While it may not seem obvious at first, one of the most important selections of your equipment ensemble is the grinder. It's tempting to overlook the coffee grinder and focus on the espresso machine because of its strong visual appeal and numerous options to consider.

Don't fall into this trap. Reducing beans to grinds is the noisier and messier part of the job, but your espresso won't reach its potential unless it's done well and consistently by a top-notch grinder.

Let's review five top espresso grinders: Mazzer Mini, Mazzer Mini E - Type A &B, Cimbali Junior, and the Macap M4.

Read more...

Here's a datepoint only an idiot can supply. I forgot to turn off my Mini this afternoon. When I got back to it a few hours later, I burnt my hand trying to take the tamper out of the throat (I single dose the beans, and use a tamper to keep them from jumping out while grinding).

I hoped the damage was confined to replacing a thermal link. Instead, after it cooled down, the machine ran as if nothing had happened; I didn't even need to hit a reset button.

Idiot-proof is nice

I'm a very happy owner of a MM, but I must admit to being terrified of opening it up for a cleaning, worried that I'll never get it back together again in the right way.

How often do you clean yours & how... and is opening up the top to clean the burrs from the inside as daunting a task as I fear it is?
thanks

daschles wrote:How often do you clean yours & how... and is opening up the top to clean the burrs from the inside as daunting a task as I fear it is?

I've only had my Mini E for 3 months but I would think in a domestic environment you would only need to thoroughly clean out the burrs 2 or 3 times a year. I suppose the cleaning frequency would be dictated by a few factors including personal preference. Perhaps if you were cupping or had been using particularly oily beans...

Unfortunately I had my first foreign object drama with my Mini E the other day. I quickly found out that unscrewing the top burr carrier isn't tricky at all.
Make sure you disconnect the power first. To gain access to the burrs simple remove the screw from the grind adjustment collar and then unscrew the top top burr carrier. Your top burr is attached to the adjustment collar and is the easiest of the two to clean. I use a nylon bristled brush. Something like a reasonably stiff toothbrush would be fine. Cleaning the bottom burr can be a little harder, but nothing prohibitive. I find a vacuum cleaner works well to suck most of the loose coffee grounds from around the bottom burr and its housing. You may have a slight build up of coffee oils and fine coffee particles. They combine to form a firm sort of tacky paste. I've successfully removed the majority of the build up with a small flat head screwdriver.
You will notice the top carrier has 3 little platform contact points. Line these up with tensioning springs on the lower burr housing. Be very careful not to cross thread the carriers as you put them back together. You will need to push down with a little pressure at first as the tension springs prevent the threads coming together, then screw them together. Don't forget to replace the screw from the adjustment collar that you removed first up. You will have to find your old grind setting, but that shouldn't be too hard.
I hope I haven't omitted anything important... I'm sure others will offer more comprehensive advice if needed.

I suppose the other option is something like Urnex Grindz Espresso Grinder Cleaner.

I found the adjustment collar had stiffened up a little after the clean out. I may have wiped off the white lubricant found on the carriers...?

-Stephen-

Dan,

Did you try the MiniE with your Elektra Microcasa a Leva? Just wondering how the Elektra PF with its fixed (and wide) spouts fits with the MiniE's PF rest...

Also, it would appear from pictures that the 15 degree LM PF that I have for my Andreja might not work too well with the MiniE's PF rest, either?

Br,
Teme

Teme, you're right that the Mini E's rest works best with a straight-handled portafilter. I used the Rancilio commercial portafilter and it sits nicely level, but even so I usually held the portafilter and rotated it out of habit to improve the distribution. Now why didn't I take any pictures of the various portafilters in the rest?!? As I recall, for the angled La Marzocco, you need to hold it while the basket fills because it's unlevel; you must hold the Microcasa portafilter because the spouts are fixed parts of the bowl casting and widely spaced. An Olympia Cremina or La Pavoni portafilter would probably work better in this regard; Steve borrowed the Mini E for a few weeks and would know for certain.

I received my MiniE today and I thought that I'd share these pictures. The stock Andreja Premium portafilter on the MiniE's pf rest is not 100% level - it leans ever so slightly towards the handle side of the portafilter...

The 15 degree La Marzocco portafilter sits well in the MiniE's pf rest and it is level. Note that my LM pf has the plastic grip - I imagine that the slightly chunkier rubber grip would change this slightly and potentially make the PF lean towards the body of the grinder...


No lever machine portafilter pictures (yet). Sorry.

Br,
Teme

Teme wrote:I received my MiniE today

What do you think of it so far?

Well, I have my "regular" Mini currently next to it and I did not expect nor have I seen any difference in the grind quality despite the bigger burrs. I have not yet fully dialed in the MiniE but so far I have observed the following:

- the MiniE is a tad faster due to the bigger burrs
- there is no significant difference in the noise level (I have heard claims that the hollow funnel amplifies noise)
- I agree with Dan that the MiniE creates less mess than the dosered Mini
- to make full use of the MiniE's capabilities, one has to dial in the doses to appropriate levels and you will spend a fair bit of coffee in the process
- it is too early to draw any further conclusions as I have only spent a few hours with the MiniE and I need to experiment further and dial in the doses

I will post later on my blog and possibly on a separate thread here on HB.

Br,
Teme

I posted a bit more on my experience with the MiniE here. One thing that I'd like to add is that even though the LM 15 degree PF seems to sit nicely in the MiniE's PF rest, the slight vibrations of the grinder actually result in the angled PF sliding of the rest during the grind. This is actually not a huge problem as I agree with Dan that it is best to move the portafilter around during the grind to achieve optimal distribution...

Br,
Teme