esteveze wrote:I had the *$ burr grinder and returned it.
I have been researching and analising grinders. I know it is important to have a good grinder. I narrow down to 4 grinders.
1)Solis Maestro Plus
2)Baratza Virtuoso
3)Gaggia MDF
4)Rancilio Rocky (undecided between doser/doserless) ??is a doser THAT important?? and why?? Also I have the saeco "Non-Pressure PF" does it fits into the doser??
The Solis and the Baratza are essentially identical to the grinder you had, but have more steps for a little more adjustment. I am not real sure how many steps they add that are within the "espresso" range of the dial. If your were disappointed in the grinder that you had, you may not be much happier with these two. There are plenty of people here that have had good luck with both, and from what I have read here and on CG, more folks seem to like the Baratza.
I am not real familiar with the MDF, but I can say that it is one of those grinders that is more than adequate... but it also seems to be a grinder that many upgrade away from at a later date.
The Rocky is well-liked, still a stepped grinder, but a bigger heavier grinder compared to the other 3. Lots of motor and metal. You are less likely to want to outgrow the Rocky unless you decide you need to go to an infinite adjustment grinder. I have this grinder in the doserless model.
As for the doser/doserless, it basically doesn't matter. You can pretty much go either way. I chose doserless because I thought I would be adjusting a lot between espresso/drip/french press grinds and I didn't want to clean out the doser in between settings..... the reality has become that I almost always grind for espresso and only once in a great while for french press. The drip machine hasn't been used since I got Silvia and will probably only make an appearance again when we have overnight guests.
As for your portafilter, it should work with a doser, but you may have to hold it, the portafilter isn't likely heavy enough to sit unassisted in the doser forks (or on the Rocky doserless forks for that matter).
I have a *$ barista espresso machine with unpressurised PF.
I also have problems tamping since my tamper has 2 sizes...one is too big to fit PF and the other side is smaller then the diameter of PF. what do i do??
I love coffee... but I am sort of new to espresso.
Okay, you got rid of the pressurized PF, good deal. I have pulled about 15 or so shots on this same machine, and you can get good results. I used the Rocky and your old grinder as well, and was easily able to get good results with both, but you have like 2 maybe 3 steps on the *$'s grinder that will work. I found it simplest on this machine to dose directly into the basket (not the PF), tamp out of the PF on the counter, and place the basket in the warmed PF and pull the shots.
As for tamping, the plastic one that I used was awful. It was textured plastic, not smooth, so you could tamp, but not polish, If you attempted to polish, it just tore up the tamped puck. You really need a smooth plastic or preferably metal tamper. According to espressoparts.com, the PF basket is 52 or 53 MM in size as it can vary. Not having access to the proper size without mail order, we bought a 49mm metal tamp locally, tamped the coffee NSEW, polished and it worked great. $15 well spent.
The biggest thing I can add though is that you need
FRESH roasted coffee. Seek out a local roaster or mail order and you WILL get good to great espresso from this low cost machine! Do not waste your time with store bought, you will be disappointed.
Good luck!
Great coffee at a somewhat cheaper price. But it does add more work and another variable to the whole process.
