Time to revive this great thread!

I've recently purchased a PeDe and KyM from Orphan, and both have been a pleasure to use. In fact, they motivated me to pull out the Zass I bought new about 5 years ago and see what I could do about eliminating the setting drift that seems to plague hand mills with the burr-adjustment nut on top by the handle. I took it apart, cleaned the threads and applied a little Loctite (blue)... so far, so good. It's been the dedicated grinder when I pull shots on my Europiccola - and the shots have never been better.

Now I've got the bug, and may buy the following "PeDe"... Just not sure it's the real McCoy. Any ideas? The decal looks different than any I've seen. Is this a cheap knock-off?

Thanks for all the great info and wonderful reading.

No, the logo is geniune.

I was concerned due to the greater simplicity of this label - seems the earlier PeDe's had more ornate decals. Oh well, I "blinked" on the auction (actually, I decided against bidding on it), and someone else got it for $34. With three hand grinders now, as well as three electric grinders, my wife may begin to questino this passion of mine (like she hasn't already! ) Seems like a good deal for a PeDe that appears to be in very good condition.

Any idea of the age of one with that specific label?

Thanks!

No. I stole the picture from http://www.marktplaats.nl a Dutch secondhand site. Great place for hand coffeegrinders. there are some 30 PeDe grinders at any given time. And then some Zassenhaus.

I think some of the Dutch Dienes grinders just have PeDe like that. My old blue PeDe that went up against the Titans has a similar label, smaller font.

Glad to see so much interest in these.

PC

Yes, and I think a good load of the (new) interest is in part due to this thread - and your enthusiastic support of hand grinding. My first "serious" grinder was a Zass, and it's been nice to get back and use it again (once I loctited the adjustment-knob). It had been relagated to my travel kit, and now it gets weekly use. An older PeDe I got from Orphan, which has far greater capacity (and static!), is now part of my travel kit... which includes a thermal flask and a funnel drip maker. And the results, especially while on the road, are excellent.

The cool thing is that my wife bought me a Europiccola 13 years ago when we got married. I couldn't make good coffee with it to save my life. Now that the Zass is solid, using the "old" LP has been even more enjoyable - and the espresso has been excellent.

I was getting to the point where espresso on a weekend afternoon didn't seem worthwhile. To pull just one shot didn't justify firing up the Andreja and using the Cimbali grinder. The whole procedure, not including warm-up but including clean-up of both the Andreja and Cimbali, took 15-20 minutes. With the LP and Zass, it's about 5. I can live with that.

Wanna bump this up, got a question...

Peacecup,

I believe it was you who posted the picture of three grinders, one of them a PeDe550 you stated. I noticed because I own a PeDe550, tho it looks somewhat different then yours. The crank know and drawer knob are the same, in that they are black and blond, and the design is similar, Ie: knee style, with a top door instead of a dome. But, it is definitely a little wide then yours. I see on the last page of this thread, that you said you get 35gr in tho hopper with some prodding. I too need to futz with it to get more then 28gr in the hopper, usually just tipping it back works. My total amount ever in there was 40grams. the door was slightly open. With a smaller bean, like a peaberry, of specifically, the Yemeni Moka Sana'ani, Im able to get 45gr in there. Tho this isnt much of a problem, as this Pede is most used for espresso. I use Toms(from SM)method for french press, with a fine yet even grind, 90sec steep, So sometimes I grind for press at my espresso setting.

But, the main point, I was wondering the 550 had a few different styles, all similar in design, but size-wise. It would seem to me, that you know your stuff when it comes to hand grinders, so Im not questioning YOUR knowledge. Just thought it was interesting that we both own a 550, yet they are somewhat different, mostly just in width. However, I will agree with a post a few down fro your picture w/ the three grinders, of "the 88 is nice, but the 550 rules all". Yes! My grinder will choke my machine no problem, and with probably 2-3 full turns until a hard burr touch.

How is your 550 adjusted? Under the burr or on the back? Here is some pictures of mine..

http://s714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Jmanespresso/?action=view&current=Espresso1010.jpgFront, main view
http://s714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Jmanespresso/?action=view&current=Espresso1013.jpg notice the rear adjustment and the springs to hold the drawer steady. A feature i really like.
http://s714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Jmanespresso/?action=view&current=Espresso1014.jpg notice my relative markings. One on the knob, one on the plate. Used only as a guide to switch back and forth between different blends Im using at one time, I write down like "3 o'clock for leftist, 7 o clock for monkey blend" etc etc
http://s714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Jmanespresso/?action=view&current=Espresso1016.jpg.'550' markings. The felt dots i added to dampen the sound some(not much). You'll notice the silicone mat, I didnt always have that, so the dots held it in place a little better as well.
http://s714.photobucket.com/albums/ww149/Jmanespresso/?action=view&current=Espresso1011.jpg, showing the burr set. 6 point star. I like the lined hopper a lot, definitely makes a difference, for me anyway.

So, as you can see, it is indeed a 550. Its VERY similar to yours, tho just a tad wider. There are a few other pics in my album, you can scroll through them once you get there, I just figured these were the main ones.

Im assuming you found your 550 on ebay or the like, and restored it yourself. This particular grinder I got from Orphan. Im currently shopping for 3 more grinders. 2 more for espresso, and one for press pot. I usually have AT LEAST 3 blends im working with, as I roast my own, so I can do small batches, and i would like to be able to have one grinder for each blend. But, since they have to do espresso, Im going to also buy them from Orphan. Once I get those, Im going to start my restoration. I bought a old Trosser off ebay, but it hasnt gotten here yet. going on 2 weeks now, but it was 15 shipped, so I havent put up much of a fuss.

I can easily see myself having as many, or more, then some of your collectors here. Sadly, Im not ready for a lever yet. Im about to upgrade to a E-61HX. Once Ive had that for a little while, Ill get myself a lever. Probably just a LP, but maybe something even nicer.

Jeff,

No pictures - looks like something went south on you there. A recommendation when uploading pictures: preview your post before submitting.

Hey RAS,

Sorry, I hit the wrong button, I did mean to preview. The code is different here then on CG, so I fudged it up. Links are now working.

Kudos
Jeff

I just looked at mine again, and its really unreadable, so maybe its a 530? I doubt they used 550 for different models, unless they changed them over time. The one I have is very small, even smaller than your 550. I've put a hold on shopping for a while, having amassed around 8 grinders, more than the number of blends I might even consider at one time!