Hi,

I've just got myself a Vibiemme D Junior (Dual Boiler) from the very helpful guys at Resteriet (even organising shipping to London!). To accompany this purchase I have been searching for a new grinder. Ideally I would be getting my hands on something like the Mazzer Mini but I the only space I have now for my grinder is below a cabinet giving only ~38cm of headroom. Does anyone know of a decent grinder that isn't taller than this? If not it may be a case of cutting a hole in the bottom of a cupboard to fit the hopper!

shaughn wrote: it may be a case of cutting a hole in the bottom of a cupboard to fit the hopper!

alternately, one can replace the hopper with something shorter, or (carefully) cut it down to size.

I have an Iberital MC2, a nice small burr grinder whose hopper is straight-sided - so you could easily cut it down and the lid would still fit. I've also replaced the hopper on my big commercial grinder with a smaller alternative (a sawn-off cocktail shaker), but it's still far too high to fit under a cupboard!

Good call, I think i'm going to need to pull out all the stops to get a solution that fits under my kitchen units. If I cant find something that grinds well enough to compliment the VBM Junior and fits the space I guess I'm going to have to have a reshuffle and get something like the Mazzer. Do you rate the Iberital MC2? I'd be interested to get other opinions on what sort of quality of grinder the VBM deserves.

shaughn wrote:~38cm of headroom. Does anyone know of a decent grinder that isn't taller than this?

I've just done two things:

- prepared myself a rather nice ~60ml, 25sec double shot of Old Brown Java using the Bezzera and the Iberital MC2. (Don't worry, the grinder can easily choke the machine, i just felt like a coarser grind, and longer shot, than my AM espressos)

- and measured my MC2 (with a nearby ruler). Comes to ~37.5cm, i found! So it's close, but even with the ordinary hopper it should fit in your space.

(I've just checked that height on the site where i found my grinder - 375mm it is! -

http://www.happydonkey.co.uk/hd0865-iberital-mc2.html )


There's also a fairly long review, by CakeBoy of TMC, linked to from that page...

Great stuff thanks very much, I think I could be sorted then as there seem to be some good prices around on the MC2. Cant wait to get grinding!

If you're really going to pull out all the stops this one is only 33 cm tall:

http://www.versalab.com/server/coffee/grindernew.html

At "slightly" less than the cost of a Versalab ( ), the Ascaso I-Mini, hopper included, is only 31cm tall...

Thanks guys, Given the quality of the VBM I was looking to get something equivalent to the Mini Mazzer in grind quality (although the Versalab may be a step too far in terms of cost!).

I'm currently buying from a London supplier (who grinds it for me) in small quantities every couple of days and wanted something that could deliver the same results but without the wasted stale coffee and having to run out to get a fresh grind every couple of days! - I know I know I should have managed my upgrade-itus better and got the grinder at the same time as the VBM!

Can anyone could give me steer as to where I should be looking for a grinder that compliments the VBM and can fit/ be modified to fit the space constraints - triptogenetica it may be that this is the MC2 but I just wanted to check to see if I should be digging deeper in my pocket (the MC2 does look like outstanding value) in the first instance.

The Baratza Vario is 36.8 centimeters tall - it would fit.

shaughn wrote:it may be that this is the MC2 but I just wanted to check to see if I should be digging deeper in my pocket (the MC2 does look like outstanding value)

Definitely you need a grinder with the VBM! Almost no point in using the machine with pre-ground, I'd say.

(Expect for two things - 1, that even using supermarket own-brand you'll be refining your dose-distribute-tamp routine, and 2, there was an interesting thread recently here on H-B about positive notes when tasting preground coffees. (I think those were 1/2-1 hours pregrounds, though!)).

And from no-grinder to (even) the MC2, you'll see an immeasurable difference! Just a nod - I personally feel that for espresso, the conical burrs and worm gearing on the MC2 actually serves me better than the flat burrs and slipring adjustment on bigger grinders. That's why I'm using my big grinder mostly for brewed coffee! And I've seen it on sale for as much as £180 in the UK - but it can also be had for the flat £100)..