Hi,

I am looking at purchasing either a Macao m4D or a mazzer mini-e. I am after peoples impressions/preferences on both of these, possibly from owners of both.

I have searched and read almost every single post on this site and others across the web. A lot of the reviews and posts have been early when the Macap was still newish.

Have people found any reliability issues, built quality, grind quality with the M4D or mini-e?

Given the opportunity would you still make the same purchase.

Where i am both the M4D and Mini-e are the same price.

Kind regards

Barnyard

Have you considered the Baratza Vario?

Hi,yeah have looked at it briefly, it is not as widely available here in Australia. I believe it is sold under a different name..

I have narrowed my decision down to the M4D or mini-e.

Macap M4D = 58mm burrs.
Mazzer Mini-E = 64mm burrs.
1 Year of Wishing I'd Not Bought a Macap M4D

He also has follow up posts in other places saying it is better than it was at that time, but not perfect. I don't know how different the machine is now from when that was posted. (I am not saying it is better than the Mini E and I have no idea if it is, just that the new machines may not exactly match that one).

Macap M4D improvement in the works

Also bigger burrs don't always mean better grinding. I think the Super Jolly (with bigger burrs) does grind better that the standard Macap M4 or the Mazzer Mini, but the HB grinder review did not rank the grind quality of the Mini E with bigger burrs ahead of the Mini or M4.

http://www.home-barista.com/espresso-grinder-reviews-conclusion.html

Hi Barnyard
just went through the same thing. I found both to be good and it was very close in the end. M4D=very consistent timed dosing and faster but lacked the robust feel and cleaniness of the mini-e. The mini-e's timed dosing cops a bit of flack in OZ forums and it's speed gets unfairly compared too often with it's bigger stablemates. While I would love a Kony-e my budget couldn't extend that far. I got a great deal on the mini-e that put it ahead for me. Only a few weeks into our relationship and I find that for home it's fine and I'm living with some constant tweaking (there's every chance this could be a result of my slow uptake on anything mechanical). The Maz is a very quiet unit and you know what....it's not as if friends are leaving my house in disgust because they had to wait 2 mins more for a coffee...the'yre usually the reason it takes a while because they're next to me drooling and getting in my way!
Seeya