Tom,
I hope you are not slipping into "analysis paralysis." I know I sure did when buying my first near "titan level" grinder (Mazzer Super Jolly with doser). At some point you just gotta pull the trigger and pick one; though hard because it is after all ~$1500 . But realize whichever you choose Mahlkonig K30 (I've never used) vs. Compak K10 Pro Barista (I've used for ~ 2 weeks on loan from Sherman of Team HB) (it seems you are narrowed down to these two grinders right ?) , you're going to get great espresso...just slight different styles.

FWIW,
* Unless Sherman of team HB modified his Compak K10 with doser somehow (I did see velcro on doser fins for doser sweep mod), I found single dosing no more work than single dosing with my unmodded Mazzer Super Jolly). Also Boss (i.e. wife ) has no difficulty using the grinder when push comes to shove; she just choses not to and have me make her cappuccino each AM I just use paintbrush to clear out the remaining grinds from chute and doser on my unmodded SuperJolly.

* I am always surprised and grateful for the graciousness of HB forum members (e.g. Sherman loaning me his K10 after Chicago get-together 9, "stinkyonion" and "vberch" hosting Chicago Get together 9 and 11 respectively). In this line then you could try asking if any local HB members to try out their K10 and their K30.

* Unlike my car analogy earlier in this thread , I think high end espresso equipment is EASIER to use than lower end ones. Search forum for "another_jim" post about this issue .

* If you have the money, then go with the "titan level" grinder. You will then have no upgradititis IMO the only reason to have multiple grinders in future is if you are too lazy to change dial setting (like me). I would not "short change" yourself by changing away from your initial decision to spend the $1500 on titan level grinder. Remember the grinder will outlast you (with occasional burr replacement).

* For me making my double shot espresso daily to twice daily is a process and I enjoy the whole process. Ultimately it is about taste. But since I consume the final product of the process in 30 to 60 seconds then I do not mind if the process takes a little longer. If something like single dosing from the Super Jolly doser take another 10 seconds vs. if I had doserless Super Jolly then so be it (BTW I just made up that time ; no clue actual time difference). Also I love having the doser the semi-annual times of year when I make 12-24 consecutive drinks for holidays for relatives.

Hope this helps and hopefully does not add to any "analysis paralysis." Whatever you chose, please post your impressions.

DanoM wrote:Your assessment here is correct. The grinder does work as intended, and work properly if you learn how to work with it.

Here on H-B alot of us are into very precise measurement of coffee by weight so we can get repeatable results pull after pull. It also has alot to do with waste, or rather trying to reduce coffee grinds getting tossed because we are too cheap to waste a few grams. A cafe will dose, sweep off any excess, tamp and then pull - they can get very good and repeatable doses that way, and so can all of us. (I personally use a scale with resolution to 1/100 of a gram, and dose to about 1/10 of a gram level accuracy ~ 1 bean.)

There are also many people on H-B that don't like single dosing, find it interferes with their enjoyment of espresso simplicity, and just doesn't fit into their style of making espresso. They'd rather grind, fill basket, sweep, tamp, pull, knock out the puck, rinse the group and be ready for the next shot. When done with skill this can be a joy to watch - much more fun to watch than the nerd I am weighing out doses and grinding dose by dose.

Tom,
This is one of the reasons I opted for the K10 PB. Doserless grinders are super cool. I almost got one. But I felt it was less risky to go with the PB and use it differently as my requirements vary. To some degree I can do any method I might want. I can single dose for myself. I can grind a bunch of coffee into the doser and crank out a bunch of shots. Or, by adding a timer ($100 or less for a very cool timer) I can run it similarly to a programmable doserless (with of course the additional step of thwacking the grinds through the doser, which could be argued is a plus for distributing the grounds). Not as elegant as a built for purpose doserless for those that are sure that's what they want. But I weighed flexibility more. And the cost savings didn't hurt either.

To make matters worse (I was "convinced" on the K-10 P/B), I called Chris's Coffee and they suggested the Macap M7D. They said they've had a few P/B's returned lately. Pox on it! Aaarrrggghhhhhh. Had they suggested the P/B I would have bought one on the spot.

Maybe I will cool my heels on the grinders for now and start reading about espresso machines. Who knows, in a couple of months I may be totally off the espresso kick and instead into some completely new pursuit. Like model railroading.

Gfcronus wrote:To make matters worse (I was "convinced" on the K-10 P/B), I called Chris's Coffee and they suggested the Macap M7D. They said they've had a few P/B's returned lately. Pox on it! Aaarrrggghhhhhh. Had they suggested the P/B I would have bought one on the spot.

Yeah you might want to make sure you're up for this before shelling out the cash! This is kind of a long term hobby. I've been at it for 20 years and still love it. But that's just me.

I had a discussion with CCS a couple weeks ago. They told me that some of the grinders got knocked around in shipping because Compak's packaging wasn't as protective as it should be. And that the returns were for cosmetic damage nothing functional. I still decided to go for it. Mine arrived yesterday and looks to be in good shape.

Gfcronus wrote:Who knows, in a couple of months I may be totally off the espresso kick and instead into some completely new pursuit. Like model railroading.

Good luck with that!

Gfcronus wrote:It strikes me as peculiar that the K10 P/B would be best suited to single dosing when that method requires that the grinder be modified to do it. It's like, why wouldn't they design it that way in the first place? Instead, there's a hopper and individual dosing chambers that you set to measure out the amount of coffee that you need. That's the way it was designed, no? Seems to me that you would thwack the amount of coffee that you need into the portafilter, then tamp. Will take some practice to get the amount right, no doubt, but if it wasn't "do-able" the grinder manufacturer wouldn't be churning out these grinders "as is."

Yes these are designed with another type of usage in mind, they where not original designed for SD, but instead designed for a more classical doser usage, that kind of usage works fine In certain coffee shops. In a home enviroment however, the way the grinder is design, makes it impractical, especially for someone who wants to reduce waste and still get a High quality cup. So therfor the need to mod it, to make it work.

Doserless dos not need to be modded, but you need to overcome the design flaw (from a home baristas point Of view) therfor the need to purge Them before every session, as This removed All Of the old grinds. A thing you need to dó when you use a hopper no matter if it comes with a doser or not, but without it's just easier as there is no need to empty a doser after the purge.