I currently have the Rocky Doser model and it makes me . I am looking to get a doserless model that would work well with Ms. Silvia. I am looking to spend ~500 and want to get it from WLL. I saw this grinder Compak K-3 Touch what do you guys think?

Have a good christmas eve!

Why is doserless important? I ask because doserless models invariably produce more clumps than their doser-equipped counterpart.

Well I guess its because the doser on Rocky sprays grounds everywhere. If not all dosers do that than that would be fine.

The Schectermatic rules. Coffee grounds drop down straight and neat, no matter how fast I thwack the doser handle. Mazzer should integrate this into future models and send royalties to Andy.

Dosers do not ensure clumpless distribution. Most deliver an uneven dose favoring the left of the basket. This can be mitigated somewhat by rotating the PF while thwacking. If you entertain, a thwacking doser is about as popular as a skunk at a church social.

As far as putting the dregs back in the doser, unless making another shot in very short order, the overage is better relegated in the bin.

As far as overdosing and striking off, good results are easily obtained with a proper dose evenly distributed.

Some of the advice comes down to espresso style preference. If you like OTT American style espresso, then maybe a doser is required. If a l'Italiano is more to your choosing, a doser in the home is not.

I've said it before and I'll say it again : Dosers are for wannabe yanqui baristas.

Doserless MC4 just as it fell from the spout :




Many people have responded favorably on the Compak K3 Touch, so go for it.

Michal wrote:I currently have the Rocky Doser model and it makes me . I am looking to get a doserless model that would work well with Ms. Silvia. I am looking to spend ~500 and want to get it from WLL. I saw this grinder Compak K-3 Touch what do you guys think?

Have a good christmas eve!

Michal...the Rocky Doser is notorious for needing "modifications."
Andy's suggestions are valid, and his "Schectormatic" (pat pending) keeps things falling straight down.

Randy G. wrote:But doserless gives you no option to deal with clumping until the coffee has been ejected, that means WDT or other unnecessary hoops to jump through if clumping occurs— possibly adding extra steps on which you have railed in the past.

And said clumps, IN THE BASKET, from a dosered grinder do what, poof, magically disappear?

I use a dosered and doserless grinder, EVERY DAY, with the same roast. On any given day, one is clumping, the other is not. Rarely are they in sync.

Jim Schulman once referred to doserless aficionados as village idiots.
Don't recall anyone taking offense

Sell the Rocky, buy the Baratza Vario and don't look back.

Endo wrote:Sell the Rocky, buy the Baratza Vario and don't look back.

Curious advice, as this grinder is not available as yet, and as much as I appreciate baratza commitment to the home market, a few "expert" reviews and such might be in order.
Though no expert, I will be taking a close look at one in 2 weeks (hopefully)

Let me clarify why I was asking about the doserless vs. doser grinder.

Most doserless grinders I've used clump a lot, but not all. The value-priced Le'Lit PL53, for example, is nearly clumpless. It is rather loud, retains a good 2-3 grams of coffee, and the adjustment mechanism is fine-tuned for espresso. I owned the Rocky doserless and spent a lot of time thwacking the sides trying to eject the grounds it invariably held back (joking at the time that it's called "Rocky" for a reason). Ian reports good results with his Macap MC4 grinding one shot at a time. I used it with a full hopper and successive shots; the snout held back a sizeable wad of coffee and the ground coffee was replete with boulders. The electronic version of the same grinder wasn't better in this respect:


Macap M4 Electronic Doserless vs. Mazzer Mini E Espresso Grinder

Early reports of the Baratza Vario are promising. Between it and the already proven PL53, I'm hopeful that manufacturers will finally shore up the long-known shortcomings of some doserless grinders. In the meantime it's worth investigating the strengths and weaknesses of the doserless grinders on your shortlist since their performance may vary more dramatically than the doser-equipped models in the same class.

HB wrote: Ian reports good results with his Macap MC4 grinding one shot at a time. I used it with a full hopper and successive shots; the snout held back a sizeable wad of coffee and the ground coffee was replete with boulders.

Correction :

- hopper always contains ~250g
- snout cleared of stuck coffee at end of shot
- always grind ~2g stale coffee into the bin before next shot

In nearly 3 years with this grinder, I've never seen anything remotely close the picture above.

Actually the MC4 that I used produced even worse boulders than pictured above, but I didn't clear the snout after every shot (using what, a chopstick?). The particulars of your grinder aside for a moment, I think that I've made my point: Doserless and doser grinders may need attending to, some more than others. Buyers should not assume doserless = no fuss, no muss. Based on the early reports, the Baratza Vario could be a doserless grinder admirer's dream machine.

HB wrote:Based on the early reports, the Baratza Vario could be a doserless grinder admirer's dream machine.

Boy, do I hope this turns out to be true.

Mark

HB wrote:I didn't clear the snout after every shot (using what, a chopstick?).

MC4 snout clearing tool to the right of the scale



Espresso is a dirty business. If you do it long enough, you'll come across all kinds of harebrained dogma. The most under used word on-line is "may." The sad state of affairs is I can test a $50,000 car or $1,000 tv but not a $500 grinder. Which is why anyone is always free to PM and arrange to come and try whatever I've got.

Randy G. wrote:Partial: From what I saw from the Vario earlier this year, the adjustment problem has been dealt with quite well. If they have limited the static problem I think it will be a winner, if for no other reason than it will be a very small footprint grinder capable of doing espresso without difficulty. I hope to be able to review one....

I have a Vario on order from Espresso Parts... So when they do receive them and ship I will be testing. There is also "ddr" (Dan Roscigno) who has ordered one and plans on doing a review.

I as well. Should be arriving end of December, early January, as Baratza was working on a static issue, I believe.

The equipment sponsors get the bounty of exposure thanks to the site reviews, research from the Bench forum, etc. One of the goals for HB in 2009 is to bring more of the great coffee roasters that sponsor HB into the limelight. The MVP Espresso Blend sponsored by Paradise Roasters is one example, and now Jeff Taylor of PT's Coffee has agreed to sponsor the evaluation of the Baratza Vario.

The form of the evaluation is still under development, but I look forward to reading the early comments from the gentlemen above and contributing our own. Thanks Jeff for the quick reply!

That's great! I can save my money a bit longer!
Merry Christmas to all.