marionyc wrote:Any thoughts on leaving Mignon Specalita turned on 24/7? I'm worried about burn-out on the LCD display. There's nothing about this subject in the manual or Eureka's FAQs. thankds

Seems entirely unnecessary to leave it on 24/7 since there's no warm-up needs. Just flick the switch... I've similarly debated between leaving my Specialita on a few hours vs. flicking off/on between shots. Comes down to what's more delicate, the LCD screen or the switch. But based on build quality, I think we're fine either way!

In other news, I'm a completely satisfied with my Specialita and love the simple workflow of the timed dosing and the portafilter rest with a filled hopper. Simplicity outweighs my drive for ultimate freshness right now. Opened up the burrs over the weekend, this thing is a tank!

For those interested, i gave my comments on sette vs specialita on this thread: Eureka Mignon vs. Baratza Sette

Exactly my findings, plus the mignon has a much better built and its way more silent.

Owning four grinders seems like very few around here to "talk from experience," but I love my Specialitá. I have great tasting espresso almost every shot, even the "off" ones.

what else have you owned and what can you say about those vs the mignon?

Well, I have no doubt that none of these would be considered to be in the same category as the Specialità. But, since you asked....

I "started" (I'm not even counting the blade grinder days) with a Baratza Encore. It really served me well as I cut my teeth on my Saeco Aroma and the pressurized PF, but after about a year I found cracks in in the inner housing that I have a strong feeling were due to a shoddy refurb job (bought it on Amazon - I will *never* do that again when it comes to grinders/machines). Next came the Rancilio Rocky (doserless) which is, of course, nice and sturdy and heavy. At this point I invested a new espresso machine and got some nice results here and there, but it was still *really* hard to dial in. It's also very clumpy, as many report. After replacing the burrs a few times I considered investing in SSP burrs, but then I tried to go the hand grinder route. I bought a really cheap one just to get the general idea. It actually wasn't so bad, but after several days the drugs wore off (jk) and I convinced the wife to let me invest in a new grinder. About a month later, Estella Luz (my name for my Specialtà) arrived and our passionate affair continues.

Hope that helps. I wish I lived somewhat close to a store like SCG where I could go in and try each grinder one-by-one. That would have greatly influenced my decisions.

caffeineme wrote:Please post back of what you hear from Eureka and results of after removing the anti-clump bar. TIA.

Funny you should mention Red Bird, as that's the one I've been using too. Also tried a coworker "light roast", same result.

I removed the anti clump bars or whatever were calling them. No help. Didn't see any clumping though.

I just received some George Howell Alchemy, grinding bit finer than 1 1/2, definitely retaining more than the Dragonfly Crema Dolce I was grinding dead center between 2 and 1 3/4.

Seems the finer you go the more it retains. Waiting to hear back from Andrea on the Eureka product team.

I may just bite the bullet and get a monolith flat when reporters come up.

Thanks for reporting back. I came to the conclusion that the Mignon, for me, isn't a single-dose grinder and just accept the fact to purge a few grams here and there. Much easier, kind of like my HX with temp surfing, i.e., accept as-is and enjoy the variations!

Good luck with the Mono!

100% for single dosing a purge required for first shot of the day.
I tried using the hopper with different amounts of beans and too many inconsistencies for me,
On the plus, it's a sturdy grinder, and made me realize what I wanted from an espresso grinder.
Waiting for preorders to open up for Monolith,

caffeineme wrote:Thanks for reporting back. I came to the conclusion that the Mignon, for me, isn't a single-dose grinder and just accept the fact to purge a few grams here and there. Much easier, kind of like my HX with temp surfing, i.e., accept as-is and enjoy the variations!

Good luck with the Mono!

After you let the coffee cake up inside, the in out is pretty good for and maybe off by 0.1g. As for single dosing, i do the same and am in the process of making something that will let me apply a downward pressure on the beans as the burrs eat them. You can use the hopper to do it by pausing the grind and closing the chute tab so the popcorning is reduced.

All in all in the price range i don't think any grinder is meant to single dose, besides the niche zero.