Hi all,

Hopefully I didn't butcher the title too bad. I just received my Linea Mini and the wait for the Monolith Conical is killing me. I'm seriously considering getting a Mahlkonig K30 temporarily (was originally my purchase choice until I read about the Monolith) for the 4+ month wait.

I have the Baratza Vario right now and the Linea Mini isn't being very forgiving. I've been looking around for a used Mahlkonig K30 with haven't came across any except ones that don't have 20k shots through them.

How does the K30 hold its value? Does 200-300 off the listed price ($1750) sound realistic given 4 months of minimal (30-40 shots a week) use?

A safe bet in most cases is somewhere around 70-75% of retained value for an item in good condition. But you'll have to consider the risks you take if it doesn't sell as fast as you'd like.

If I were in your shoes, I'd probably just wait for the Monolith. You wont be disappointed with it.

Can you find a Pharos somewhere used? It would produce great shots and seems to hold its value very well, in part because they are a bit hard to find. A few months of hand grinding wouldn't be too bad.

If I could, I'd buy and keep both. After 2-1/2 years of using a K30 Vario, it stays - no matter what!

Just getting an eg-1 might solve your dilemma at no additional cost!

How does that solve his dilemma and how is it no additional cost?

TomC wrote:A safe bet in most cases is somewhere around 70-75% of retained value for an item in good condition. But you'll have to consider the risks you take if it doesn't sell as fast as you'd like.

If I were in your shoes, I'd probably just wait for the Monolith. You wont be disappointed with it.

Sounds like a good number to go by. I'm not too worried about having to hold onto it for awhile after I receive the Monolith. But I suspect most people would rather buy a used at 1k and maybe replace burrs or buy a new one.

MNate wrote:Can you find a Pharos somewhere used? It would produce great shots and seems to hold its value very well, in part because they are a bit hard to find. A few months of hand grinding wouldn't be too bad.

I've considered the Pharos but usually rush in the morning and I'm lazy - I'll keep a lookout for one. It does seem look like a great grinder.

BaristaBoy E61 wrote:If I could, I'd buy and keep both. After 2-1/2 years of using a K30 Vario, it stays - no matter what!

Not at the point in my espresso journey where I would take advantage of having two types of grinders for taste. That said I think if I wanted both I would probably just get two monoliths!

SAB wrote:Just getting an eg-1 might solve your dilemma at no additional cost!

I considered getting an EG-1 when I realized how long I would be waiting for. It also looks nice which is a plus. The size is larger and from the reviews on here it seems that the Monolith would give me the same experience in the cup without much to gain (for me at least) with an additional $1400 as well. If it wasn't for the Monolith it would be a lot harder to not go down that path.

Appreciate everyone's answers. As per usual it comes down to cost / convenance. I'm planning on trying to change the Linea Mini's pressure down and see if that helps the channeling. Waiting on the Monolith wouldn't be too bad if I can get decent shots from my current setup. Granted, it could be human error playing a large part as well.

I was in the same boat. I bought a Ceado e37s, but was not happy with it while waiting for the Monolith. I was lucky enough to be able to borrow a K30 for a while and found it to be a really good grinder.

Shop around, make the best deal you can and enjoy the K30. It is a good mate for the LM. It will sell easily and quickly when you're ready to let go.

Life is too short to drink bad coffee.

After talking more with Dave from La Marzocco Home (can't recommend Dave and La Marzocco Home enough) I went ahead and change the pressure down to 6 bars. The difference is incredible! The channeling pretty much vanished completely and I'm getting those dark syrupy shots.

Due to actually getting legit shots (no channeling, gushing, etc) I'm getting really nice balanced shots. I'm sure the Monolith would make a huge difference in the "need" for this change, but I'm very happy.

Chris coffee has a K30 in their buyers remorse for a small discount off normal price. Could save a little $ up front if you were going to flip in 6 months.