New Cimbali Hybrid Espresso Grinder

When I read a few threads and some personal reviews about the Cimbali Max grinder, I decided to take a closer look at it. The threads and reviews were quite positive, especially about the grind quality. There was however a few negatives pointed out about the Max as well. It was a little too tall and only came equipped with an auto fill doser. The power switch was not as nice as the one on the Junior either. I contact the people from Cimbali and asked if it was possible to simply install the most wanted combination conical and flat burr assemble into the body of the Junior. They told me it was possible and told me if I ordered a significant enough quality they would build them for me. We came to an agreement and Walla the NEW MAX HYBRID was born.






Find it here http://www.chriscoffee.com/products/hom ... /maxhybrid

Chris,
This looks like a really great hybrid. I was sorely tempted to buy a Junior when I bought my S1, but I got a MACAP instead. I may need to get myself a Christmas present .
Any info on pricing or availability at this time?

Jeff Johnson


BTW, I recently had a problem with my 2 yr old S1. I called and spoke with Jason in the service department who was amazingly helpful followed by Mary who IMMEDIATELY processed and shipped my order. Absolutely amazing service. Thanks as always for running such a wonderful operation. You have earned many loyal customers by virtue of your staff.

Thanks

They are in stock and ready to ship. The Price is $795.00

Chris, man it looks like you put together a good grinder. You're making it hard for a guy to hold on to his money.

Ach, nice piece of equipment!
Only available in 110V, right? I know a guy who would like a 220V version...

110 volt only!

OK - thanks for the info!

I now have 3 of these things, two of the original version and one of the new ones that Chris and TJ have arranged for Cimbali to make for the N. American market.

In terms of grind quality, the only grinders that can match it are full on large commercial conicals. In comparison to those grinders, the Max has the advantage of its smaller form factor and kitchen-friendly looks. The continuous worm gear adjustment of the Cimbali Max, combined with its typical Cimbali build quality, make using it a pleasure.

On the downside, a good, large, full on commercial conical, like the Robur or the Compak, will require less grind adjusting due to changes in the coffee or humidity. The Max is about halfway between a good 64mm or larger planar grinder and a conical in terms of the frequency with which one must adjust the grind.

On the plus side, the Max costs a lot less than those conicals.

On balance, I think you will find that the Max is a dream home grinder at its price point. I got sick of looking at that ugly Compak conical in my kitchen and put it in the closet, to be replaced with one of the new Max's that Chris is now selling.

ken

Ken Fox wrote:a good, large, full on commercial conical, like the Robur or the Compak, will require less grind adjusting due to changes in the coffee or humidity. The Max is about halfway between a good 64mm or larger planar grinder and a conical in terms of the frequency with which one must adjust the grind.

Excuse me if I missed this, but do we understand why the big conicals require fewer grind adjustments?

Not to my knowledge. Do you have a theory?

I know of no blind, randomized, tasting experiments on these various grinders other than the small one that I did with a Max vs. a Cadet (Junior), which the Max "won," but which I would not put very much stock into. Jim did his "beat the Robur" comparisons, which would certainly need to be regarded as data of a "preliminary" sort.

The one obvious thing that we can be pretty convinced of is the frequency which these various grinders require adjustment, since there are so many anecdotal reports out there that they are hard to ignore. From these reports it appears that any of the big conicals need infrequent grind adjustments, the larger planars (64mm and above) need frequent adjustments, and the hybrid conical/planar Max appears to fall in the middle.

I know in my own use, that it was rare when I didn't have to adjust my Junior grinders on a daily basis, that my Compak got adjusted once a week or less, and that the Maxs need the grind tweaked a little a couple times a week. The tweaks needed by the Junior were large enough that I threw out shots with some frequency due to required grind changes. This happens seldom with the Max and happened almost never with the Compak. I am referring here to a situation in which the same coffee is being used in a grinder over a period of a week, where the coffee is changing due to aging of the coffee and environmental factors.

As to grind quality as tasted in shots, I think the conicals and the Max are *probably* better if you updose, and probably equal to the large planars if you use smaller (~12-15g) doses, but that is not supported by any data that I have.

ken