Hi everyone- I'm a newbie to this site so please be patient with me. I love coffee (don't we all?) I am fortunate to live in Australia very close to Melbourne with some amazing coffee houses, but I still love making coffee at home.

I have an old set up which I have had since about the year 2000! I have the original Gaggia Classic (which I have just recently upgraded the team wand to a manual steam wand) My grinder is also a Gaggia : La Gaggia MM, which for the time seemed like a good idea. I realise that I could do better regarding machinery but the reality is I simply do not have the cash at the moment and what cash I have spare is put towards other stuff. The Gaggia classic makes an acceptable coffee but the grinder by all accounts simply isn't performing to allow me to get the best out of my machine. All reviews and forums see to say the same thing: the MM just doesn't make the bean a fine enough ground for espresso.

I also to be honest HATE the collections basin for the ground coffee on the MM (HOWEVER, I have had it for nearly 20 yers and it has never let me down. Knowing my luck it will probably last another 20 years and my wife will never give me the green light for another grinder!!! - We have all been there at one time or another)

So, the question is WHICH grinder will work with what I have? I would like a grinder that will work well for espresso and grinds directly into the portafilter basket rather than a basin. I have looked at two grinders that I think seem to be pretty good but again they are at the very very top of any budget I can convince my wife to let me spend. The ISOMAC Professionale grinder and the LELIT PL43.

I would be really grateful if ANYONE could offer any advice or thoughts on this matter.

Wishing you all the best,

Kindest Regards,

John

Well, if you want a grinder for medium/dark roasts in espresso and that works well for pour over/drip and don't have a lot of discretionary cash at the moment, take a look at the Breville Smart Grinder pro. And, Breville is Ausie company to boot!

It's not going to be your last grinder but it will do a very good job for you, unless you like pulling shots from light roasts.

For a few dollars more, Ascaso I Mini I1 is also pretty good deal for the money. Again not an over all fantastic grinder but it does punch well above it's price point.

After either of those I'd have to say the Niche Zero or Eureka Mingnon Specialita would be money well spent, though 2-3 times the money of the other two mentioned. I am biased toward the Niche Zero and would seriously advise considering it even though, as designed it grinds into a small dosing canister rather than the portafilter. It was an fairly easy mod to make it work extremely well grinding directly to my BDB portafilter and only cost another $40.00 in materials.

If you don't mind hand grinding, you may want to look at the Kinu M47 Phoenix, which is the same price as the Breville Smart Grinder Pro and punches well above its weight class.

For medium and dark roasts, you may never need something better, but for light roasts you'll be spending over triple that to get something that does better: the Niche Zero

If you are using the pressurized portafilter with the Gaggia the grinder can give you beans freshly grinded, but the grind isn't that important in this type of pressurized baskets, and the grinder that you have can make the work, you need to go coarser than from espresso and the pressurized basket make the work to create pressure.

John, I have an old Gaggia Coffee Deluxe which I think is a step down the from the Classic? After sitting in storage for over a decade I pulled it out and have been having a lot of fun. Like you, I was on the hunt for a grinder on a tight budget. I ended up ordering a Eureka Mignon Manuale. It's the lowest priced Mignon with literally no bells or whistles which is fine for me. I wish it was a little quieter, but I'll settle for a solid set of burrs and what looks to be good build quality. (it arrives Friday from Italy, $280 all in). Perhaps it's on that might work for you as well.

Thank you all. I will certainly consider all the advice you have given.

John, if the budget is very very tight, and you want to grind at home, you could try a blade grinder. Hoffman has some 'hacks' to make a blade grinder produce more consistent grounds. It is obviously not typically recommended by coffee folks, but a budget is a budget! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y7d-5KWHCU

Hoffman also has a "playoff" between lower end hand grinders. You could check that out as well. I believe they are all going to be cheaper than, say, an Encore.

THANK YOU everyone. I haven't really considered a blade system or a hand grinder. to be honest I am not convinced either of those would really be any better than what I currently use. From the advice which you have all graciously given, The Breville seems like the best bet for the money at the moment.

Hand grinders can be exceptional. The Kinu bests many motor driven grinders. There are some hand grinders that are truly top end, like the Helor Flux or the HG-1.

You're getting more bang for your buck by putting all your money into an exceptional burr set instead of splitting it between burrs and a motor.