Hi,
I am going through the process of trying to find the next grinder to get. I am upgrading from a Breville smart grinder pro, while it is a good grinder for most things, espresso isn't it's best. I found the difference that a grinder has after upgrading to precision baskets, and bottomless portafilter.

I found my shots to be very inconsistent shot to shot. So after talking to others, we determined it has to be the grinder after eliminating everything else.

So now, I'm trying to find a grinder, and have read time and again, to get flat burrs, and get bigger burrs. Ok, all fine, it always comes at a price, I don't want to go over $1000 right now for the grinder, so what to get?

I have considered the Compak E5, while it would work, it is huge on the countertop. The Sette, I suppose would be ok, until it isn't .... I would rather get one that could work now, and be great 5 - 10 years from now if I needed it to be. No matter what machine I use.

The smart grinder will be used for pour over when I get a new grinder, which it does well.

Thanks,
Steve

No, big burrs are not always better. Big burrs are typically used in commercial grinders because they grind volumes of coffee faster. Many of these are really good grinders, being expensive commercial equipment intended for heavy use making money. But just having a big burr isn't what makes them great. It is entirely possible to make a really bad set of big burrs, or to build a grinder with insufficient mechanical design to support and align the burrs. A lot of times, to hit a price point, a grinder maker will use smaller burrs in cheaper grinders and thus, we get the association of small burr = not as good.

There are really great grinders with medium sized burr sets and some not so good ones with really big burrs. There are even some small burr grinders that do an exceptional job.

The Sette 270w is a surprisingly good grinder, with a small burr set. I have one and I'll agree, it does a really good job as an espresso grinder. I also have a Monolith Conical, which is an absolutely amazing grinder with a large conical burr. The Monolith is very sturdily built of big chunks of metal and has heavy bearings and motors in it. I suspect it will outlive me.

That's what I was wondering. I see these big burr grinders and thought well I guess maybe it's a better grinder, bigger burr, less time to grind.

What is a good medium size burr grinder for home use then, that will give a great shot?

Kind of where I'm at in my selection right now. I can go up to maybe $1000 for a new one, but do I need to go that high to have a great grinder for espresso? Can I get by with a $850 grinder? If so, which one? I looked at some that are known to be good brands, but most have dosers at that price range. Which everyone says would be a waste at home, and I can see why.

There are some more decisions you'll have to make before deciding.

Flat vs conical burrs. You should read on this site about the differences, before just taking someone's advice.

Electric vs Manual powered. If you're not averse to cranking a handle, you can get a little more bang for your buck.

Single dose vs Hopper fed. really a matter of workflow.

Dosered vs Doserless.

Space limitations? Noise limitations? Are you open to used gear?

I think flat burrs are what I am looking for, based on everything that I have read all over the place on this.
I can definitely go with a manual, I have no problem with that at all.
I like hopper fed actually, makes things a bit less complicated in the work flow.

The doser vs doserless, I'm not sure either way, I don't pull enough shots to actually get enough use out of a doser myself.
I am ok with used equipment also, just haven't run across any lately.
Space, yes, would like to have a narrow footprint, not too tall as it won't fit under 18" cabinet height. Noise, I don't want something really loud, would be a bit noisy where it sits if it were inherently loud to start with.

No you shouldn't choose your next grinder out from the information you can get from a tech sheet. Bigger burrs dos not necessarily mean it will grind more unimodal, nor that it will perform any better, it has for a long time been acknowledged that the Super Jolly sized burrs of the K30 where better than those found in traditional 83mm flat burr grinders like the Mazzer Major, the Vario/forte is another great example of a grinder with a smaller burrsset that can rival those with bigger burrs. So it's not just burrs size that matters, the design and quality of the burr plays an even more important part just like alignment dos.

Personally I would look at companies who has a reputation of delivering a respectable quality and who actually care somewhat about the burrs like Mahlkonig/Ditting, Ceado, Eureka and Baratza and if you have the cash for it Kafatek, Lyn Weber and Titus.

I would strongly advise against any traditional grinder companies like Mazzer, Compak, Fiorenzato and Quamar who uses cheap low quality burrs and has a horrible design that makes propper alignment difficult to achieve, with the exception of the huge and expensive Compak bulk grinders, these won't simply cut it with more demaning coffees, unless of course you drink very dark roasted coffee, then it doesn't really matter nearly as much.

Ok, that is good to know.
I have always wondered why the 64mm burrs were so popular, seems to be used everywhere.
I have considered Mahlkonig but price keeps me from those, as well as Lyn Weber, I have no idea on price for Monolith - Kafatek, but guessing it is around same price point as Lyn Weber. I haven't heard of Titus at all.
I considered Ceado was looking at E37J, Eureka nothing with a comparable burr in the price point. Also have heard too many accounts of large retention on the Eureka grinders, short of the Olympus and Zenith.

Which is why I would consider a used grinder also, I would love to get a Mahlkonig or similar used.

For under $1k espresso grinder, I'd go with the Sette270w (or whatever the current version with grind to weight is).

You just can't beat the bang for buck ratio on this one. It may not last forever, given the amount of plastic in the construction. But it delivers great results and the weigh per dose feature really ups the game. Pull your shots to weight rather than time or volume and up the game. If it breaks, you still have $500 to get another one.

Having owned and used plenty of conical and flat burr grinders, my $0.02 is that it is a bunch of internet BS which is "better". Either can do a great job of it.

I had thought of that also, I don't like how loud it is.
If I could get one used or cheap, maybe.
Also like you said it may not last a long time, but that is something that I am considering. If it craps out in 5 years, then I have to buy another grinder, I may not be in a position 5 years from now to be able to just go out and buy another one. That was why I was hoping to spend a bit more and not worry.

I was looking at the Eureka Zenith 65E and the Olympus 75E with the short hopper, I have heard nothing but praise for Eureka grinders.