Quickmill doserless grinder with stepless adjustment - Page 2

[ronpistolero]

Hi,

I just want to know of any further comments and opinions on this grinder after over a month's use.

Regards,

Ron

[Ed Presso]

I'm also shopping for a grinder. Any new news/opinions/comments?
Is this grinder also available in 220v version, couldn't find it at their site.
Thanks!

[chino]

How much longer will the coupon code above be good for? I hope for just a while longer as I'm not quite there yet in my grinder fund.

as of friday the tenth of november, chris coffee was still respecting the discount for home-barista members. At least they did on MY order!

Any chance of getting a model name because "Doserless Stepless Espresso Grinder" is a lot to type? Wink

how about the Quick Mill "Home-Barista" model . or if you insist on female names (like anita, or andreja): the anastasia!

[oofnik]

New to HB
I've had this grinder for a few weeks now, and I'm very happy with it. There are some minor issues I've noticed, however. The most prominent problem is static. For some reason, grinds just fly all over the place with this grinder. Maybe my humidity is too low in the house or something but it makes grinding directly into a PF impossible without half the beans landing all over the countertop. I'm thinking it has something to do with the fact that the chute is made of plastic, and I've been working on an all metal replacement chute similar to what snoboy did with his Rocky.
Another thing that bugs me is that because of the small gap between the top burr and its worm gear driver, there is a little bit of play. The top carrier is free to rotate about 2mm to the left or right, but while grinding, I figure it is pushed up against the worm gear and doesn't budge, so it's not a big problem.
I've come up with a solution to getting the same grind settings. Basically I just taped a more accurate ruler over the existing numbers and a closer measurement (paper clip, don't laugh, it works). Every little notch on the new scale corresponds to less than 1/2 turn of the knob, which is a super fine adjustment. Zero point is marked in red to make sure I don't kill the burrs.

[cannonfodder]

... There are some minor issues I've noticed, however. The most prominent problem is static. For some reason, grinds just fly all over the place with this grinder. Maybe my humidity is too low in the house or something but it makes grinding directly into a PF impossible without half the beans landing all over the countertop.

Dancing grounds are a problem when the humidity gets low. Being winter in my part of the world, the wood burning stove tends to leave the humidity in my home at around 30-40% even with a humidifier. That tends to cause a static problem. I get it with both my La Cimbali Jr and Mazzer Mini. The dancing coffee is interesting to watch but makes a real mess on my table.

And welcome to HB.

[bobdc]

Following the usual anguish, study and indecision, I took suggestions and bought my grinder before upgrading to a Vibiemmie Domobar Super. With the usual wonderful advice and service at HB & Chris Coffee, my Quick Mill Grinder arrived on time and in top condition. With impatience and curiosity I plugged the QM in and immediately ground some Counter Culture Coffee I won on the HB Holiday Funfest. Result? The best cup brewed and enjoyed in my 66 years. Right out of the carton! With HB & Chris Coffee, even an old dog can learn new tricks. The QM Grinder is great and now I am tuning my new machine with the grinder and am still very pleased.

More than 7 months with QM and used on a variety of machines, from cheap to top drawer and results are consistent.

[xtophr]

Hey...you could dose using the WDT...Weiss Distribution Technique....(the cut to size yogurt cup inserted into your basket so grind falls in neatly, then just stir...
Would someone please post that link...I'm not real good at that stuff.

Ya, sure, yabetcha:

http://www.home-barista.com/weiss...ion-technique.html

[Oyama]

I was thinking of picking up the Quickmill grinder and wanted to know if those who bought one were happy with the unit, now that you had sometime with it?

[TimEggers]

Well leoz offered to sell me his already...

Not sure why he wanted to sell, but he did give the grinder glowing reviews earlier.

His offer may have nothing to do with any shortcomings of this grinder; I simply don't know the full circumstances of that offer.

[LeoZ]

Well leoz offered to sell me his already...

Not sure why he wanted to sell, but he did give the grinder glowing reviews earlier.

His offer may have nothing to do with any shortcomings of this grinder; I simply don't know the full circumstances of that offer.

ive never had someone else disclaimer my offer to them. even lawyers arent that hesitant! are you some sort of activist or something? :p

im thinking of selling it, assuming cg.com actually works sometime in the near future, b/c i upgraded to a macap stepless. the qm is a great machine, i just wanted something with a bit more versatility.

[TimEggers]

Hi Leoz!

No I just didn't want to offer any false insinuations. Sure your selling it, I didn't want anyone to infer it was due to a lack of quality in the Quickmill, in fact I have not used it so I can't comment.

Just didn't want to give anyone the wrong impression!

Cheers!

P.S.- How do you like the Macap? (shoot me an email so we don't hijack this thread!)

[Rockycoffee]

I've got the Quick Mill grinder. I like it!
I really cannot compare it to anything else since I went from a whirly blade to to the QM.
But I have no complaints with it. It's easily adjustable and I pull excellent shot using it.
It seems about on par with my friends Rocky.
It's a little clumpy sometimes and I use the WDT.

By the way I love your babies pic on there. Very cute, got some crazy hair going. I'm jealous.

[olypdd]

I still have my old Innova doserless grinder. I found that it produced incredible shot quality. It uses conical burrs vs flat, and I read an article somewhere that said conical burrs produce better espresso. Something about the way it cuts the bean into longer sections, and the ability to grind at lower rpms, thus less heat transfer to the beans. Anyway, I upgraded to a Mazzer Mini some time back, and still think the Innova produces better shots.

I love the doserless arrangement. I also love the worm drive stepless adjustment.....for espresso. Easy to make minute adjustments. This fine tuning is also easy with my Mazzer. When it comes to making adjustments for other types of brewing methods, the worm drive adjustment, however, is a slow and tedious way to get your burrs separated enough for french press or drip. With the Mazzer, I can swing that adjustment collar around to a course setting in one fell swoop.

I didn't know about the Quick Mill grinder until today, when I stumbled onto Chris's post. I love the design of it. The price sounds reasonable, as long as it is servicable (burr access, and replacement), and reliable. For someone looking for a grinder just for espresso production, this sounds like a great buy.

By the way, the Innova grinder never stopped having problems with the hopper cracking. They supposedly upgraded to a tougher material for the hopper but it never solved the problem. I have several hoppers because the vendor I purchased from was so great about sending new replacements at no charge. I kept the old one and made some repairs so I always had spares. The Innova was also louder than the Mazzer, but I wonder if doserless is by design. If you come across a used Innova, be aware of this before you buy, because new hoppers may not be available. Although,I believe I have seen the Innova grinder with a new brand name on it in the past year, but can't recall what that brand name is. So hoppers may still be available. Maybe someone here knows that company name.

Maybe I will look into swapping my Mazzer Mini for a Mazzer Kony which has the conical burrs. It is alot more expensive than the QM, but faster adjustment is possible, just like with any other Mazzer.

and yes....one could probably also convert their Mazzer to doserless by purchasing the doser chute and gasket made by Mazzer.

Rich

[olypdd]

Ok, so I pulled out the old Innova ( pictured below with my old Venus before I upgraded to the Vetrano and my Elektra ), dusted it off and fired it up. For some reason, the one hopper I had with it wasn't cracked or chipped yet, and seems to be hanging in there. I didn't know where the heck I had it adjusted to, so took it down to where the burrs are about as close together as I can get them and back it off about 15 turns. The first shot out of my Vetrano.....did not come out. Ok, so after flushing the machine, I backed off the grind adjustment on the Innova another 15 turns or so, and pulled a teensy wheensy little ristretto. Tasted roasty sweet, but the extraction rate was too restricted. So after another grind adjustment, I pulled one of the finest looking ristrettos ever. There was far more tiger striping, mottling, oils apparent, and texture. The flavor was intense sweet roast. Let's put it this way...the difference from a mazzer mini grind in the shot, vs a shot pulled from my Innova conical burr grind was astounding, visually especially during the pull and in the cup, and also on the nose and palate.

I then made a latte, and did not experience any noticeable difference in the flavor, but it did seem to be much smoother, with no bitterness discernable. It was so smooth, in fact, that it seemed unremarkable. Of course, having just consumed straight shots minutes before may have something to do with this. Which leads me to the questions I have regarding cupping...how can you objectively evaluate flavor profiles in subsequent tastings after already tasting coffee samples? and what about what you ate prior to cupping, and...ok, I won't go there.

By the way, I noticed that Espresso Parts NW carries parts for the Innova, and that its new trade name is Ascaso. Since they're only 20-30 minutes drive from my house, looks like I'll be able to keep that Innova going for awhile.

Anyway, I found that I had room to situate my Innova between the Mazzer and Vetrano so there it now sits. Since it's polished aluminum, it fits right in. I have decided that for straight shots, americanos, and non milk espresso drinks, I'll use the Innova for now.





Rich

[seira321]

Hello. I was just wondering if you guys can post some updates (positive/negative) regarding your Quick Mill Grinders and whether you recommend this grinder or a different grinder in its price range.
Thank you.

-K

[bobdc]

I updated an earlier post. I have enjoyed my Quickmill Grinder since December, 2006. I have used it on a $40 Krups and a $1500 Vibiemme and with very satisfactory grinds for both. Right out of the box QM ground me the best espresso I have enjoyed at home in 66 years and the shots are still gettin' better. I am far from expert but I would not hesitate to recommend Quickmill Grinder for both its grind and a real attractive price.

[acoustic]

...merged with thread on same topic by moderator...



Hi All,

I've decided on the Vetrano because I really do want to direct plumb and now want to buy a new grinder too. Does anyone own the new Quickmill grinder and if so how is it? It seems like a lot of grinder for the money. Are there any official reviews of this product yet?

[Ed Presso]

I'm also shopping for a grinder. Any new news/opinions/comments?
Is this grinder also available in 220v version, couldn't find it at their site.
Thanks!

Is this machine available in Europe?

Thanks!

[Tag Team Jesus]

I have been using the QuickMill Stepless grinder since I got my Rancilio Silvia in mid September of this year (2007). At first, I had some concerns about the burrs scraping when I dial down below the marked Zero point. It is a distinct sound of metal scraping, and it gets more pronouned as you go more and more fine below the zero point. Quite honestly, sometimes I just have to dial it in below Zero to get the right timing, even for beans roasted 2 days ago. I was so concerned about this, I called Chris Coffee and spoke with one of their mechanics that services these things. He listened to my grinder over the phone, both with beans in at and without, both at the zero point and at various stages below. The mechanic assured me that the small scraping I was hearing was not a problem but not to go too far below, as in around 3 full hash marks below the zero. Which was ok with me because fresh beans don't need to go that far down to get results.

2 months later, now, I have used this grinder every day several times because I am now an addict. Woohoo! Here's my current summary: There is no freshly roasted bean I can't match with this grinder. It's very capable of fine adjustments that allow you to explore the perfect fit for a bean. I love that. The stepless adjustment makes a huge difference. Two days ago, I made one shot with a Blue Bottle Coffee bean that came out thick and creamy, but just a bit too biting. Too many rough edges, a shot that was a bit too slow. So, I dialed the QuickMill back just barely, something that a lot of stepped grinders might not be able to achieve. The result was something completely different than the previous shot. Smooth chocolate with a little bourbon in it, still thick and creamy but this time with no edges. That really made me proud of this grinder. This little machine has taught me that each bean at some specific point in it's post-roast life, has the perfect size grind it needs to achieve. I am delighted that this grinder is the right tool to hone in on a bean's potential. I am making shots that are introducing me and my roommates to things we had no idea could be done with mere beans. I am also sometimes making shots that suck, but I will need to put a PID on Silvia to get more consistency. This has nothing to do with the QuickMill.

Yes, there is some static build up in th grounds. I put my nose in my little grind container to smell some grounds last night, and I got some static clinging to my nose. I don't think this matters much, because shots are still good. But maybe someone else knows more about this than me.

So, this grinder is my little hero, however, I am still concerned about the scraping. So far, I can still produce great shots and with Chris Coffee's assurance, I am not too concerned about killing the burrs. Nonetheless, I am not exactly thrilled when I hear that sound of the metal scraping (p.s. you don't have that sound as long as coffee beans are running through it....it's only there when the thing is running empty.)

So, I would highly recommend this grinder with the one remaining concern about the scraping. It is a very capable tool as long as the burrs are not being worn out. If I had to do it again, I would still choose this over a Rocky because I just love the stepless thing. However, I would look into an Ascaso mini because they are a similar price range, they are stepless, and I don't know yet whether this scraping thing is an issue with those.

If anyone else has any experience with this grinder please post your findings. I feel like I am a pioneer with this thing, and I don't care to be. I would love to hear more feedback from other people's experiences.

thanks!

[zin1953]

I have been using the QuickMill Stepless grinder since I got my Rancilio Silvia in mid September of this year (2007) . . . .

If anyone else has any experience with this grinder please post your findings. I feel like I am a pioneer with this thing, and I don't care to be. I would love to hear more feedback from other people's experiences.

Pioneer??? Please . . .

Chris announced this grinder (look at the first post in this thread) on August 1, 2006. I ordered mine on August 5th. I've never had any sort of scraping noise at all -- I think you have it set too fine if you do -- and it's worked great for nearly a year and a half!

I wouldn't necessarily recommend it over a Mazzer Robur or Cimbali Max Hybrid -- but since I don't have either one of those, I'll simply say that I would not hesitate to recommend the Quick Mill to anyone looking in the "under Mazzer Mini/Macap 4" price range . . .

That said, there are lots of posts on this machine . .. just not in the Marketplace forum. Just do a search . . .