OK, don't ask . . . to quote Geraldine (also known as Flip Wilson), "The DEVIL made me do it!" But I bought a Mahlkönig K30 Vario.

The CMH is alive and well, and working Monday through Friday in my office, but this Mahlkönig Vario is my seven-day-a-week workhorse. And what a dream! It was used by Mahlkönig USA as a demo at trade shows, and had less than 500 shots (doubles and singles combined) ground through it. Picked it up directly from Mahlkönig in Belmont (San Francisco Bay Area), California for 35 percent off.

This grinder is amazing! It's the neatest doserless I've ever seen*; it's the quietest grinder I've ever heard; and it's the fastest thing on no wheels -- a 14.5g double in 2.9 seconds. The grinds are light and fluffy, and there is virtually no clumping at all.

I'm in awe . . .

BTW, in case anyone is interested, they have some more demo models for sale. No affiliation, but they have both refurbished machines they've taken as trade-ins and demos in their website: http://www.mahlkoenig.com/ and click on the link marked "Specials."

Cheers,
Jason

* OK, never personally seen a Versalab, but it can't be any neater.

I REALLY hesitate to ask, but how much is the Vario at 35% off? Do you find it superior to the CMH?

about $1500

Ira

Might be worth holding on, although it's not on the USA website yet, it looks like they're bringing out a 'Competition' edition of the K30, which has all the features of the Vario, minus the electronic shot timer. Quoted euro cost is 1225, vs 1468 euros for the Vario.

The Competition is available through the website I cited above . . . .

FWIW, I love the shot timer.

How odd - it's only listed in the specials but the products part of the website doesn't seem to acknowledge the model exists .

It's been in the manual for quite a long time. I'm pretty sure it's on the German site.

Personally, I love the timers too

I also recently bought a Mahlkonig vario at 30% off with the same offer ( previously used for shows). I'd have to agree with everything said above about the K30. It is a dream. My last grinder was a Rocky and I used to weigh my beans and grind/shot. The K30 is another world. With the timer on the Malkohnig the scale is put away and everything is as it should be: quick and so simple! I'd add that it really makes a big difference in the cup and adjusting the grind is so easy. In fact everything about the K30 is so intuitive: The tops comes off after losening one screw so cleaning will be easy .I have not needed to yet but I did look inside. Setting the timer is a snap and all the parts and knobs are so well done. Nothing cheap about the way the grinder feels and functions. I know a conical might make an even bigger difference in the cup, but the K30 is so pretty and so easy to use that I would trade a little performance in the cup for all the things it does well. I must admit that the size of the Kony,which I also considered, would not have made the cut with the S.O. In fact, I needed to cut down my hopper to fit under my kitchen cabinets and figured out a pretty easy/safe way to do it... Now making the top took a little more work, but I did it with regular wood working router bits ,a disc sander , and a bandsaw. I'm a proffessional furniture maker so that was pretty natural for me, but I would be happy to post some photos of the cut-off jig I used if anyone else is interested, has access to a bandsaw, and knows how to use it really well. Oh yeah, and you have to promise not to blame me if your results differ from mine

Hi,

well congrats, I'm sure it's a wonderful piece of equipment:) Can't say it was cheap though, even with the 35% off

Just out of curiosity, how did they solve the variable grind speed of different bean types? I know that for example, most coffees give 14.5g in 2.9s, but if you get a particulary 'soft' type you might end up with 15.5g in 2.9s considering the speed of the grind. Is there a setting that allows you to choose the weight-speed ratio so that you can compansate for diffferent coffees?

Personally I have a modified Major with a grinder controler and I simply change the grind timings when switching beans and I have to re-calibrate with a digital scale (to check how fast it grinds 1g of a particular type of coffee).

Of course a perfect solution would be to have a digital scale built into the grinder, but that opens up a different sack of problems.

Regards,
dsc.

Congratulations on the grinder! That's got to be a beefy barrel on the countertop. The specs say 9.2 wide and 12.8 deep which seems odd for a barrel shape. Is this true or is the 9.2 the dimension for the area under the spout? Can you tell us the diameter of the upper part where you adjust the grind?