Best $100 to $150 second grinder

[Fr. John]

Hey everybody,

I need to pick up a second, preferably doserless, grinder for decaf. I pull 4-5 drinks every morning but one person needs to have decaf (unfortunately). I'm pretty tired of having to empty the M4 to grind a weeks worth of the decaf.

Any suggestions?

[boston coffee party]

what type of drink is the decaf drinker making? I have an old Solis Maestro that I use for my drip coffee for my Fiancee and she has been perfectly happy with the results. at $99 new, or cheaper used I think it is not a bad buy for drip or press.

[Fr. John]

Sorry, I guess I should have been clearer. I need this for the 5th shot I'm pulling everyday. So, it's for decaf espresso. Obviously, the grind need not be perfect, afterall, decaf is already a step down.

[cafeIKE]

I bought my sister a Capresso Infinity and gave it a test over a week or so for espresso, drip and press.
It's bettter than expected.

A refurb Maestro is another good option for $63.

[another_jim]

Capressos and Solis/Baratza grinder may not work well on a commercial group. They are designed for home machines with restrictor baskets and run at their limit for 58mm groups. Some will work and some won't.

The Lux, Innova, Pavoni PGC, and a few others use the Trespade conical burr and will work. They run around $150 to $200 new, but can be found on Ebay used for less.

[Fr. John]

Jim I like the looks of that Mini Pro II. Have you tried it?

[cafeIKE]

The Gran Macinino, which uses the same Trespade burrs, does no better than a Maestro or Capresso on the Vibiemme e61.

I bought it thinking it would be a nice upgrade from the Maestro for the occasional LeadFree guest, but was sorely disappointed. The only reason it wasn't returned was the missus thought the chrome looked nice next to the Vibiemme.

Can't say if some Capresso's would not be up to the task, as I only tried the one.

FWIW, fine grind / low dose / low tamp / puck barely touches the screen is our modus operandi.

[another_jim]

The Gran Macinino, which uses the same Trespade burrs, does no better than a Maestro or Capresso on the Vibiemme e61.

That's probably because it doesn't use the Trespade burrs.

Here's the Trespade:


Here's the Isomac

Notice that it has almost no twist, and six not five coarse channels. Moreover, it is made of polished base metal, not carbon steel, the motor is underpowered, and the burrs are poorly defined. In other words, it's a piece of junk.

The Baratza and Capresso are far better grinders than the Isomac. But, repeating the sales copy of the manufacturers themselves, for about the 500th time, not designed for commercial groups.

[cafeIKE]

Then I've been laboring under a misinformation for quite a while.
Perhaps that explains why performance is somewhat less than stellar. Thanks for clarifying.

[another_jim]

I apologize for getting testy.

There's a lot of people looking for inexpensive grinders and there's a lot of misconceptions. People make and repeat mistakes through no fault of their own, and I start to snap.

The Capresso and Baratza grinders work well on home machines with restrictor baskets, but they aren't really designed for regular PFs and baskets. Sometimes they are workable, but the taste is never as good as that from a proper grinder

The Isomac grinders are, as far as I could find out, fancy cased versions of a very low end Italian mochapot grinder. It sort of works for espresso, but has poor taste. People have been confusing it a long time with the Trespade based grinders.

The Trespade is the mostly widely used burrset for low volume and home espresso grinders, since it performs so well. The basic Lux is loud and messy. The newer ones made by Ascaso and others are getting very civilized as well.

[cafeIKE]

No apology necessary. I purchased the unit from a well repected vendor as a reasonable decaf / drip alternative and serious upgrade to the Maestro. IIRC, $259. No change

[Fr. John]

So Jim, would the Mini Pro II be you're first pick in this price range?

[another_jim]

This is a rebadged Lux grinder. It's a little outside your budget, due to the poor Euro/Dollar exchange; but it is a good deal, since they've crept up to around $200 now. The other solid alternative is a used commercial from Ebay spruced up with a fresh burr.

[JohnB.]

Hey everybody,

I need to pick up a second, preferably doserless, grinder for decaf. I pull 4-5 drinks every morning but one person needs to have decaf (unfortunately). I'm pretty tired of having to empty the M4 to grind a weeks worth of the decaf.

Any suggestions?

I take it you keep the hopper filled w/beans? I grind per shot & if I want to switch beans it takes only a few seconds to suck the old grounds out of the M4 doser, chute & burr area using a vac with a small nozzle I keep near by.

[Fr. John]

Yes, I keep beans in the hopper. Pulling several shots every morning in short order would be very inefficient otherwise.

[Tristan]

I bought my sister a Capresso Infinity and gave it a test over a week or so for espresso, drip and press.
It's bettter than expected.

A refurb Maestro is another good option for $63.

Thanks for including this link! I'd been ruding around the internet looking for this for a few days! I needed a decent burr grinder for drip and press and I've got a Maestro on the way!

My two cents on the grinder for espresso, in this price range I would find a Super Jolly on E-bay with new burrs. The only thing you need after your winning bid is enough counter space (and high enough cupboards) to fit this in the kitchen. That is the reason I did not buy one of these for my second grinder. Also, after buying a Macap M4 brand new the Super Jolly might out perform the M4 at 1/4 of the price and make me feel bad

[Fr. John]

Also, after buying a Macap M4 brand new the Super Jolly might out perform the M4 at 1/4 of the price and make me feel bad

I've been tempted by the Super Jolly, but I've yet to see one go for anywhere near 1/4 the price of the M4 which would be about $125.00 or so. If that were the case I'd be all over it.

[Tristan]

Good point; I guess I haven't watched closely enough to see how much the final bid is on EBay. They can still be purchased using E-Bay for $200 or less? If not, out of curiosity, what is the going price these days?

[sweaner]

Most of the SJs seem to be going in the $300-350 range these days.

[Psyd]

Yes, I keep beans in the hopper. Pulling several shots every morning in short order would be very inefficient otherwise.

Knowing that I will top up one of my Synesso 18g baskets at 19g, and that I want to pull four shots, the simple math gets me eighty grams as plenty of coffee for four shots, with a fudge factor of a gram a basket. If I feel really spot on, I can load up seventy six point eight grams, and keep my waste down to about a tenth of a gram per basket. Twenny bucks and I'm remarkably efficient at keeping just what I need in the hopper.
Cheaper than another grinder, but maybe not as 'morning proof'.