mivanitsky wrote:I love the idea of a short hopper on the Kony E, but the thing is so heavy, that you will injure yourself by repetitively pulling out and pushing in the grinder to fill it. This is not in any way a good grinder for "under cabinet use."

-Mike

how do you like the kony e; how long have you had it; what were you using previously

Michael,

When the Kony E arrives I will measure and post the height. Seems no problem without hopper to fit under cabinets. I will have the mini 2/3 hopper so can report that too.

sounds great

when is it coming

The Kony is in the house.

Measures 40cm to the top of the adjustment ring and add another 4 1/2cm for the plastic collar.

I have tried everything from taking off the collar, to both suppressing the safety button the collar engages when in place in a groove on the machine, to separating the collar from the large hopper it comes with, and these are my experiences

The hopper can separate from the collar by manipulating the 2 tabs with a screw driver that "bends" them flexible and you can bend them back into position, but be careful. Other methods have been discussed how to disengage the hopper from the collar.

I also tried putting an eraser into the safety button where the collar flap slips into a groove forcing this button out of protection mode.

Both of these I found not necessary and went back to the original hopper with collar because it just worked the best for me.

The standard mini hopper diameter can not fit into the naked opening without the collar in place and this is not really a choice. It can work but only pushes in about 1cm and most of the bottom plastic collar part of the hopper is exposed out and looks bad IMHO. Second choice is to put the mini hopper into the collar assembly, but you must put some windings of tape around the base of the mini hopper in order to make it snug. For me this was "mickey mouse" and not "clean installation" if you wish.

Since I have the height I went back to the original everything even though all the alternatives can work.

The timer is really exact, and I was surprised to see no clumps at all in my machine with the moka harrara beans. I quickly dialed it in and its up and running.

i think thats only 17.5 inches, which easily fits under my cabinets (no hopper); with a short mini hopper, it just might make it, or i can move the grinder to the right of the vivaldi, out from under the cabinet

so i gather you like the grinder

Michael,

I need more time to be honest, but first take was that it was easy to dial in, and understand.

If Height is a problem, you can take off the hopper and the collar, and you can unscrew the 2 screws that keep the safety button. after it lifts out and you can stick something (I used an eraser like what was posted on a German website) into the space to keep the button depressed.

Then you have the naked opening which would accept the mini 2/3 hopper very very snug. This way you would gain the 4 1/2cm height of the collar as well. But be careful as that safety button is there for a reason as that grinder could munch up fingers in a second.

As was in the Titan Grinder project you could also keep the collar and use it as a hopper.

With the original hopper it is quite imposing in the kitchen. I've slid it as far behind the view as possible behind the Super Domobar, but it still towers above heightwise. Fortunately not cabinets where it sits.

I think i'm gonna like this one. The big question is how its going to change the taste of my favorite beans. And if its going to change the taste for the better or worse.

there are a number of posts on conical vs flat burrs; some suggest the conical burrs provide a brighter taste, but i would be interested in hearing what you think

what was your previous grinder

I have had in the past a Rocky, but more recently the Super Jolly and Macap M4D digital. The Super Jolly is a great grinder, but the messy doser had grinds all over the place. The Macap is a great grinder and precise like the Kony E, but the Kony has a massive motor.

I don't know if its been mentioned before, but the Kony E has a very loud fan that comes on to cool the motor when under a lot of use. This motor is powerful. Since I only use the grinder in the household the need for the fan is really limited, so I opened it up and disconnected the fan, and its more livable.

michael wrote:how do you like the kony e; how long have you had it; what were you using previously

Sorry, I missed this post last week.

I have had the Kony for 6 months now. I like it very much. It is head and shoulders above Mini-E which I had before. It is much better than a SJ as well. It has a "big conical" flavor profile, for sure. There is no true clumping. The occasional "coffee cube" aggregates break up with the touch of the tamper. There is a definite break-in period for this grinder. It was not broken-in until I had run about eight pounds through it, and I continued to notice subtle improvement in the flavor profile up to about thirteen pounds. I am now at about twenty. Do yourself a favor, and put 8-10 pounds of light-roasted cheap beans through the grinder on day one, then clean the grinder, and enjoy how great this grinder truly is. Dialing in is a bit frustrating, and you will not be consistent until the grinder is broken-in. Thereafter, it is a dream. The flavor profile goes from harsh, excessively bright, and astringent to bright, clear, defined, and more "rounded" as the grinder breaks in. You will not taste chocolate out of this grinder until it is broken in.

The Kony-E gives a very nice, even grind, which is somewhat more compact than the larger conicals. Weigh your doses to calibrate at first. Angle your PF 15 degrees up and you can make a nice centered mound. One downward tap to level, and mash the cone works fine. Finger leveling at the basket edge gives 17-18g in my Synesso double basket. I usually downdose, using the dosing tools or simply mashing the cone, dosed below the edge. A nutating tamp (light), followed by a firm (20-30 pound) tamp is all it takes. No whacking the side of the basket ever. No polishing needed. I use a C-flat or convex tamper, usually. The only things that matter about tamping are consistency and a level tamp. I can do 8-10g singles, using the double basket, with this grinder. A monster updose is very easy, when you want it. Much less day-to-day adjustment of the grinder is necessary, as is the case with the other, bigger conical grinders.

I dose per session, and clear the grinder each session of all beans. The grinder retains 7-10g, so at the beginning of each session, or after adjusting grind, I waste about that much coffee. I rarely clean the grinder, as it retains very little oil or coffee when using light-roasted coffees as I do. I am very sensitive to rancid oil flavors, so this is a good thing.

Enjoy the Kony-E. you will be very happy with it, I am sure.

-Mike

mivanitsky wrote:Do yourself a favor, and put 8-10 pounds of light-roasted cheap beans through the grinder on day one

I agree wholeheartedly. Although, I have it on good authority that Mazzer have just started their own conical burr production line (previously, this was outsourced). With any luck, you have received burrs actually made by Mazzer. I have a new set on the way courtesy of Mazzer after I sent them photos of the poor quality 'outsourced' ones received in my ROBUR-E.

Enjoy, Chris