A new Mahlkonig grinder for the home barista to covet?

Grinders are one of the keys to exceptional espresso. Discuss them here.
da gino
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#1: Post by da gino »

Has anyone used the Mahlkonig double grinder? I got a steal on an Elektra at Fortuna Enterprises, a Greensboro NC vendor who sells mostly to coffee shops, but was very welcoming to me as a home user. I went back the other day to pick up some cups and he'd just replaced his Mahlkonig K30 on his espresso bar with a new grinder that was slightly wider, but not quite as deep and had two hoppers and two grinding mechanisms instead of one.

Nasi, the owner, demonstrated it for me and it seemed very cool. It is stepless (I can never remember which version of the K30 is stepless, but this grinder is). It has a timer programable on each side to .01 seconds, and had all the other conveniences of the grind on demand of the K30.

I thought it would be perfect to have decaf on one side and regular on the other, but he had it set up with an espresso blend for straight shots on one side and one for milk drinks on the other (do we need three grinders?).

I am happy with my Super Jolly so I didn't ask a price or even the model name (I already knew the K30 was out of my price league). Being an equipment junkie, even though I'm not going to buy one I was curious if anyone had seen/used it? He pulled a few great shots for me on it, but I didn't get to play around with it enough to really evaluate it.

By the way, I've had great experiences with Chris and Stefano, and I'd put Nasi right up there in the great equipment and great customer support category with them. I'd previously only known about vendors in the Northeast and out west, so I loved going to the showroom and seeing so many cool machines first hand.

Hugh

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shadowfax
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#2: Post by shadowfax »

Are you talking about the K30 Twin? It's just 2 K30 grinders in one, AFAIK. Takes up more counterspace... even less of a home barista machine than the K30, unless you really want to have 2 titan grinders on your bench. Then I guess it could be a real space-saver.

However, there is this grinder by Mahlkönig that looks interesting:
New Mahlkönig Prosumer grinder. [google cache; original post removed]
Nicholas Lundgaard

da gino (original poster)
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#3: Post by da gino (original poster) »

The twin is it, you are correct. Thanks for the link. It is bigger than the K30, but not as deep, and yes it did seem like owning two titans, so overkill for the home barista, but aren't the Robur, K30, Nino, and perhaps even the Super Jolly already overkill, so why stop dreaming there?

Hugh

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dsc
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#4: Post by dsc »

Hi guys,

am I wrong to think that you need a different burr set when grinding for espresso and for FP/drip? I mean look at the stuff the big Mahlkonigs, like Guatemala/Kenia produce, there's very little fines and we all know we need that for proper espresso pours (I think Jim tried using a fine-less grind for espresso I confirmed this).

If what I'm saying is true, why are the manufacturers yapping about grinders good for both espresso and filter?

Regards,
dsc.

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another_jim
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#5: Post by another_jim »

The 930 Euro prosumer grinder looks cool, but I think it might be a repackaged Baratza. There doesn't seem to be enough room for a larger burr in that narrow case.

For cupping, a grinder that produces fines is not such a big deal; the weight of the fines is very small, so the effect on the taste is small. But for drip or any paper filter, fines are not so innocent. They clog the paper and make getting the grind setting and dose right for proper extraction and concentration a lot more tricky. But even snarky German manufacturers will say exactly what they think consumers wish to hear; and that means saying they have grinders perfect for both espresso and brewing.
Jim Schulman

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JonR10
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#6: Post by JonR10 »

another_jim wrote:The 930 Euro prosumer grinder looks cool, but I think it might be a repackaged Baratza. There doesn't seem to be enough room for a larger burr in that narrow case.
I disagree. From what I can tell in the video, the prosumer grinder is quiet and fills a LarMarzocco standard ridged double basket over the rim in about 3 seconds....Baratza makes more noise and is much slower. It will be interesting too see what it really is 8)
Jon Rosenthal
Houston, Texas

geneene
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#7: Post by geneene »

those are Baratza grinders with mahlkonig burrs there are also ditting burr versions as well

just like intel inside stickers they have the 'mahlkonig inside' stickers if it has ditting burrs

'ditting inside' stickers instead of mahlkonig ones :D

ditting mahlkonig one family just like the VW motor group audi, vw, lamborghini all under VW group

zin1953
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#8: Post by zin1953 »

Not to be difficult, but . . .

There are THREE!

The K30 ES/Vario (the ES is stepped):


The K30 Twin:


AND there is the K60 ES:
A morning without coffee is sleep. -- Anon.

zin1953
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#9: Post by zin1953 »

The list prices, BTW, are:

-- K30 ES: Suggested retail $2,150
-- K30 Twin ES: Suggested retail $4,250
-- K60 ES: Suggested retail $3,250 (but Mahlkönig USA has a demo model for sale @ $2,395)
A morning without coffee is sleep. -- Anon.

akallio
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#10: Post by akallio »

JonR10 wrote:I disagree. From what I can tell in the video, the prosumer grinder is quiet and fills a LarMarzocco standard ridged double basket over the rim in about 3 seconds....Baratza makes more noise and is much slower. It will be interesting too see what it really is 8)
The speed of the grinder seems to be equal to Mahlkönig K30. The two-dial user interface seems a lot nicer than all the buttons on Vario...

The original page where the video was available for a short time positioned Pro-Am as an intermediate model between Vario and K30. I don't think it is exactly correct, as K30 is an espresso only grinder.

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