I've owned a Macap M4 stepless, doser grinder for approx. 2 years. This summer, I got a virtually un-used Mazzer Mini, stepless, doser "thrown in" for good measure when I bought a Faema Legend. Due to my rather smallish kitchen, I have kept the Mazzer stowed away until recently. The last couple of weeks, however, I have had both grinders up-and-running, and would like to share some of my opinions on the two machines. Since these machines are practically identical in overall design and function, and also are often rated more or less at the same level, I was quite interested in seeing if there were a difference. Please keep in mind that this is not a scientific test, it's just my opinions based on a couple of weeks of side-by-side testing of the two machines.

1: The Mazzer is pleasantly silent - the Macap is somewhat more noisy.
2: Grind quality: I am unable to notice any difference
3: Grind adjustment: Both machines are stepless.
- I like the Mazzer "handle" which makes adjustment over the entire range very quick.
- Macap's "screw adjustment" takes more time, but makes it easier to be consistent when going back and
forth between two set-points, if you remember to count revs.
- The coarseness of the grorunds changes quite much for a relatively small turn of the handle, whereas
Macap takes more turns on the knob to make even small adjustments. Pro/con - you decide. There are
ups and downs of both concepts.
- Macap's adjustment knob is silky smooth and easy to adjust.
- Mazzer's adjustment handle is a little "sticky" and heavy - this may (or may not?) change when the
machine "breaks in".
- There is practically no marking or "dial" on that tells you how fine or coarse your grind is set on the Macap
4: Overall build quality is in my opinion a tad better on the Mazzer. More plastic on the Macap.
5: Portafilter holder on Mazzer is more convenient since it is round steel bar; it holds less grounds.
6: Adhustment of dosing size is better built on the Mazzer, and easier to operate (aluminium knob vs plastic)
7: Grinder "splats" the grounds around less in the Macap doser unit than the Mazzer. For me, who likes to grind separate doses into the doser, and then dump them in the portafilter, this is a point of interest since the Macap then leaves less grounds in the doser after dosing.
8: Action of doser handle is smoother and lighter on Macap than on the Mazzer. On the Mazzer, I have to hold the grinder in place while pushing the lever to avoid the grinder from skidding around
9: On/off switch is nicer on the Mazzer.
10: Power-cord sticks out in a poor location (in my opinion) on the Mazzer.
11: Doser is messier on the Mazzer than the Macap (for my standard E61 portafiler). There is less spill with the Macap.

Conclusion? Very hard, the differences are very small. In practical use, I think I would go for the Macap. From a quality viewpoint, the Mazzer gives a very wholesome impression. Any way you look at it, these two grinders are almost identical copies of one another.

Your comments are pretty much identical to those posted over the past few years. 2 very fine grinders that will last a lifetime.

BTW...a very fine post.

primato wrote:8: Action of doser handle is smoother and lighter on Macap than on the Mazzer. On the Mazzer, I have to hold the grinder in place while pushing the lever to avoid the grinder from skidding around.

The action of the doser on my Mazzer Major is fairly light. I can hardly imagine the action is supposed to be the way you describe. How old is the Mazzer?

LGB wrote:The action of the doser on my Mazzer Major is fairly light. I can hardly imagine the action is supposed to be the way you describe. How old is the Mazzer?

He has a ~16 lb. grinder, and you have a ~40 lb. grinder. This is certainly the Mazzer solution--get a heavier grinder.

That said, having experience on 5 or 6 Mazzers, I can certainly say that the dosers have different levels of pull resistance--some seem to have a more tightly wound doser spring than others. Presumably one could adjust this if interested.

My personal take on the Macap doser, which I've expressed before, is that while it doses cleaner out of the box, it's still not clean enough to keep me from modding, whereas I find that the doser pull has a cheap tinny feel to it, and there's way too much plastic in the whole thing. I just don't think you can get any better than a Mazzer with the tape mod and Michael Elvin's chute mod. With these mods, I find my Robur is easily as efficient and neat as an Anfim doser, not to mention the Macap I've used. This is just my personal taste, of course.

It is indeed fairly easy to push the Mazzer Mini around when dosing. Particularly if some coffee grounds have gotten under the rubber feet.

The trick for me has been to get the rubber feet and the underlying granite surface clean enough for a good grip. I also tend to anchor my right thumb on one of the screws on the front of the doser as I pull the lever. (These are the screws that are used to attach the tamper, which I do not have installed.)