Westchester wrote:You can definitely do that, but if you really only need something short term, I'd recommend the Eureka Mignon Specialita, from the same source as mentioned above. It's $200+ cheaper than the Eureka XL and still a great grinder. And if you are worried about buying from overseas and warranty concerns (fair points, but mine came in three days from Italy to New York), some of the other Eureka grinders should hold you over.

I just looked at this site and once they sock you with the 22% fee for US purchase, plus another big fee for 110 volt, it is certainly not cheaper than ordering from WLL. Perhaps I'm not doing it right though..

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blutch wrote:Why from that source and not one of the US vendors? I looked at it, but realized it was in the UK and didn't go any further.

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It's actually out of Italy. Significant savings over US vendors, but you need to make sure you get the 110v option.

blutch wrote:I just looked at this site and once they sock you with the 22% fee for US purchase, plus another big fee for 110 volt, it is certainly not cheaper than ordering from WLL. Perhaps I'm not doing it right though..

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So, at least when I bought mine, there were two 110v options. One is a "US version", and the other is the exact same 110v but it doesn't say "US"- and that's the one you want. It ended up saving me a fair bit over US dealers, even after intl. shipping and fees.

Westchester wrote:It's actually out of Italy. Significant savings over US vendors, but you need to make sure you get the 110v option.

Ooops.. my bad.. when it is all said and done, they want 689 Euros for the 110 volt Specialita in black shipped to the US. I don't get how that's better than WLL or Seattle Coffee which are both at $700. Am I missing something?

Just PM'ed you.

blutch wrote:I just looked at this site and once they sock you with the 22% fee for US purchase, plus another big fee for 110 volt, it is certainly not cheaper than ordering from WLL. Perhaps I'm not doing it right though..

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Turns out I wasn't doing it right. It is a much better deal! Thanks!

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OP, have you checked out the G-IOTA thread?

I think that's the same grinder as OP has on order, just under a different name:)

Eureka Mignon Crono is less than 300 USD. You can buy a hooper and blower for single dosing for around 50~60 usd.
Baratza Vario as mentioned by another is a great one, too. It has flat ceramic burr. You can change the burr to steel and use it also for pour overs.
Hyper aligning seems to be easy, as mentioned in other threads. Even if you do not do the hyper alignment, I am sure it will be excellent grinder out of the box. Check The Alicorn: Achieving Precision Alignment with the Baratza Forté/Vario

Baratza occasionally offers refurbished ones. I checked myself a couple of days ago and the Vario W was on sale for 400 USD with one year guarantee. It is gone now.

Thank you for the suggestions! Do you have a link for buying the Mignon hopper and blower? I assume that would also work on the Specialita?

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