inputusername wrote:Does anyone have opinions on whether the Ascaso i-Mini is a good choice for me as a grinder?

Several have posted positive opinions of this grinder (narrow search results and wide search results) including Richard's first impressions.

do you have counterspace requirements? If not, I would strongly, strongly recommend a Mazzer Super Jolly (used). I've owned a Solis Maestro, Mazzer Mini, and 2 Super Jollies--1 used, and one new (only one grinder at a time though). I would say that the difference of the super jolly, used or new, over the other grinders (even the Mini) is remarkable. It will make your life easier if you can fit it in your kitchen. Searching "Mazzer" on eBay will get you a lot of hits, usually, in the $200-350 range, with varying conditions. It would take caution and patience, but I can tell you from experience it pays off.

Of course, if you don't want to get your hands dirty, it might not be the thing for you, but it is definitely one highly cost-effective way to get a superb grinder.

I don't really have stringent counter space requirements, but I do have a wife...and she might not appreciate it too much if I take up too much room.

I will definitely look into it though. Thanks

The first thing in the morning is a nice latte for my wife followed by my espresso. This has allowed me to put an Elektra T1 on the counter top. I think the significant others for all the members on this site should probably be sainted for putting up with us coffee addicted lunatics.

Mark

Hopefully I can stop her from making her daily special trip to the cafe occasionally. With gas included, it is probably an $8 latte!

She has already told me she doesn't want to learn how to use the machine...she wanted me to get a superautomatic...but hopefully I can make them for her and maybe in the future she will learn herself.

mhoy wrote:The first thing in the morning is a nice latte for my wife followed by my espresso. This has allowed me to put an Elektra T1 on the counter top. I think the significant others for all the members on this site should probably be sainted for putting up with us coffee addicted lunatics.

Mark

as an aside, it took me 5 years of making coffee for 'er indoors to get the fridge shifted into my dining room to make room for my 3 group

what can i achieve after another 5 . . .

Could you please explain how the MS Live Cash Back works? I created a Live account and did a search for Salvatore, but didn't come up with anything...any advice would be appreciated as I am just about to pull the trigger on a One Black!

TIA,
matthew

Hi Matthew -

I responded to your email, but I will respond here as well. Unfortunately, the MS Live Cashback deal for eBay appears to be dead right now. You can check this FatWallet thread for further updates: http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/838081/

inputusername wrote: Why did I want to get it through eBay instead of just by calling Salvatore...it is simple: there is a crazy cashback promotion going on right now from Microsoft Live Search (http://www.live.com) and I got 25% cashback...yes the Salvatore One Black only cost me $746! Now the current cashback percentage is down to 20%, but it is still a great deal! You can check out this post on FatWallet to get all of the details: http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/838081/

I totally don't get this. I read and re-read the instructions on fat wallet and came up empty. How do you know when these deals are being offered?

MS Live only does this occasionally. It was great at the end of last November 2008, I picked up lots of Festool equipment on Ebay. I'm guessing this is tied to a marketing campaign to get use of MS Live search up there in the ratings. Perhaps if you just used MS Live search everyday, you'd see when it was happening... then again, I always use Google's search engine.

mark