hellooooo people of home barista.com i've joined this forum to ask for some help to choose my first grinder for my home setup. At the moment i have a GAGGIA CAREZZA deluxe which i'm very happy with, able to achieve microfoam with a lot of practice. After one year i finally have some spare cash to spend on an essential grinder so i can start buying quality beans online and start experimenting on pulling better shots and making better tasting lattes. obviously i'm on a slight budget but also want to spend enough and not buy something that will break in a day. There's only one place where i can have quality coffee and i really want to recreate that quality at home for my morning, afternoon, anytime cup.

So far i've done my research on the RANCILIO ROCKY SD which is a nice option i believe. 50mm flat burrs, all metal body, i think its a proven stepped design and seen some videos of routine maintenance and its quite easy to take apart and reassemble. and finding your old mark should be easier to find since its stepped. lots of videos as well of pulling great mouthwatering shots on youtube using said grinder. 225 pounds is the cheapest price i can find on the net and i'm buying it from MALLORCA, SPAIN and that's excluding shipping costs.

I also discovered the ASCASO brand with the I-mini or I-steel I1 (54mm flat burrs), also doserless, metallic body, stepless with microdial and easy maintenance as well. there's a optional timer but i cant find anymore info on that, i dont know if they install digital buttons or just an analogue dial.
i'm leaning more on the I-steel with a slight difference on price over the I-mini but i like the boxier design more, youtube again showing some quality espresso shots achieved with this grinder. 215€ is the price from SPAIN which will cheapen shipping costs as well

So what's your opinion over the two? do you know a third grinder i should be looking into that in that price point of max 300€, i already checked out the BARATZA PRECISO which is over max budget and the half and half plastic and steel body isnt working for me. I also checked out the BARATZA SETTE which is again out of my price range but i really love the design, speed, coffee retention is almost 0% but at 500€, its a far dream. I've also checked out the ORPHAN ESPRESSO LIDO 3E and PHAROS (295$) but for the price i'd rather go with a machine and save me the hassle especially in the mornings although they are quality hand grinders especially the pharos with 68mm burrs and you can grind your double shot of espresso in 30 cranks or so, and 68mm burrs are massive and very low heat......etc.
any other website in europe to find the first two would be great help to compare prices and websites to find your suggestions as well. doserless models.

thanks for the help sorry about the long read but i really want to make a good choice and enjoy my grinder for a long time and enjoy pulling shots for even longer.
ENRIQUE GOITIA

Skip the Ascaso, i went that route as well because they look good and 200 euro is cheap, but they are a p.i.t.a. to work with because the grind sprays in all directions, the burrs are not well aligned so the grind is very inconsistent, you don't know what your shot will be because every shot is different. Then I bought the Eureka Mignon and it was so much better. Build quality is way better, the burrs were aligned well enough for home enthusiast use, and the grind was more consistent. Just grind some beans to flush out the old stuff in the morning and you're good. It's also more silent than the Ascaso.

But you'll always end up going to your next grinder later on, be it a year, two years, you always will.
My next grinder was the HG-One, and I've stuck with that one for 3 years now... it's blazing fast, just a few cranks, no cleaning required, what goes in comes out, and it's practically silent.
Anyway, I've been out of the race for a while, maybe there's better grinders around nowadays, but I just wanted to share my experience with the Ascaso: rather skip it.

Cheers, Hugo

Hello Enrique:
There have been reviews of the Ascaso line and other. Have you read the following review? It could be helpful
https://www.bellabarista.co.uk/pdf/comp ... erlook.pdf
Marco

Aaaaah so the ascaso isn't so good then? Did you have the flat or conical burr version? The eureka mignon is kinda out of my price range and if I'm going up that much I might just get the baratza sette 270. Plus I'll have to find it in the net worth shipping to Spain. And since you went up to the hg-one that's like. Almost 1G, but I do love that hand grinder. Always read positive reviews about it.
And the rancilio rocky? What do you think about that grinder? Its been around for about 15yrs and looks solid as well, 75€ more expensive than the ascaso isteel.
I'm just shocked that you had such a bad time with the ascaso thought I did a bargain quality grinder

How about Bezzera BB005?

Bezzera BB005 conical grinder
Bezzera BB005 best value grinder

Elektros has a good price for it. Though you might find it even cheaper if you spend time searching the web.
http://elektros.it/es/en/coffee_grinder ... r-bezzera/

After buying two grinders, I'd watch the used market and go that route. A used one with slightly worn burrs will last you while learn to use it, then replace the burrs and those things are built like tanks. A used mazzer will be in your price range.

FWIW I bought a ceado e5p and am really enjoying it.

Well, the Ascaso is a decent grinder (I had the flat burrs), there are many many worse grinders flooding the market, but if you saved up for a good grinder, and already have one now, I'd make sure you get one that will satisfy for a long time. Its easy for other people to say you need to buy a more expensive one, I know that, it's just that at this price range the law of diminishing returns has not jet kicked in that bad, so you get a lot more for a little more bucks. And like many say, used is the best route, especially if you can get a good deal on a small commercial grinder, they are built to last generations. The Mignon is actually one of the smallest commercial grinders, you find them in small cafes in Europe sometimes, with a big hopper on top.
The whole range of Mazzer is good, if you can find a used one.

Enriquegoitia wrote:Aaaaah so the ascaso isn't so good then? Did you have the flat or conical burr version? The eureka mignon is kinda out of my price range and if I'm going up that much I might just get the baratza sette 270. Plus I'll have to find it in the net worth shipping to Spain. And since you went up to the hg-one that's like. Almost 1G, but I do love that hand grinder. Always read positive reviews about it.
And the rancilio rocky? What do you think about that grinder? Its been around for about 15yrs and looks solid as well, 75€ more expensive than the ascaso isteel.
I'm just shocked that you had such a bad time with the ascaso thought I did a bargain quality grinder

The Rocky is not a very good grinder. You'll be better served looking for a decent used grinder if your budget is limited. I know you mentioned the some of the Baratza are out of your budget, but they do sell refurbished models here in the US. I'm not sure if they do in Europe. Like spin001 mentioned, you'll probably be able to find a used Mazzer in that range. There's actually quite a few comparable brands you'll find used that are quite capable.

Add of this reply I've been reading more on the suggestions and comments made. I've also encountered better prices and other models that also need evaluating. My budget is 300 so the eureka depending on shipping costs would still be in the mix.

My thoughts on each are the following, mostly based on YouTube reviews and forums.

The baratza preciso could achieve a good cup, macro and micro adjustments, Good starter grinder. Conical burrs ceramic, but again the plasticness is a turn off

The Rocky is proven, solid build quality, new burr sets are cheap, stepped? Might have a curve back with either adjusting fineness, overdosing to achieve the magic cup.
50mm flat steel burrs

The Pharos would be the coolest grinder in heat terms, quick enough, have to buy these clamps for it to hold it in place to make it more comfortable to use, great build quality 68mm burrs. But so much cash for such a small thing, and picking it up often I might drop it and probably die inside a little, Jajajahja, I don't know. Low grind retention

Eureka mignon is stepless, solid steel, big burrs, positive reviews from home barista users, slightly over budget excluding shipping but may be worth it. 50mm hardened flat steel burrs. Doserless. Comes with a timer version

Nuovo simonelli grinta 50mm burrs but considering it's plastic constructing to keep costs down is kinda a downfall, I don't want to regret buying it

Nuovo simonelli mcf 48mm burrs is I think identical to eureka, same body, hopper, adjustment dial.... Etc fit a bit less. I can only find the doser option which I think it's a pain to clean.

The ascaso i1 steel looks solid, stepless, microadjustment, doserless, cheapest one of my list but has mixed reviews by a user. Although the company looks very legit, with quality products and designs. Maybe a case of a badly produced one.

I can't talk about the bezzera since I haven't seen it in the Web yet

Well I'll be evaluating my decision and post what I end up buying

Baratza preciso for 240€
Baratza sette for 410€ out of stock!!!!
Bezzera bb005 for???
Eureka mignon for 315€
Nuovo simonelli grinta for 189€
Nuovo simonelli mcf for 285€
Rancilio rocky SD for 270€
Ascaso i-steel i1 for 220€
Orphan espresso pharos for 333€ out of stock

I currently have a sette, a k30, mazzer mini e type A and a precisio.
I had and tested the grinta(1 month), rocky (3 month) and ascaso i-steel(8 month then upgraded to the mini).

In order for your budget keeping the mignon out as I don't have experience with it would be as follow
Bezzera will be loud as... small motor and all stainless
1. sette, low retention, easy to dial in, fast,
2. precisio, will be nice but not very predictable when adjusting in micro, not good if used to do multi type of coffee, my grinder for everything but espresso.
3: Ascaso I steel flat burrs,down side: very slow to grind, loud, hassle with grind retention(+-4g) Upsides: solid, brass burr holder, stepless, low heat transfer to the grind, doserless will clump(had the model with doser)

as for the bezzera: Bezzera BB005 conical grinder

grinta-- feels cheep, step adjustment, timer is not user friendly and under the grinder...
rocky, was nice 20 years ago, its a tank but you'll want to upgrade before it dies and find a good excuse