Well, it just arrived on my door this afternoon. I blasted out of the office as quick as I could to get home and try it out. UPS managed to get it to my house in one piece (yay for miracles!). I unpacked it and it came with a nice set of accessories, including an RDT bottle, a WDT tool and a dosing funnel, in addition to the grinder, wooden cap, cord and hex tools. Denis also packed a bag of Cafe Lusso beans, roasted just two days ago. Denis' email and testing report indicated he'd dialed it in for these beans and to work well with my Linea Mini.

After my LMLM warmed up fully, I measured out 18g of Blue Bottle Opascope. It is a little past it's prime resting time, but it is a very fruity light roast and still good. I didn't touch the grinder settings at all.Virtually no noise at all in grinding. Just a little whirring and a gentle grinding sound that you could easily have a conversation over. Love that. First grind had about 0.5g of retention, almost all of which was in the detachable spout. Just a tap got that out. Quick stir, tamp and pull. I knew it was going to run fast, just looking at the Cafe Lusso vs. the Opascope beans and it did. Rather than try to dial it in, I just switched to the Cafe Lusso, again, not adjusting Denis' grind setting at all. No RDT, even though the humidity is quite low today. Quick stir and measured retention at just a fraction of a gram. Tamped it and put it on the LMLM and pulled it. First time out of the box, home run. 27 grams in 28 seconds, perfectly smooth and even pull. The espresso was as sweet as a dark chocolate fudgesicle.

All I can say is wow, is this grinder ever worth it. It is everything it is cracked up to be. No fidgeting, no excuses, no whacky mods or special voodoo. Measure, grind, stir, tamp and pull.

I will admit, that while the Cafe Lusso beans are quite good, they're not my first preference. I'm gonna drink 'em, no doubt about that. I tend to go for a bit lighter and fruitier roasts, which are more finicky and harder to pull. I need to get some new beans anyway and over the next couple of weeks do some more experimenting with the grinder.

But I think I now have the perfect companion to the LMLM. It will also clear considerable counter space too. The monolith is small and minimalist. Just perfect for single dosing at home.


Curiously, I have an 83mm flat to compare with. The Ceado E37S is capable of good grinds, but it has some flaws. I've done some mods to it and mostly getting good results with it. So, there will be much in-depth studying over the next few weeks.

Thanks for the information!

Looking forward to the E37s comparison. BTW, what mods did you do to the E37s?

nuketopia wrote:I will admit, that while the Cafe Lusso beans are quite good, they're not my first preference. I'm gonna drink 'em, no doubt about that. I tend to go for a bit lighter and fruitier roasts, which are more finicky and harder to pull. I need to get some new beans anyway and over the next couple of weeks do some more experimenting with the grinder.

First congrats on the Monolith conic. If you get a chance take it and some of your preferred lighter fruitier coffees (which I also prefer) to visit someone who has a pressure or flow profile capable machine. Your eyes may be opened to how not finicky to pull and delicious shots of this type coffee can be. It is not just a bunch of hype I promise you.

Great post and thanks for sharing.
I enjoy reading about peoples experience with these Monoliths... can't wait to hear more as the next batches are shipped and in our hands!

So far, so good.

Finished off a batch of Blue Bottle Opascope, totally brought out the tropical fruit.

Blue Bottle decaf noir - pulled four shots of this now and it is clearly pulling depth of flavor that I never got before. Did some A/B with friends and all were amazed at how much different it is with this grinder v. the 83mm flat grinder. Same doses, pull time and beverage weights within a few grams, just different flavors. A little RDT helps with this one. For some reason, this decaf blend almost always has crazy static.

Opened a fresh bag of Barefoot Kabari Espress (Rwanda) this morning. First pull was long and slow, but within limits and made a super sweet chocolate base with a pleasant tart note on top.

Best part is so far consistency is great, shots are pulling evenly, only needing some dialing in to match the beans. No lumps, no rocks, no purging of grams of coffee to clear the grinder and no waste.

Glad you're enjoying your grinder! Sounds pretty amazing, thank you for sharing your thoughts along the way.

One question that's slightly off-topic, how is the Blue Bottle decaf? What type of roast is it? I'm looking for options in a decaf, thx!

Thanks for the information!

Looking forward to the E37s comparison. BTW, what mods did you do to the E37s?

+2

It's been a joy to read about your journey so far.

I know Denis is shipping the conical and have been waiting for new users to post results of their early experience with this grinder, that has many appealing design features. Anyone willing to share


...merged thread with existing one on same subject by moderator; click here for other related discussions...

Mine is due to arrive in Tuesday and I will surely be posting video links

I absolutely love this grinder.

I haven't pulled a "misfire" yet with it. So far, once dialed in, every cup I've pulled has been consistently top notch.

Totally enjoying Barefoot Roasters Kabari Espresso (Rwanda). It is pulling with a sweet, balanced cup and with a black-tea and bergamot note.