Found a video comparison of the Chestnut X to a Comandante C40. There are some parts of the video where they weigh the sifted out fines for different roasts. It's good but the C40 is still better. This makes me question the data on Kickstarter! From what I could understand with the rest of the video, it is a good grinder, no doubt. It grinds a bit slower as well. They did do a side by side brew with the C40 and the Timemore made a sweeter cup. It was also a brew by two different people which they acknowledge is no serious sensory comparison. I didn't understand the espresso portion anymore.

I personally just don't think it's going to be worth any more than a C40 unless you really dig the profile it makes. I already find the C40 overpriced as it is even I do respect the product and the company.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-MLpAoXNk

Also interesting, I found another site that shows that it originally had a retail value of 1399RMB or around $210 USD. This makes a lot more sense to me as you'd get a grinder that's better than their current offerings, brings in the best from their other designs, priced higher, performs well, but still cheaper than the C40 and M47. The 319 Euro retail price on their Kickstarter seems iffy to me. Maybe the unit in the video is pre-production and the final unit will be groundbreaking but as of now, it's just okay.

marcoffee wrote:Found a video comparison of the Chestnut X to a Comandante C40. There are some parts of the video where they weight the sifted out fines for different roasts. It's good but the C40 is still better. This makes me question the data on Kickstarter! From what I could understand with the rest of the video, it is a good grinder, no doubt. It grinds a bit slower as well. They did do a side by side brew with the C40 and the Timemore made a sweeter cup. It was also a brew by two different people which they acknowledge is no serious sensory comparison. I didn't understand the espresso portion anymore.

I personally just don't think it's going to be worth any more than a C40 unless you really dig the profile it makes. I already find the C40 overpriced as it is even I do respect the product and the company.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-MLpAoXNk

Also interesting, I found another site that shows that it originally had a retail value of 1399RMB or around $210 USD. This makes a lot more sense to me as you'd get a grinder that's better than their current offerings, brings in the best from their other designs, priced higher, performs well, but still cheaper than the C40 and M47. The 319 Euro retail price on their Kickstarter seems iffy to me. Maybe the unit in the video is pre-production and the final unit will be groundbreaking but as of now, it's just okay.

I think you opened my eyes... i cancelled my pledge... thanks for the info

Remember that that C40 made claims about providing the same grind distribution as "a famous large flat burr commercial grinder" too. They do technically claim the same particle distribution.

Also, Chinese goods in China are much cheaper than elsewhere. Based on everything I know about the grinder 220 EUR is probably a good price. It's probably not the deal of the year though.

Those are good points, but i considered

- The price doesn't sound too attractive
- There are questions about the material of the new burrs and the adjustment level can be even worse than current option (both you and me use a 1zpresso JX-Pro with 12.5 microns clicks, the chestnut x is 80microns in major dial and 15 in minor, that can be combined in some way)
- They do not answer all the questions of backers (if they do not give a nice support now, i do not expect a nice support later)
- Backing means waiting a lot and maybe pay taxes (which increase even more the price)

I may pay extra to support an innovative product, but looks like this really isn't, looks like it was already developed and they are just using crowdfunding as a store with less support (and they may finish selling it on espressogear that offers free shipping worldwide above 199eur) and the product at the end won't be a game changer, but another option more in the market, that may be even worse than overpriced options we cam go to store and buy right now for less money...

To preface this, I'm not a backer of the project so I have no interest in it beyond academic at the moment.

But if you're in Europe, it's probably worth it. Importing directly from China adds VAT and import taxes not to mention the unreliability of aliexpress shops. If you're buying from a European retailer, 1.5X price is common, VAT, import taxes, retailer cut... I believe the 319€ cited price includes all that. The 220€ price includes VAT, they are shipping from Sweden I believe.

The concerns about adjustability, if their 15 microns claim is to be believed, is pointless, adding/substracting a gram to your dose is more than enough to compensate. And if you're using a manual lever device..., to be frank, I've never felt the need to go beyond whole and half numbers on the JX pro.

Kickstarter is used as an additional tool for promotion and a financial device to make shouldering the cost of adding a production line to your factory easier, that's good enough for me, I'm mostly just considering the end product vs price. Though my point of vie is different, I would only consider backing what amounts to a glorified pre-order anyway, the "in-development" stuff is often too risky.

The good thing is that they already have grinder production lines and the existing Chestnut is pretty good, they probably aren't going to run into something like the Fellow Ode birthing issues.