It has been said time and time again that the grinder is the most important piece of equipment in the home barista's espresso set-up. I couldn't agree more.

I'm curious, of you grinder(s) which is your daily grinder of choice and why? I'm not looking for opinions of the best grinder on the market (this isn't a "which one should I buy" question), rather I'd like to hear some personal stories about you and the equipment you use everyday, and why you use it.

Love it? Hate it? Share it!

TimEggers wrote:It has been said time and time again that the grinder is the most important piece of equipment in the home barista's espresso set-up. I couldn't agree more.

I'm curious, of you grinder(s) which is your daily grinder of choice and why? I'm not looking for opinions of the best grinder on the market (this isn't a "which one should I buy" question), rather I'd like to hear some personal stories about you and the equipment you use everyday, and why you use it.

Love it? Hate it? Share it!

Mazzer Super Jolly, modded to be doserless. 99% of use is for espresso. Love it.
____
John

For my first three years of espresso making, I used a Solis Maestro. It was functional, and that's about the best thing I can say for it.

I got a used Super Jolly in December. Can't say enough about how much better the espresso is now! I like how very fine adjustments are possible; I can pull a shot and if I see a few jets/blonding/barberpole/etc., send it to the sink and make a micro-adjustment to the grind before starting again...and getting it right the next time. It's got a doser which is a minor hassle, but I love the end results.

Mazzer Mini with no mods with the short hopper.
It's a good grinder, but then I don't think it is my last.
I grind by time, manually, looking at my clock 13-15 sec and clean out the grinds for a double (I only make doubles now a days).
I get over any distribution issues by first taming backwards lightly and then full force strait down.
--
Danny

The bigger the burrs (measure the length the bean travels in the fine grinding area), the lower the rotation speed, the better the grind quality.

I'm currently using a mazzer mini that I borrowed from a friend, having had a rocky beforehand. There's no doubt in my mind that the mini produces sweeter, richer and longer extractions and is easier to dial in.

The dilemma for me at the moment is deciding whether or not to buy a dosered mini or a mini electronic. A while back I dialled in three mini electronics one after the other and was amazed that there was barely a stray bit of coffee on the bench. However, I have recently built a bench for my kit, including a built-in knockbox that the doser can sit over, so mess isn't really much of an issue any more. Given that with the doser I can grind whilst extracting and, so, deal with guests pretty efficiently, the smart money would save a few hundred and go with the doser.

Although I work on mazzers, so having the same adjustment mechanism at home is really easy to deal with, if I had the choice of any grinder, it would be the conical brasilia competition grinder. It has the most easy to use and accurate adjustment mechanism that I have ever seen, as well as grinding quickly and producing a fantastic cup. If only it weren't so messy ... guess that's almost always going to be the price of having a doserless grinder.

Cheers,

Luca

I have a Mazzer Mini and a La Cimbali Jr. I like the grind of the Cimbali better than the Mini but as Jim noted about the burr size, the Cimbali has larger burrs than the Mini. Both will last a lifetime and work well for home use. My ultimate upgrade, a Mazzer Kony conical, I have not played with one yet, but I would get it based solely on the pro Barista recommendation and reputation.

I'm still working on my grinder of choice. One attribute that's hard to quantify is how well the grind "lays out." I wondered about this when pros pooh poohed the Weiss Distribution Technique. It turns out they're right, the technique's grinds redistribution is a grinder equalizer more than anything. The conicals appear to have an advantage in this respect. One of the HB projects for 2007 is a careful comparison of flat and conical burr grinders. Stay tuned.

Macap M4 stepped.

Fluffier grounds than Mazzer Majors.

Of the Mazzers I would prefer the SJ because of size.

HB wrote:One of the HB projects for 2007 is a careful comparison of flat and conical burr grinders. Stay tuned.

No Dan please, not that. I am just about to get the Super Jolly, please don't plant the seeds of needing a conical!

On a more serious note, I am really looking forward to that article. I have a real thing for grinders...I just love the darn things!