I saw that there is a thread just like this one but it was never conclusively settled.

I was just curious if HG-one would be better or worse than a top-of-the-line bulk grinder like the Mahlkonig Guatemala, EK43, etc.

Ninety Plus seems to think it works well!

http://hg-one.com/ninety-plus-coffee/

rodcell wrote:I saw that there is a thread just like this one but it was never conclusively settled.

I was just curious if HG-one would be better or worse than a top-of-the-line bulk grinder like the Mahlkonig Guatemala, EK43, etc.

Unfortunately, to avoid dusting up a big online debate, simply stated, the results are in the cup, not an online forum. Short of trying it blindly yourself and deciding for yourself, the rest is relatively meaningless.

Well, HG-one uses a Robur burr, and you don't see a lot of coffee shops using Roburs for their brewed coffee. My own experience with the Pharos (which should be roughly comparable but of course must be taken with a grain of salt) is that its certainly useable for non-espresso brewing, but I much prefer my Preciso.

As Tom says everyone's taste is different, and what really matters is what's in the cup. But if you're looking to buy one, my friendly advice is to buy it with espresso in mind, and if you happen to like it for brewing as well, consider that a bonus.

Not long ago, people tried using bulk/spice grinders to brew espresso and the results "in the cup" were disappointing. All it will take is someone to win a brewers cup with a Robur for others to "discover" how well it works for them.

There a shop in my area that uses a bank of Mini-E grinders for their pour over bar. Their Ditting 805 sits behind the counter, unplugged. I can't assume they went this direction purely for quality reasons, but they seem to enjoy the results.

Try it for yourself. You may like the results with certain coffees and roasts and not feel the need to buy a grinder for non-espresso brewing. Worst case scenario- you have a great espresso grinder.

EDIT: OE corrected me. Thank you!

Chabeau wrote:Not long ago, people tried using bulk/spice grinders to brew espresso and the results "in the cup" were disappointing.

Yeah, like the Mahlkonig EK43? I just had to throw that out there...

Nate42 wrote:My own experience with the Pharos (which should be roughly comparable but of course must be taken with a grain of salt) is that its certainly useable for non-espresso brewing, but I much prefer my Preciso.

I could be very wrong on this, but I think that the Pharos has a "self centering" bottom/center burr. It will likely self center quite well on very fine grinds like espresso, but I wonder if the inevitable wobble increases in coarser grinds for that design? Yup, I was wrong. It isn't self centering.

I have one of those old La Pavoni PGC small TreSpade conical grinders. (As Paul Pratt described it the thing sounds like a cat in heat when you turn it on.) This grinder does okay for a wide range of grinding particle size from espresso to french press, and the quality of the cuts and particle sizes look pretty good and even. I use this for a coarse grain mill, but if I were into french press I'd definitely not hesitate to use it there.

The Pharos does not use the self centering principle (see Hario, Kyocera, Zassenhaus, Peugeot, Camaino, Porlex). The best way to describe self centering is that the coffee loaded burr acts as the second bearing. The Pharos (and Lido) have an actual second bearing and the burrs are fixed in position.

I'm not a material scientist but unless there is a physical difference in the way these burrs/grinders are designed, I don't understand why espresso grinders and non-espresso grinders are any different.

Certainly I do taste a difference between when I ground my beans using an espresso grinder vs. my new pickup Guatemala... but it could be simply a placebo effect.