I am looking to seriously upgrade my Gaggia MDF grinder. I think between all the reviews, instructions, options, model numbers, my brain is going to explode. I now have no idea what I am looking for so maybe I can list what I want and hopefully get some decent options to look at. We mostly drink cappuccinos, macchiato and on some occasions americanos. We rarely drink straight espresso, but that may be because we had a mediocre grinder. BTW about to upgrade my Expobar HX for a dual boiler. Will likely get the ECM Synchronika, maybe the Lucca m58.

1) Doserless.
2) Stepless
3) Minimal retention
4) Grind timer to make my life easier
5) Easy to clean and put back together hopefully without losing the grind setting.
6) I'm willing to go up to about $2k for good grinder.

Please keep my head from exploding and give me some extra direction.

Sounds like eureka atom to me

Beckmaster wrote:I am looking to seriously upgrade my Gaggia MDF grinder. I think between all the reviews, instructions, options, model numbers, my brain is going to explode. I now have no idea what I am looking for so maybe I can list what I want and hopefully get some decent options to look at. We mostly drink cappuccinos, macchiato and on some occasions americanos. We rarely drink straight espresso, but that may be because we had a mediocre grinder. BTW about to upgrade my Expobar HX for a dual boiler. Will likely get the ECM Synchronika, maybe the Lucca m58.

1) Doserless.
2) Stepless
3) Minimal retention
4) Grind timer to make my life easier
5) Easy to clean and put back together hopefully without losing the grind setting.
6) I'm willing to go up to about $2k for good grinder.

Please keep my head from exploding and give me some extra direction.

If you want a timer I assume you are not single dosing? Mahlkonig K30 Vario IMO and in MANY peoples opinion is extremely hard to beat for an on demand grinder. I wanted one for years and finally pulled the trigger 6 weeks ago, loving it is a huge understatement. If you research the K30 here and other forums they are very few negative opinions/reviews when compared to most, if not all, other grinders out there. You can get a new one well under 2k. Chris Coffee, Prima Coffee, SCG and many other well known and trusted vendors sell them. I got the best price from Espresso Outlet and had a good buying experience from them. Make sure you negotiate the price!

Beckmaster wrote:5) easy to clean and put back together hopefully without losing the grind setting.

Eureka line: Atom, Zenith 65e, Olympus 75e. I believe all of these can be taken apart for cleaning without loss of settings. The Zenith 65e would be sweet spots for me given your criteria and comes in well under budget.

I'd suggest "7. Quiet" as a good goal for a home grinder and offer the Ceado E37S. Been very happy with mine for years.

All these machines are pretty tall. How do all of you keep them under a a cabinet? What strategies do you all use.

r7 wrote:Eureka line: Atom, Zenith 65e, Olympus 75e. I believe all of these can be taken apart for cleaning without loss of settings. The Zenith 65e would be sweet spots for me given your criteria and comes in well under budget.

I like how easy these are to clean, 3 screws and then suck it away with a vacuum.

I like how the k30 with the short hopper is only 17.5 inches and should fit under most counters. Almost everything else i look at is 20" plus.

Am I a fool willing to spend $1500-$2000 on a grinder?

Eureka Zenith 65e with short hopper: 18.0" tall
Eureka Atom: 17.25" tall

Beckmaster wrote:
Am I a fool willing to spend $1500-$2000 on a grinder?

I would spend more on a grinder any day of the week. The mantra is "grinder, grinder, grinder!!" for a reason. If you aren't comfortable spending that much, the OE line of grinders is the best bang for your buck out there IMO; and they will fit neatly in a drawer or cabinet. (my Pharos is on par with my k30 and I paid 1/9th the cost; of course it's a manual grinder and doesn't compare to an on demand grinder for ease of use.)

"Am I a fool willing to spend $1500-$2000 on a grinder?"

My wife freaked out at the cost & SIZE of the K30 Vario but 2-½ years later loves it - because I still love it!

No plans to upgrade.

Ellejaycafe wrote:I would spend more on a grinder any day of the week. The mantra is "grinder, grinder, grinder!!" for a reason. If you aren't comfortable spending that much, the OE line of grinders is the best bang for your buck out there IMO; and they will fit neatly in a drawer or cabinet. (my Pharos is on par with my k30 and I paid 1/9th the cost; of course it's a manual grinder and doesn't compare to an on demand grinder for ease of use.)

I'm not uncomfortable if the benefit is worth the price. If I told some of my friends what I am looking to pay they may think I am nuts. But, we really enjoy our coffees so I guess it may be worth it. I'm also of the thinking, buy the right product once so not to have to spend money again in the future. Therefor I would rather spend $2000 now instead of $1000 today and then another $2000 3-4 years from now.

After researching espresso machines, I realized that in the dual boiler e61 machines, they are all pretty much the same so I just picked one that has the features I want with a reasonable ability to get inside and repair it when I want. That is why the EMC/Profitec was the right choice for me. I chose the synchronika. I wonder if I am overthinking the grinder choice as well.

borislav wrote:I'd suggest "7. Quiet" as a good goal for a home grinder and offer the Ceado E37S. Been very happy with mine for years.

Damn, that looks like a very interesting grinder.
I really wish there were less choices.