Macap MXK or Mazzer Kony?

[Ko]

I am looking to upgrade my current setup of Silvia+Rocky. The espresso machine is still not concrete but very much leaning towards the LM GS3. While waiting for the GS3 to officially unwrap and sold, I want to get the grinder. This would be my final grinder (for the forseeable future ). The many lessons I learned in this forum is to bite the bullet and go for it, thus this jump.

I have read Greg Scace rave about his Kony and that made me really consider getting a conical burr grinder. Thus, grinders under consideration are conical burrs only; Macap MXK and Mazzer Kony.

Anyones knows if there is significant difference in grind quality from the Kony over the MXK that would justify the price, I assume there is. The Kony is almost twice the price of a MXK. OK, I know the GS3 costs a bomb so what's a few hundred more for the grinder... Well, my SO gave me the green light to consider the GS3 but I don't want to push it too far IF necessary with the grinder. If the MXK is on par with the Kony, then I will go with the cheaper option.

If anyone has a better option, pls advice.

Ko

[another_jim]

Congrats on getting that its the grinder.

I've seen and tasted both grinders in action but haven't compared them head to head. They are very comparable in motor and burr setup.

The Kony has the drawback of requiring the hopper to be in place for the motor to run (although this can probably be defeated). That means that unhacked, one cannot use it to spoon the beans directly into the grinder throat.

The Macap tends to leave more grinds in the outlet channel to the doser than the Kony (although all low rotation conicals are bad in this regard). However, this doesn't bother me too much, since I always clean out that channel even on flat burr grinders. This would be essential in either model; otherwise about 4 grams of each dose is going to be stales.

The Spanish company, Compak, makes a very fine conical too, developed for the WBC, and set up for single dosing. LM is rumored to have a Versalab like configuration conical in the works. So far, these are both vaporware in the US.

[mrgnomer]

I am looking to upgrade my current setup of Silvia+Rocky. The espresso machine is still not concrete but very much leaning towards the LM GS3. While waiting for the GS3 to officially unwrap and sold, I want to get the grinder. This would be my final grinder (for the forseeable future ). The many lessons I learned in this forum is to bite the bullet and go for it, thus this jump.

I have read Greg Scace rave about his Kony and that made me really consider getting a conical burr grinder. Thus, grinders under consideration are conical burrs only; Macap MXK and Mazzer Kony.

Anyones knows if there is significant difference in grind quality from the Kony over the MXK that would justify the price, I assume there is. The Kony is almost twice the price of a MXK. OK, I know the GS3 costs a bomb so what's a few hundred more for the grinder... Well, my SO gave me the green light to consider the GS3 but I don't want to push it too far IF necessary with the grinder. If the MXK is on par with the Kony, then I will go with the cheaper option.

If anyone has a better option, pls advice.

Ko

Upgrading to a GS3 from a Silvia? Nice upgrade

I've never used a Kony but I tried out an MKXR. Very good grind. Very tall grinder too. As far as I know there's no short hopper for it so it measures in at about twice the height of a Mazzer Mini or Macap M4. Too big for me.

For the price I don't know if conical really makes that much of a difference. The best burr set up supposedly is a mixed burr system. The conical, as far as I know, has the advantage of wider grinding zones so the grind might be somewhat better than a flat burr but how much better is debatable. Slower rpms with the conical would only be a factor in a commercial setting were over heating might be a problem. A good grind for dose grinder to consider would be the Versalab M3 http://www.versalab.com/server/coffee/grinder.html

[Ko]

Congrats on getting that its the grinder.

A lot of reading and playing around with my Rocky made me realize that.

The Spanish company, Compak, makes a very fine conical too, developed for the WBC, and set up for single dosing. LM is rumored to have a Versalab like configuration conical in the works. So far, these are both vaporware in the US.

If the LM grinder was a few months from production, I would seriously consider it. But for now I can't wait to have a new toy to play with. However, I will have to look into the Compak. Thanks for the recommendation.

Very tall grinder too.

Just setup my home for a new espresso bar so height is not an issue.

A good grind for dose grinder to consider would be the Versalab M3 http://www.versalab.com/server/coffee/grinder.html

Due to reliability issues posted by owners, I am not considering the M3. IMHO, the design does not seem to be able to handle repeated use for multiple drinks making during a party setting.

[krus]

The Macap, without a doubt, is one solid performing grinder. I haven't used a Kony so I can't make comparisons. The Macap MKXR is clearly superior to any flat-burr grinder I've used. The grinds have absolutely no clumps and distribute very evenly into the basket with no static "fly away" grounds. The coffee is gently crushed and doesn't heat up as is the case with flat-burr models resulting in much more flavor in the cup, and this seems to be even more evident when making drip coffee. I will NEVER go back to a flat burr set-up. Good luck in your selection.

Kurt

[mattwells]

Since you are in Thailand, you may be able to find one of the Compak K10's like they use in the WBC. Again, we don't have them in the US that I know of. Would probably be worth looking around for.

[Ko]

Since you are in Thailand, you may be able to find one of the Compak K10's like they use in the WBC.

The Compak K10 is another grinder I am looking into. I have seen the Compak grinder used in shop coffee shops but just have to find the distributor here. Hope to end this grinder search soon.

[HughF]

>snip<
I've never used a Kony but I tried out an MKXR. Very good grind. Very tall grinder too. As far as I know there's no short hopper for it so it measures in at about twice the height of a Mazzer Mini or Macap M4. Too big for me.
>snip<

The Macap MC4 **much** shorter (and narrower) hopper will fit OK. You MUST buy a second hopper gripping screw (one hopper gripping screw is definitely not enough for the shorter hopper) and using both screws gives you a decent grip on the hopper although it will not be precisely centred horizontally in the throat. We have a Macap MC6 doserless at work which I am fairly sure uses the same body as my MXK and it uses the MC4 hopper OK. I expect to order a smaller hopper for the MXK stepless also soon (there is nothing above the MXK but the full size hopper looks too big in our kitchen).

Cheers,

Hugh

P.S. It's very good to hear Kurt likes his MXK a lot. I've only had mine a few days and I'm still working out the best way of dosing small quantities quickly and accurately with little wastage - but the quality seems very good (compared to the Mini E using Daterra Reserve from the HotTop) even using unfamiliar ready-roasted beans given to me by the grinder vendor. I'm using it with a £40 enlarger timer for precise duration of power-on time so I don't waste beans even though I keep beans in the hopper.

[Paul L]

Hugh, where did you pick up your MXK in the UK and how does the price compare against the popular flat-burr machines it displaces?

[HughF]

Hugh, where did you pick up your MXK in the UK and how does the price compare against the popular flat-burr machines it displaces?

Happy Donkey. Noticeably more than a Mini E in price but less than £600 (and £600 is definitely less than even the USA prices I've seen for a Mazzer Kony). It's not a routinely stocked item for HD so I don't know the price Scott would quote to any future grinder addicts...

If you have questions needing experience of this grinder I'll be happy to answer them once I've had it a while longer. I can answer easy questions right now though!

Cheers,

Hugh

[Ko]

Just an update of what I finally got.

In the end, it came down to these 4 grinders Macap MXK, Mazzer Kony, Compak K10 and the Cimbali Max.

The MXK was very difficult for me to source so it was out. With the Cimbali Max, I just did not like the looks of it and thus decided against it. So the Kony and K10 were the two finalist. And the winner was.......The Kony ':D' I was wary of the K10 because very few people know and reviewed it. I opted for the safer route.

Why I went with the Kony?
1. More people were using it.
2. Parts are easier to find.
3. Mazzer looks.

Just a short review about the Kony but do remember that I only have experience with a Rocky to compare with. The grinds looked fluffier and clumpless. BTW, I did the sweeper vane mod. My shots now extract beautifully with no "spits" using a naked portafilter. I am no coffee expert but shots have more body and taste smoother. I guess it is because of the fluffier grinds.

Overall, I am very happy with the Kony and will post more after 6 months.

[Rainman]

Ko- how easy is it to clean out the chute? I just ordered a Kony, and that's my only remaining worry..

Ray

[Ko]

Ray, a little awkward but doable.

There is a finger guard that could be easily removed but there is still another trigger mechanism that cannot be removed or so I think. The trigger mechanism is to stop the auto grinding function once coffee grind fully fills the doser. The trigger mechanism blocks the chute. However, I found that using a 3inch ice cream stick does the cleaning pretty well going in from the left side of the trigger mechanism. The chute is angled to the right using centrifugal force caused by the sweeping vanes to throw grinds out the chute rather than pushing grinds out like my Rocky. So going in from the left is perfect.

The chute contains about 3-4 grams of grind BTW.

Have fun with your Kony. I am very pleased with mine.

Ko

[Rainman]

Wow- what a beast! It arrived two days ago, and while I haven't had much time to play with it yet, I have figured out that access to the chute can probably be accomplished. I received a pdf of an exploded diagram for the Kony, but there's not much detail in it to help much.. You're right- that microswitch to shut off the grinder once it's filled the doser bin might not be easily defeated, but it's not something I'll ever need and it's definitely in the way (more on that later..). When I get home tonight, I plan to take the doser off and see how it's wired into place.

One thing about the shots I'm pulling- I don't have the grind quite dialed in just yet (I'm close), but the extraction starts out the same, then gathers more momentum creating more of a frothy pour towards the end (especially yesterday, before I tweaked it a little tighter for today's pour). I've never had a "foamy" or "frothy" extraction.. Like you'd think, the cone dropping from the basket was a lighter yellow, and as big as a tornado. That occurred around 20 seconds into the extraction, so I'm pretty sure all I need to do is close the distance on the burrs even a bit more and pull another shot.

Anyone else notice similar results when dialing in a conical grinder after being used to flat burrs for a number of years?

Ray

[keno]

Ray,

Congrats on the King Kony! I knew you had it in you to finally get yourself a new grinder. That Rocky you had was looking like Stallone in the latest Rocky movie - old and tired.

May be time for another espresso fest? Would love to check out this beast.

Cheers,
Ken

[gscace]

Ko- how easy is it to clean out the chute? I just ordered a Kony, and that's my only remaining worry..

Ray

It's really easy. I just run the grinder for 2 seconds when I haven't been using it for a coupla hours, then dose the grinds into the doser cover and throw them away. It amounts to a few grams, far less than one generally wastes.

Congrats on the Kony. I think it's a kick-ass grinder. And you are finding out that conicals rock!

-Greg

[Rainman]

Ray,

Congrats on the King Kony! I knew you had it in you to finally get yourself a new grinder. That Rocky you had was looking like Stallone in the latest Rocky movie - old and tired.

May be time for another espresso fest? Would love to check out this beast.

Cheers,
Ken

I think you hit the nail on it's proverbial head-- I like the Stallone reference, too! Drop by any time (call/email first- I've got surgery coming up on my hand (long story) and a trip to Boulder on March 1 to see Andy Pruitt about some cycling-related issues.. an even longer story)

It's really easy. I just run the grinder for 2 seconds when I haven't been using it for a coupla hours, then dose the grinds into the doser cover and throw them away. It amounts to a few grams, far less than one generally wastes.

Congrats on the Kony. I think it's a kick-ass grinder. And you are finding out that conicals rock!

-Greg

Greg- I think I'm just too impatient to deal with a doser and all the cafe-related gizmos.. I'm not sure how this will end up.. I know they make a doserless chute for the mini's and Jolly's (which I know there would still be too much retained grindage (if that's a word?) because of the length of the horizontal portion to the floor of the chute)- I think the doser's just going to have to go altogether. I'll figure out a way to make it look appealing (one look at my Brewtus should explain that).

[keno]

Ray,

Looks like you need a bigger espresso machine now. Doh!

Ken

P.S. Any plans to electroplate the Kony? You'd have the only Kopper Kony.

[luca]

I was just using the Kony at work today and I have to say that one thing that there are two things that I love about it that don't seem to get mentioned much. First, the doser on ours sweeps really clean (and the grinds seem to fall into the sections, rather than spraying everywhere inside the doser). Second, the doser is higher up than on many other grinders, which just makes it more comfortable to use. On the flip side, is it just me, or is the Kony almost slower than the mini? The Robur is much better in that regard.

For a home grinder, the Kony is quite compelling!

Cheers,

Luca

[Rainman]

I haven't timed it, but it seems to grind about as fast as my Rocky did-- I'm sure nowhere near as fast as you'd like for a busy cafe. You're right about the doser; it does sweep clean.