Thanks Wolfgang - its Dave from Geneva who PM'd you earlier about your backing plate for the Mini mod. My doserless mod still uses the doser housing but I was thinking seriously on going whole hog with the OEM doser for the Mini-E.

After thinking it through all day I now feel just too tempted to go with the HG.

Great to know the blind tumbler is included.

Of course that leads me to a second question. In the true spirit of going whole hog I am planning on going for a portafilter cradle for my 58mm Reneka portafilter. I've checked the dimensions and I would be good to go with the E61 cradle that HG sells but I have also seen and like the acrylic mod versions that Stephen has made and are posted on the HG site.

Does anyone have experience with both of these, or thoughts on why one might be preferable over another?

Thanks all,

Dave M

mgrayson wrote:This post from a related thread has a good discussion of the value of seasoning.
2014 HG one grinder
Matt

That post has a bit of speculation about what happens to the burrs in the first few hours of use, but doesn't seem to give a reason for spending a few hours grinding rice rather than coffee.

AFAICS the only change that people see is that the grinding time is reduced. If the grind is acceptable from the start (and I think it is) why bother with all that pointless rice grinding? The burrs will wear in the normal process of coffee grinding.

On the other hand, if it makes you feel good....

Just got my HG one this afternoon. Was a little disappointed when unpacking it and I discovered that the Allen bolts on the underside were rusty. Talked to Craig at HG one and he said it was due to condensation during shipping. It has been very rainy here recently and the thick aluminum was very cold when I pulled it out of the box, so condensation definitely makes sense. HG one was very responsive and is sending some replacement Allen bolts right away.

Anyhow after putting it together first thing I did was to align the burrs. Then zeroed it and backed it off 360 degrees. Ran a little bit of coffee through to test the grind it and it was very coarse, probably French press level. So I tightened it up to about a drip level grind. Then I ran three boxes of Minute Rice through it in about a half hour. Really wasn't bad at all and I don't understand why people make such a big fuss about doing this, unless you all have puny arms.

Next I continued to tighten up the grind about five notches at a time and felt by hand until I was getting into the espresso range. At this point I'd pull a shot to test it and kept tightening it up until I had it dialed in with the appropriate extraction. Throughout this process I was anticipating that this grinder would make a pretty big difference as the aromas I got were unlike anything I've smelled before when grinding coffee. Much more intense and distinctive.

Finally it was time to pull a shot for consumption. All I can say is wow!! It was fantastic - the best shot I've had in quite a while and easily rivalling what I get served at the best local Portland cafes. Very bright and forward flavors like others have noted, but at the same time not at all harsh, tart, or sour. I think my previous grinder (Cimbali Max/Junior Hybrid) was pretty good, but the HG one just blows it away.

I always knew the grinder is important, but this experience makes me realize that the quality of what you get served in a cafe probably has as much or more to do with the grinder they are using than it does with the barista's skills. With a "Titan" class grinder it is just much easier to pull a really good shot and much harder to pull a bad one. From now on I think when I'm in a new place looking for a cafe to try I will first check out the grinders they are using to decide whether to bother trying it or not.

Interesting. I have these rusty bolts, too. I didn't mind too much as my grinder is now mounted to the counter surface with longer bolts. I wasn't too concerned, anyway, as they're out of sight.
If you pore over a product long enough, you will find small imperfections. But as you already stated, the resultant cup quality is much more important.

keno wrote:From now on I think when I'm in a new place looking for a cafe to try I will first check out the grinders they are using to decide whether to bother trying it or not.

Yes and no. Most cafes I have been to, bad or good, have commercial grinders (and espresso machines) in place. In my opinion, this will tell you little about the quality of their coffee.

Yes, they all have commercial grinders but my point is that there is a huge difference between the standard 64mm flat burr class of grinders (especially those that are beaten up and have probably never had the burrs replaced) and the large conicals such as Roburs, Konys, K10s, etc.

Many cafe owners probably do not fully appreciate the importance of the grinder the way HBers do and those that skimp on the grinder are, I think, also likely to skimp elsewhere. My point is just that the grinder used in a cafe may be your best indicator of potential quality if otherwise unknown.

keno wrote:My point is just that the grinder used in a cafe may be your best indicator of potential quality if otherwise unknown.

I dunno.. Some of the most of disappointing coffee I've had were made on very expensive commercial equipment. I highly skilled barista is capable of pulling some decent shots and good lattes with sub par equipment whilst no amount of expensive equipment can make up for lack of experience, skill, and a knowledgeable palate.

In fact nearly all of the bad shots I've had were all ground and pulled on highly capable commercial equipment, so I think this statement is just flat out, well, wrong.

It's more the case that you can only rely on clues that tell the coffee is going to be bad.. and it's usually not the equipment. It's the grounds left in the doser. It's the dried on milk on the steam wand. The screech and roar of the steaming. The lack of ceramic wares. The overall lack of cleanliness of the facilities. But easiest is just a quick glance at the barista working is enough to tell they know what they're doing (or not).

Pretty well said! I have actually had good shots from my old Rocky and Silvia setup but they were more rare because of the difficulty in fine tuning the grind and stale grounds in the grinder but nothing to do with burr size. Same with Silvia, if the temperature was correct, and that was a big IF, then great shots to be had.

The commercial grinders and the simplicity of the Lever machine (once you learn its nuances) have made for great shots. The GS/3 I had was a very nice machine but there were things I did NOT like about it, the way the PID worked was one of them. That was me learning or wanting to learn what I considered to be a daft setup and not the machine itself. The Lever is rock simple, but it takes learning the grind, tamp and dose techniques, which are all skills that apply to any espresso machine.

FotonDrv wrote:The Lever is rock simple, but it takes learning the grind, tamp and dose techniques, which are all skills that apply to any espresso machine.

They also give great hands-on feedback...especially the all-manual levers like the Pavonis. When dose, grind and tamp all come together, the resistance in the lever when you pull the shot tells you where you are. My own experience has taught me, too, that there is pretty wide latitude in all this. You may not get the grind just right...but the shot might taste good anyway. You may not get the tamp or dose just right...and the resistance will be off...but the shot can still be good. Not always, of course, but don't assume that just because the feedback from the lever resistance isn't up to snuff, that the shot isn't good. Give it a try. You might be pleasantly surprised...

Or maybe I'm just not too picky...

RioCruz wrote:...the resistance in the lever when you pull the shot tells you where you are. My own experience has taught me, too, that there is pretty wide latitude in all this. You may not get the grind just right...but the shot might taste good anyway...

That's precisely the advantage to manual lever machines. It provides users with one crucial variable not available in other machines with exception to spring levers, although it' not the same direct feedback you get compared to a manual lever. Being a car guy, they're the 'Lotus' of coffee machines.

The HG One is a perfect complement to a manual lever.. Or should I say a manual lever is a perfect complement to the HG One, given it's likely going to be cheaper