest" "end of the line". Then I dialed the knob back a few turns toward "course" so that it would actually grind - and dosed into the pf. I tamped lightly and gave it a try in the Gaggia Factory. The Gaggia Factory essentially choked, so I knew I had the i-Mini still set too fine. After a few more turns of the i-Mini's knob back toward "course", I tried again... Eventually, through several iterations of trial and error, adjusting both the i-Mini's grind knob and my tamping, I arrived at what seemed to be the optimum grind knob setting and tamping parameters for the "resistance in the pull" that I wanted. BTW, this grind knob setting was still relatively close to the "fine" end of the line. Of course with each different variety/batch of beans - and even with each successive day as the same batch of beans ages - the grind knob setting and amount of tamping needs to be slightly ajusted for optimum results - generally a bit more fine (and tamped a bit harder) each day as the batch ages... All this "dialing in" remains a mix of trial & error and intuition... it always seems like the next try will be the one that will nail it just right... but the illusive nature of the process is part of the fun!

Hope this helps...

Blimey - it does look alot like that Le Lit!! Not entirely concerend over paying extra for the new look (although the price of the 'new' i mini from that site, is the same as most others are charging for the original) but if the 'chute' has been designed for the better, then I'm all for it. As I've gone for the chrome Gaggia Classic (got a good price on a used one...they're generally given good reviews for their longevity, so a 3 year old machine should see me right for a good few more...I hope!!), then I guess this new S/Steel Ascaso would be a nice companion piece. Either way I'll be ordering one next week.
Just wondered how you could tell that the conical buss [may] be larger in the new Ascaso?

Ok - I understand the dialing in process now...I'm thinking of all that wasted (and if I get the nicer stuff in), expensive coffee through trial and error.

Many thanks for the advice Richard.

Actually - just read that the 'old' i Mini has a 38mm burr whilst the 'new' i Mini has a 50mm burr...can't begin to tell you if this is beneficial or not mind ...sure it's bigger, but is it any better ?

The Ascaso I1 has been completely reliable and consistent for me through some two years of daily home use. Yes, it's stepless. Yes, it clumps with oily roasts - just WDT the portafilter if your shots aren't good and the issue disappears. Brush out the chute every morning, and run GRINDZ through once a quarter or so after a thorough cleaning. The new hoppers are exponentially more durable than the old ones. Mark Prince's review of the grinder over on CoffeeGeek was what convinced me - and I've not regretted the decision.

You can spend less on the new Mini - but I wouldn't want one, even were it a gift.

YMMV
(YourMileageMayVary)

Enjoy!

Trisha

^^ I ordered the new i-Mini in the end!
Size, money and looks were quite important and I've read many positive reviews of the i Mini: was it the i-Mini in general you were not too keen on or the new Stainless Steel model?

Thanks.

I think it is the i-mini in general. I favor the sturdy construction and the burr set of the I1; but then I'll never end up having multiple espresso machines or various grinders "just because" (I have something of an addiction to IDPA that claims much of my discretionary funds, you see. . .) one becomes available!

IDPA?
http://idpa.co.uk/

?

Ah, no. . .

http://www.idpa.com/

Category: SSP (Kimber, Colt 1911 pattern; HK USP C; all in .45acp (handloads)

Power level (chronographed M/v X bullet weight): 249,550

http://www.idpa.com/Documents/IDPARuleBook2005.pdf

Nothing like going to the range on an empty stomach and 2 double cappas to make it a little more realistic (simulating adrenaline & stress), yes?