Bare minimum grinder for espresso

Recommendations for buyers and upgraders from the site's members.
Pyopyo
Posts: 14
Joined: 6 years ago

#1: Post by Pyopyo »

Hi, im planning to buy a grinder that is good enough for rancilio silvia, i was planning to buy the manual Kinu M47, but the price is almost the same for rocky rancilio..
I was hoping that any one can help me woch one better and if there is any better grinder for it around that budget..
Thx..

erik82
Posts: 2146
Joined: 12 years ago

#2: Post by erik82 »

You can try the Bezzera BB005.

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mivanitsky
Supporter ★
Posts: 1272
Joined: 15 years ago

#3: Post by mivanitsky »

Helor 101, Aergrind.

BaristaBob
Posts: 1866
Joined: 6 years ago

#4: Post by BaristaBob »

Try to find a lightly used Rocky. There are some really good low cost hand grinders if you are moving in that direction, but I know nothing about these.
Bob "hello darkness my old friend..I've come to drink you once again"

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slipchuck
Posts: 1485
Joined: 7 years ago

#5: Post by slipchuck »

erik82 wrote:You can try the Bezzera BB005.
Yup great choice as I am a happy owner :)


Randy
“There is nobody you can’t learn to like once you’ve heard their story.”

Neuromancer
Posts: 57
Joined: 8 years ago

#6: Post by Neuromancer »

in my experience kinu 47 is better than an entry lvl electric grinder for the same price or cheaper.. also no retention.. but it depends on the number of shots you're planning on pulling each day

JayBeck
Posts: 1220
Joined: 7 years ago

#7: Post by JayBeck »

As others have said, the hand grinders mentioned will give you the best bang for your buck. But if you are like most people and know that hand grinding will get really old really quickly then there are some other options that fit what you're asking.

The Breville Smart Grind Pro will let you pull decent shots for $199 (or $160 if you have a BBB coupon). It grinds very slow and it is very clumpy but it's your best value.

The best sub $1,000 grinder is the Baratza Sette 270 ($379). That's what I would recommend if your budget allows. It will be all the grinder you need until you get a Titan grinder (K30, E37S, Monolith, etc). If $379 stretches it a bit, then the Sette 30 ($249) is your second best bet in the cheap electric range. You can always get the adjustment collar later to fine tune your shots and in the interim just adjust shot times by going +/- 0.50g changes to your dose (i.e. if an 18g shot is a little slow then do 17.5 on the next shot, keeping the same grind setting; if it's too fast, do 18.5g, etc).

There are tons of options from $400-1000 but you won't gain anything in the cup over the Sette. All you're gaining is better build quality and durability.

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liquidmetal
Posts: 219
Joined: 6 years ago

#8: Post by liquidmetal »

A Breville Smart Grinder Pro from BBB with a 20% off coupon should run you about 160. You will DEFINITELY need to WDT with this one but it should hold you over for awhile until you have the funds for something better.

For reference, I just upgraded to a Lucca m58 and sette 270 and the sette270 has absolutely blown me away, in terms of what the grind is supposed to look like.

h3yn0w
Posts: 476
Joined: 13 years ago

#9: Post by h3yn0w »

Used Baratza Vario

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MNate
Posts: 957
Joined: 8 years ago

#10: Post by MNate »

I too, would recommend finding a way to save for a Sette or Pharos. It makes a lot of difference. When I upgraded to a Pharos from the Preciso with my Silvia it was so much easier to make the espresso within the parameters I was shooting for (weight in a certain time, really).

If you do milk drinks on the Silvia, you do have quite a bit of time while waiting for the single boiler that a hand grinder fits the work flow pretty fine, so they aren't a bad choice here.

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