Ok so with all the talk about large flat grinders and seemingly with many shop moving towards them, I was wondering if the similarities (in taste profile) of the Ceado E10 and E37s, Mahlkonig K10 Vario, Compak K8, Mazzer Major, and Quamar T80 are also similar to the smaller flats, like the Mazzer SJ?

Thoughts?

No.
I suggest you could look at reviews and user experiences in the forum. Titan grinder project isn't a bad start, I think it included flat burrs of different sizes.

My suggestion is to take any reports claiming to detect consistent "taste profile" differences among these machines with a huge grain of salt.

Just find a grinder from a reputable manufacturer that fits your budget, your space and will work with whatever style of preparation you favor. Since you presumably have the budget for a high end grinder, avoid any that need "WDT," do it yourself mods, or other twiddling to make a great espresso. Part of the joy of a good grinder is how easy they are to use out of the box.

I agree with Marshall.

For grinders that you need to mod, be sure to include those costs. It's pretty easy to blow a lot of money and end up finding that the cost difference isn't all that much. But, if you like to mod, cool - this is a hobby.

Marshall wrote:My suggestion is to take any reports claiming to detect consistent "taste profile" differences among these machines with a huge grain of salt.

Just find a grinder from a reputable manufacturer that fits your budget, your space and will work with whatever style of preparation you favor. Since you presumably have the budget for a high end grinder, avoid any that need "WDT," do it yourself mods, or other twiddling to make a great espresso. Part of the joy of a good grinder is how easy they are to use out of the box.

Not many grinders fit the bill.

If we are taking a closer look at flat burrgrinders that dos not need to be modded nor requires heave redistribution; then we are left with the K30, Compak E8 & K8, Mythos, Ceado e37s, and that is pretty much it. Anything Mazzer need modding or heft redistribution (if not both), the same goes with pretty much any grinder that comes with a doser, the Anfim is likely the only doser I have come across that almost work out of the box! the rest needs heavy modding.

Know little about the La San Marco, Eureka and Fiorenzato (not to be mistaken for Fiorenzato- Doge) line so they might manufacture some that fit the bill nicely.

Pretty much any on demand conical will work out of the box, the only downside of these, is that conical retain allot of coffee, making them almost useless in an home environment, unless you don't mind throwing out 100 of grams every week!

Joco wrote:Ok so with all the talk about large flat grinders and seemingly with many shop moving towards them, I was wondering if the similarities (in taste profile) of the Ceado E10 and E37s, Mahlkonig K10 Vario, Compak K8, Mazzer Major, and Quamar T80 are also similar to the smaller flats, like the Mazzer SJ?

The T80 isn't a "big flat," it's got 63mm flat burrs which places it in the same class as the SJ. The T48, with 83mm flats, is Quamar/Fiorenzato's big flat offering. I've never seen one and have nothing to say about it.

Otherwise, yes. In the cup most of the big flats are pretty much the same. The exceptions are the Mahlkoning K30 Vario which has SJ size, 65mm burrs but otherwise acts like a big flat in the cup, which goes to show that burr size is not always destiny; and the "super" big flats -- Anfim Super Caimano Barista, Mahlkonig EK43 and NS Mythos -- which have broader spectrum and better separation than other big flats, which strongly implies that burr geometry isn't necessarily destiny, either.

Generalizations are useful as far as they're useful. After that, not so much.

Rich