I have seen a few positive reviews about the Cunill Tranquilo, but I wonder how well it (the doserless) will pair with my Gaggia Factory. The Factory seems to require a pretty fine grind. My initial grinder (a Baratza Maestro) didn't come close enough to the kind of grind the Factory needs, even though many retailers claim that it can grind for any espresso machine.

Can the tranquilo choke a Factory? Can it grind even fine enough for Turkish brewing? It seems to have more power than other grinders in its class (285W). Does that matter?

Also, I have seen two different versions of the doserless Tranquilo on two websites:

http://www.corainc.com/Details.cfm/ProdID/485


http://sovrana.stores.yahoo.net/esgrin.html


Which one is the current model? (I wonder if one of those websites just doesn't have the current pic)

Any feedback (as well as other recommendations) would be appreciated.

I personally don't know a ton about Tranquillo- but a rebadge of it is for sale at a place in MIdcities between Dallas and Ft Worth Texas- Scrweb? something like that- I even think there is a thread about this in Espresso gear.

A picture too- it was listed for about $150..... I will see if I can throw the thread in a link ... Santa shopping to do...

SRE is in Arlington, between Ft Worth and Dallas. Their website is http://www.sreweb.com/. The site isn't very user friendly; you may want to call and talk to Dominic.
Bill

I knew mental telepathy would work - Thanks Bill

I've been using a Cunill Tranquillo for about 3 years in my various Gaggias and have been completely satisfied with it. I do not have the Gaggia you are asking about, but it has certainly been excellent with a Dandy, a Coffee or two, a Baby....

Mine came from Sovrana Store. It looks like the one in their picture, except that the fork under the chute doesn't have that curly part....it's more just like a u-shape.



You can see that I took the space ship off the top when I first got it. I just weigh 14 gm of beans, scoop them into the throat, and put my tamper over the top...works like a charm.

Susan

Thank you for all of the input. It looks like the Cunill is a suitable grinder for the Factory. I almost pulled the trigger and bought one.

I actually ended up ordering a Rancilio Rocky from EssentialEspresso.com. The reasons I went with the Rocky over the Cunill are the following:

- It is well-tested product with many years of satisfied users.
- Parts are very easy to find and inexpensive.
- 2 year warranty (instead of 1 for Cunill).
- Essential Espresso had a 10% sale after Christmas. That brought the price down to $279 (plus free Grindz).
- Smaller footprint and better looks (That Cunill looks pretty big!)

Hopefully, I will be happy with the Rocky. Hey... if not, the resale value seems pretty good.