Apololgies in advance for the repetitive nature of this question.

Basically, up to now my adventures with espressos have been restricted to using a £40 DeLonghi machine & ESE pods or bought pre-ground & bagged coffee. Living in student accommodation & having a tight (non-existent?) budget made that the only option - until recently.

I now want to upgrade to proper grinder & HX machine setup, which (hopefully) will last me for 5-10 years.

So with respect to grinders, having read 10s of threads (including the TGP!) on this form & a number of other ones, I've narrowed it down to the following three, which I can buy at (appoximately) the same cost (up to £300, or $600 equivalently):

1. Mazzer Mini
2. Mazzer Super Jolly
3. Macap M4

I can't personally inspect any of these, since no shop stocks them where i live - hence your recommendations would be most welcome.

In particular, how does the Mini compare with the Jolly & M4? From what i understand, the Mini & M4 are quite similar?

I expect to primarily use the machine for espresso grinds, so ability to change settings easily is not that important.

Thanks in advance

While I have yet to use one, but...

Based on all the recent commentary in the TGP, if you can indeed get the Super Jolly for the price of the others and you can accommodate it, that is where I would go. I have a Cimbali Junior grinder with 64mm that I am very happy with, but I do like the build quality of the Mazzers (I have used a Major in an espresso class).

Since you are in the UK, Anfim grinders are a great option.

Anfim grinders have limited distribution here in the US. 49th Parallel distributes them in Canada

My favorite shop in Victoria BC recently got an Anfim Super Caimano. In concert with their 3 group Synesso, the improvement in shot quality over the Super Jolly and the Macap MK7 was nothing short of astounding.

Hi cafeIKE,

that wouldn't be Discovery Coffee or 2% Jazz in Victoria would it?

I just learned of the Anfim Super Camino at Wandering Goat Organic Coffee Roasters in Eugene Oregon. They recently acquired one and speak very highly of it as well, saying it easily outperforms their Mazzer Majors.

I am wondering if someone can get a Super Camino in the Titan lineup.

cheers

cedar wrote:I just learned of the Anfim Super Camino at Wandering Goat Organic Coffee Roasters in Eugene Oregon. They recently acquired one and speak very highly of it as well, saying it easily outperforms their Mazzer Majors.

The Super Caimano shows up on their website as a 73mm flat burr, 2/3rds HP, 900 rpm grinder, same specs as the Major and many others. However, there's a Caimano 450 version with the same 73mm burrs, but in titanium, a beefed up 1HP motor, and geared down 450 rpm operation. This is perhaps the one getting the all the raves.

Hi Jim,

On the Anfim website (http://www.anfim.net/en/prodotti.html) it appears that you can get titanium blades on request for all four of the Caimano models, but stock is hardened steel.

It also gives specs for the 450 as 380 volt 3 phase only, so I wonder of anyone is likely to be using that model here?

I second the Cimbali Jr., especially now that I've seen them as low as $275 NIB from a reputable online store. I'd like to get one for myself, but can't justify doing so at the moment. Later!

KumiMajava,

I see that you are based in Oxford... Where are you planning on purchasing your unit? I have been searching high and low for a good website to buy a Super Jolly. Problem is, I can't find it anywhere without having to fork out a fortune. In the US I see that there is only a small markup from the Mini ($80-120). On the European websites where I have been lucky enough to find one it is twice the price of the Mini. On the other hand, the Macap 4 seams quite reasonable where I have found it, about 2/3 of what you pay for a Mini.

Any tips on where to shop would be appreciated. So far I have checked out:

http://www.hasbean.co.uk/
http://www.cliftoncoffee.co.uk/index.php?page=jolly
http://www.coffeemanuk.co.uk/Mazz...Jolly-Grinder.html
http://www.gocoffee.co.uk/coffee-...nders-c-27_64.html
http://www.kaffee-seite.de/
http://www.caffe-milano.de/
http://www.espressocoffeeshop.com/
http://www.happydonkey.co.uk/leasepurchase.html
http://www.gocoffee.co.uk/catalog/index.php
http://www.risteriet.dk
http://www.quahwa.dk
http://www.moccabox.dk
http://www.espressokaffe.dk
http://www.kaffe-agenterne.dk
http://www.kaffebrenneriet.com
http://www.skienkaffebrenneri.no
http://www.sh.no
http://www.internetto.de
http://www.espresso-direkt.de
http://www.lespresso.de
http://www.espresso-international.de
http://www.ongebrand.nl/index_eng.htm
http://www.kaffee-online-bestellen.de
http://www.berliner-kaffeeroesterei.de/shop/
http://www.meo.fr/boutique/accueil.asp
http://www.cphroaster.dk/
http://www.timwendelboe.no/


Regards,
Thomas

That's a pretty impressive list of shops. A couple that are not on the list and of which I have used personally or have heard good things about are:

http://www.esw.nl
http://www.pasmarose.de
http://www.espressoxxl.de
http://www.espressivo.fi (in Finnish only, but they speak Swedish, too)
http://www.kaffecentralen.fi
http://www.kaffemekka.dk

And a couple more that I have come across but have no experience or references on:

http://www.espresso-store.de
http://www.espressofactory.de
http://www.kaldi.nl
http://www.temperato.no
http://www.bellabarista.co.uk
http://www.koffiecentrale.nl
http://www.thegreenbean.nl
http://www.cafehaus-service.de
http://www.mack-eistechnik.de

Br,
Teme

If I could find a Cimbali Jr for $275 NIB I'd buy one RIGHT NOW!