by r-gordon-7 on Thu Aug 07, 2008 9:33 pm My need was for a relatively inexpensive grinder - preferably stepless - exclusively for espresso use. But, it absolutely had to pass "spousal approval" in terms of attractive styling and diminutive size. (We all must live within our bounds, musn't we...
) The i-Mini met all those requirements - and its all metal (no plastic!) exterior was an added bonus.The quality and consistency of the grind is fine - and the adjustability of the grind is virtually infinite.
After my experience with the i-Mini, I wouldn't consider buying a grinder for espresso use that wasn't stepless. The degree of control over the grind afforded by the stepless mechanism is really essential to be able to optimize each pull. The i-Mini's control knob takes literally hundreds of turns from "course" to "full choke". You wouldn't want to use it for different brewing methods - but for espresso there's nothing like "touching up" the setting just a bit, say a partial turn or two, to, say, compensate for another day's aging of the beans...
Negatives? Well, the chute is a bit a small, which probably compounds the "retained grounds" problem - but the upside is that the chute is all-metal which overcomes some of the breakage problems suffered by the larger Ascaso grinders with their plastic chutes.
BTW, I "solve" (well, "address") the "retained grounds problem" with a mixture of three things... 1. a chopstick which I keep next to the i-Mini to occasionally stick up the chute; 2. a small rubber mallet which I also keep next to the i-Mini for an occasional "thwack"; and 3. an occasional forward/backward rocking/thumping motion of the i-Mini on its rubber feet - each such motion is akin to a gentle "thwack" - while dosing into the portafilter. Given the i-Mini's sturdy all-metal construction (well, all-metal save, of course, the clear plastic bean hopper) none of this occasional "thwacking" seems likely to cause it any harm - and it does seem to help clear the chute of reisdual grounds.
Other negatives... there's only one switch and it's a pushbutton under the chute - presumably located so you can hold the portafilter against it while grinding into the basket. However, the switch is a small round slippery chrome plated thing. The chrome is too easily marred by the portafilter - and the switch is too small and slippery, so the portafilter tends to slide off the switch - especially while trying to rotate the basket inside the portafilter while holding the portafilter against the switch. A larger and less slippery button which is also less prone to marring would be an improvement, though simply locating the switch elsewhere on the unit would also solve the probelm nicely.
Other than those few small issues, I'm extremely pleased with the i-Mini. For the price, the compact size, the attractive styling, the all metal construction, the stepless control over grind, etc., IMHO, the i-Mini can't be beat...
(Oh, BTW, I haven't noticed it to be particularly noisy... at least I routinely continue to carry on conversation with my wife while grinding...)
r-gordon-7
