One of the most under the radar no advertising grinders: Versalab . I randomly saw a guy who posted a pic of his 15 year old versalab which is when I actually first learned it existed. Imagine given the current high end single dose market if he had advertised.

I've got a super jolly that must be at least 25 years old. It's a tank built for commercial use. I converted it to single dosing with a bopper and have both sets of HU SSP burrs in it.

It's not sexy but it makes good espresso and it feels indestructible - like it'll keep going for 100 years.

For a while I was using old Dienes and Zassenhaus hand grinders before I found HB: https://vintagecoffeegrinders.com/?p=info
Some of them can be quite pretty and still get the job done: https://www.old-coffee-grinders.com/dienes/

TigerStripes wrote:I've got a super jolly that must be at least 25 years old. It's a tank built for commercial use. I converted it to single dosing with a bopper and have both sets of HU SSP burrs in it.

It's not sexy but it makes good espresso and it feels indestructible - like it'll keep going for 100 years.

I second. The more plastic and wiring, the more components there are to fail. The early Mazzers are a motor with an on/off switch in durable housing, simple and fixable. Certainly their burr alignment is not the best, there's better grinders out there, but its never been the worst and they last forever. I love this topic: if there was a list of the 10 most important qualities to look for when sourcing a tool or equipment, durability is 1-9.

My La Cimbali Jr. grinder has been solid since I purchased it new about 15 years ago. It's a shame they don't seem to make them anymore. For the $600 or so dollars I paid for the machine back then, it has proven to be a great choice.
I have perhaps 2 issues with the machine :
#1. Adjusting the grind for anything not espresso is a chore, so I use it exclusively for the 4-6 shots I pull per day.
#2. Not retentionless as I have found stray beans inside the machine.

I found that a mini red cup works perfectly to feed beans directly to the burrs, and perhaps I'll 3-D print a more permanent solution one day. I am more motivated to do this after looking at prices of the current generation of single dose retentionless grinders available today! I really don't understand why these machines are so costly. Very limited production runs, and very few standard components used in the designs I suppose... still, those dollars I would rather put towards a significant espresso machine upgrade, and hang onto my trusty La Cimbali Jr.

I agree about wanting less plastic and wiring. I think regarding the new single dose grinders, prices have and will continue to come down as these kinds of grinders become more mainstream. When they do, I imagine those seeking the perfect grind will have moved onto something else. Meanwhile, one of these single dosers will have emerged as an oldie but a goodie and be dubbed a classic.