I have series of lever machines but mainly use an Elektra MCaL and Cremina - the Cremina every day because I find I can leave it on all day without overheating problems. I prefer the MCaL for bright and floral beans, such as Ethiopians and the Cremina with darker and creamier beans, such as Central Americans.

My main grinder is a big conical - an Elektra Nino, with which I am very happy. But sometimes I go back to my old Super Jolly because I fancy the deeper, richer albeit less nuanced shots it gives. This has set me wondering about running the Nino alongside a very large flat burr such as the Major.

Hence my question: I have understood from others' posts here on HB that the Major gives a fluffier, more consistent grind than the Super Jolly without any greater grind retention, but haven't found anything about the taste profile. Are the Major's shots more nuanced or any deeper or richer than the Super Jolly's?

I'd be very grateful for any comments from people who have owned both or compared them.

Many thanks in advance,

Mike

Go on, buy a Major-E and let us know! I'd love to hear about the grind retention on it, I understand there is a much shorter path from the burr chamber to the exit on the Major (vs the Robur).

Yes, I've heard that, too, Chris. But I'm not sure if I'd go for the E. Apparently the Major doesn't suffer from popcorning any more than the SJ, so I could just single dose into the doser. I've heard mixed reports about clumping and static with the E, though. Still I must admit the Nino has made me lazy and doserless is tempting.

That's really a polite invitation for those who have played with them to comment....

I have a Major doserless and at my location there is no clumping - only a fluffy grind. There is some grind retention but nothing like the Robur E. The grind is much fluffier than the Robur as well. I blow out the stale grinds with compressed air and I'm happy with the results. As I've never used a SJ I have nothing to offer on the differences between the two.
-Ian

wildbwilson wrote:I have a Major doserless and at my location there is no clumping - only a fluffy grind. There is some grind retention but nothing like the Robur E. The grind is much fluffier than the Robur as well. I blow out the stale grinds with compressed air and I'm happy with the results. As I've never used a SJ I have nothing to offer on the differences between the two.
-Ian

What is your doserless setup like? Please provide a pic or two.

-C

Here's a pic of my current setup. I use both machines for most of the beans I use though recently the Major has been my decaf grinder. Depending on which machine I'm using I'll switch beans around - in the pic there is a commercial lever group on the left and a La Cimbali Jr on the right. The Robur is more difficult to purge though I always start the morning off with a double shot americano which tends to flush out the stale grounds and preps the beast for a straight shot or 2. Generally I use both grinders with the setup sported by the Robur - the beans weighted down with a tamper. In general this technique is better suited to the Major. I've found that with more beans stacked up on the Robur the happier it is.
-Ian

If you ever get the time or inclination, I'd be really interested to know how much stale grounds are kept in the Major-E. It is a bit of a pain, but before a fresh session (since its all stale then anyway)...

1. Empty all beans out of the hopper, and vacuum the remaining beans out the top of the hopper/throat (NOT the chute). Before doing this, the grinder should have been used with some beans in the hopper, not single dosed.
2. Run/pulse the grinder with nothing in the hopper/throat.
3. Sweep chute with a toothpick and pulse again to make sure the chute and burr chamber is clear.

Catch and weigh anything that comes out the funnel.

The Robur-E holds close to 2 doubles worth of stale coffee from the above procedure. I'd bet the Major-E is WAY less.

If you get the chance, I've not found anyone else with one.

Cheers, Chris

Thanks, Ian. That's great news on the doserless non-clumping/fluffiness front!

A couple of questions (you just knew that was going to happen didn't you! ):

How does the taste profile of the Robur and Major differ? I've been told it's practically impossible to distinguish between the Robur and Nino, which have very similar burrs.

Do you find any difference in terms of grind consistency/sweet spot for good extraction/pours between the two?

Many thanks. This is very helpful.

Cheers

Mike

gyro wrote:If you ever get the time or inclination, I'd be really interested to know how much stale grounds are kept in the Major-E. It is a bit of a pain, but before a fresh session (since its all stale then anyway)...

Would it not be easier to just grind N grams of coffee right after a full cleaning and weight the resulting M grams and then the retention is N minus M.

Just a thought.

gyro wrote:If you ever get the time or inclination, I'd be really interested to know how much stale grounds are kept in the Major-E. It is a bit of a pain, but before a fresh session (since its all stale then anyway)...

1. Empty all beans out of the hopper, and vacuum the remaining beans out the top of the hopper/throat (NOT the chute). Before doing this, the grinder should have been used with some beans in the hopper, not single dosed.
2. Run/pulse the grinder with nothing in the hopper/throat.
3. Sweep chute with a toothpick and pulse again to make sure the chute and burr chamber is clear.

Catch and weigh anything that comes out the funnel.

The Robur-E holds close to 2 doubles worth of stale coffee from the above procedure. I'd bet the Major-E is WAY less.

If you get the chance, I've not found anyone else with one.

Cheers, Chris

I tried this with my dosered Major a few minutes ago with the only difference being that I had swept the front of the chute out for the previous shot. I placed a small tared container under/in front of the chute so it would catch any grounds, pulsed several times & swept the chute. The total weight of the captured grounds was .7g. This jives with what I've seen when I remove the upper burr carrier for cleaning. There are very few grounds left in the burr chamber. I had guessed that it might amount to a gram or so & I wasn't far off. This is much less then I used to see left behind in my SJs.

I removed the upper burr carrier & shot this photo (not great) that shows what is left behind after the pulsing.


Unlike the SJ the dosered Major will leave only a small amount in the chute which is easily swept into the doser. Since I also have a Major with the funnel conversion I can tell you that if you use the wire grid over the chute you will want to keep a small vacuum nearby to clear it after an idle period between shots. I've tried it with & without the grid & finally left it off permanently. My biggest complaint with the funnel kit is static, not clumping. I much prefer the doser with a few mods for this reason.

I haven't done any back to back taste tests as my SJs went into storage when I bought the Majors but I will say that I do prefer using the Majors over the SJs.