La Pavoni Europiccola and Zassenhaus grinder?

[nicorigo]

Dear All . I'm a newcomer here, and just ordered an Europiccola from La Pavoni, which should arrive in a few days...Can't wait to make my first essays! Until then, I need to find the right grinder. I've read good comments about Zassenhaus mills on coffeegeek. But while some consider these grinders to be as efficient as Rancilio Rockies or Gaggia MDFs, everyone does not agree. I kind of like the idea of grinding coffee with my own two hands (and knees), but would really like a good grinder...Any advice?

[peacecup]

Hi,

I've been brewing espresso for about five years, mostly with Saeco pump machines, but over the past month with a Ponte Vecchio lever. I 'upgraded" from a La Pavoni PA "pseudo-burr" grinder ($50 new) to an old German hand grinder ($15 used) a couple of years ago. The PA is totally useless for espresso, as well as impossibly messy - I now use it to grind flax seed, for which it does a great job. If you do go with an electric grinder, get a good one.

My hand grinder grinds plenty fine enough to choke both of my Saecos and my Ponte Vecchio. It is stepless, and I've found less than a quarter turn is sufficent to alter machine performance. I get what I consider very good results, but I really don't know many other home barists to compare with, so I'm not sure how good my espresso really is. I also have never compared coffee ground in my hand grinder to coffee from a quality electric grinder. There may be issues of grind eveness that I'm not aware of, and how these might play out in the cup are unknown.

Bottom line, if you want to spend $50 you'd be hard pressed to get a good electric grinder, whereas you might get acceptable results from a good hand grinder.

I'll be interested to hear the experiences of others,

Good luck

[AndersNygaard]

I have been using the Zassenhaus model 169 with a Pavoni Pro for nearly four months now. This grinder performs great, no issues with grind fineness or evenness. The many variables connected with the lever machines, makes it difficult to compare these machines. I have noticed differences when using my Zassenhaus on a friends Pavoni, but nothing when using his Mini Mazzer on my own Pavoni. Based on this very limited experiment, I believe that technique plays a bigger role than equipment, and that all Pavonis are different.

Best regards

/Anders

[Alchemist]

I use a Zass DG 169, and have for about 4 years now. I use it both on my Gaggia Classic, and my Gaggia Factory and find it does the job it is meant to do. In order to use it well, you have to grind gentle. From what I can tell, there is no support on the lower end of the burr, so if you are huffing, and torquing, you can affect your grind. That said, it has gone head to head with a Rocky and a couple versions of mazzers and except that it is much slower (45 sec or so to grind a shot) the grounds were even and fluffy, with less static.

I keep wanting to mod my Zass to a motor or adjust the drawer so it can accept my pf basket, so I can dose right in, but so far I have not because I am an advocate of "if it isn't broken, don't fix it". Right now, I grind a little over what I think I need, and spoon the grounds into my PF gentle, doing my best not to disrupt the distribution too much (which I know I am). I found a chicago chop works best when I use my Zass, so after that, I level, load and pull.

I have heard recently that some of the current Zass's seem to have some quality issues with consistancy, but I know my 4 year old one is working great.

Good luck.

[nicorigo]

Thank you all for your replies! Some people do seem to encounter quality issues with recent Zassenhaus mills, although the burrs themselves seem great...this is a reason for me to hesitate...Other reasons would be that it is almost impossible to obtain exactly the same grind (which could be useful if I want to improve as quick as I can), and that I'm not sure to be patient enough to grind my 8AM, 10AM, 13PM and 16PM coffees everyday...So I will go for a Gaggia MDF for the moment, hoping it'll be a little cheaper in Italy, where I'll be flying tomorrow (not just for that, of course ) I wouldn't be surprised if I decided to also buy a Zass in a few months, when I've become a little less amateur on my Europiccola. Ciao tutti e mille grazie.

[AndersNygaard]

It is no problem getting the same grind on the Zassenhaus. I have painted a small dot on the grind adjustment wheel, and several dots on the grinder. I just line the adjustment wheel dot up with the right one on the grinder. The dots have been painted with nail polish. Works great.

Best regards

/Anders

[nicorigo]

Hey, great idea! And it can be nice-looking (is it? Which color did u choose?). I'll think about it, thanx!

[Madroaster]

I'll toss my two cents into the discussion here... I've been using a Zassenhaus and a Europiccola since August, and have just upgraded from the Zassenhaus to a Maximo grinder (actually a La Pavoni PGC with a different label). I bought the Zass and the Europiccola brand new.

I made fine espresso with my zass, first hand cranking it, and later powering it with a drill. However, I've also had several quality issues with my Zass; the burrs have worn irregularly and early (before I motorized it), and the grind is inconsistent (though much more consistent with the motor versus with hand cranking in my knees).

I compared my Zass with my Maximo on the following website: http://uglyroast.atspace.com/grindoff.html

It's my understanding that the older Zassenhauses are consistently much higher quality; several people have found problems similar to mine.

Enjoy the Europiccola...they're wonderful machines.

[kbuzbee]

It is no problem getting the same grind on the Zassenhaus. I have painted a small dot on the grind adjustment wheel, and several dots on the grinder. I just line the adjustment wheel dot up with the right one on the grinder. The dots have been painted with nail polish. Works great.

Best regards

/Anders

Anders, I did the same thing. Instead of paint I used a silver colored marker. I marked a single, a double and a triple line at 1/3 intervals around the wheel. It looks great, like it was original.

To the original question, I daily use and love my Zass. I actually have two 171KDs mounted in the kitchen, one for my wife's Cona Pot and one set for my Europiccola (easier to keep track of the fine adjustments). I also have a basic 151 from travel. They all work great and deliver superior grind. I had a couple cheap electric grinders before these. They were horrible. Unless you are spending several hundred dollars on a big noisy beast, I would recommend the quiet "sophistication" of a Zass without hesitation.

Ken

[AndersNygaard]

Hey, great idea! And it can be nice-looking (is it? Which color did u choose?). I'll think about it, thanx!

It looks very nice. I bought a special brush, made to paint toy soldiers, and practiced a lot before I could make nice round dots in nail polish. Used red for the adjustment wheel, and blue, red, green, black for the grinder. The four dots are single and double setting for my two primary beans.

Best regards

/Anders