Well, i pulled the trigger and ordered a mazzer mini. Got quick answers and a very decent price from idrinkcoffee (fyi for the other canucks in these forums). My local shop would not match the price and seeing as grinders are not very high tech, i can live without the local support.

Thanks again for all the advice you have provided.

Just thought i'd update this one last time after using the new grinder for a few days.

I noticed two things since upgrading from the Isomac granmacinino to the Mazzer. I can detect a change in flavours from the coffees i am used to. Nothing earthshattering but i seem to be getting more definition in the aromas (fruit, chocolate, etc).

The second change, and this is is quite marked, is that i get a LOT more consistent results using the mazzer. I still muck up some pulls due to hasty distribution or a bad tamp but my shots are generally looking and tasting better more often than before.

Cleaning the doser is not a big deal, i'm using a Pallo grinder brush and it gets the chamber nice and clean. Just a thought for those who are on the fence with the whole doser/doserless thing. Nice thing about the doser is that if you twack the lever fast enough, it does a pretty good job of mixing up the grind.

All in all, happy with the upgrade, now i can look forward to changing the machine

Good!

You got a new Mini, correct? A lot of people (including me) tend to immediately offer the advice that a used Mazzer Super Jolly can offer a better grind than a new Mazzer Mini. It's probably a best vs. better argument that needs to be toned down a bit. I'm glad to hear you have no regrets - it's easy to forget that value is subjective to different people.

Like you said, they are pretty simple to maintain. Mazzer's quality is usually defined as "bullet proof," so your Mini could run flawlessly for decades in a home environment (minus maybe a few burr change.)

Hi Matt,

Yes it is a mini. I looked around for a used Super Jolly and could not come across a decent deal (i'm in canada). Could not get a family approval on spending 800+ canadian on a new Super Jolly so that's why i ended up with the Mini.

It is kinda hard to get people that are not enthusiasts to wrap they heads around the concept of equipment costing all in all thousands of dollars "just to make espresso"...

I know how that goes.

I forget that the US market does sometimes offer advantages. I would never (well, hardly ever) buy a new SJ... they are quite pricey. Now you have a lot more saved up for your espresso machine, anyways!

The Mini is a nice size. It's a pain when I want haul my grinder home from college for breaks. It's great, but it's no lightweight.