LAGOM mini - Page 3

#21: Post by **ernvaz** » April 6th, 2021, 2:16 am

I had a question about the grinder; if it's stepless, why is it not capable of grinding for espresso? According to their website it's not capable of espresso and I'm curious why not? Maybe it's the motor limiting it but someone elaborate if you can

#22: Post by **dlowyr717** » April 6th, 2021, 5:14 am

Thank you for your insights!

#23: Post by **Peter_SVK** » April 6th, 2021, 5:25 am

ernvaz wrote:I had a question about the grinder; if it's stepless, why is it not capable of grinding for espresso? According to their website it's not capable of espresso and I'm curious why not? Maybe it's the motor limiting it but someone elaborate if you can

The most likely because the burrs are not designed for espresso grinding. The other reason could be the grinder can't be adjusted to grind fine enough for espresso (although stepless).

#24: Post by **jrham12** » April 6th, 2021, 7:39 am

ernvaz wrote:I had a question about the grinder; if it's stepless, why is it not capable of grinding for espresso? According to their website it's not capable of espresso and I'm curious why not? Maybe it's the motor limiting it but someone elaborate if you can

I believe it is the burr design that is the limiting factor. As I was dialing it in initially, I found the burr zero point and went about 1/2 a turn coarser as a starting point. However when I dropped a few beans in they just rolled around and it seemed the burrs just couldn't feed them in. I then went to about 1-1/2 turns of the dial and the beans fed in fine. The grind was a a bit too fine for V60 but not nearly fine enough for espresso.

I'll try to get some pictures posted this evening.
Josh

#25: Post by **msg** » April 6th, 2021, 10:47 am

Dialing it in...

#26: Post by **dlowyr717** » April 6th, 2021, 4:41 pm

The Mini finally arrived. The packaging was utilitarian but did accomplish the job. (Of note: The shipping box had been opened several times and taped close again, so any luxury packaging would likely have been compromised/destroyed during the shipping import/export process.)

Initial thoughts, the Mini is a solid unit that seems well constructed. It exceeds my expectations from a quality and design perspective. The hopper magnetic lid and grounds catcher integrate well into the unit. The fit and finish is tight, which is a nice continuation of quality design from Option-o, world renowned for the P64.

Below is a pic comparing relative grinder size of a Eureka Mignon Brew Pro vs Baratza Virtuoso vs Lagom Mini.

Regarding sound, a test was done against the above three grinders using a mobile app. So the accuracy is suspect/questionable/(laughable?), but it at least provides a relative measure. The microphone was placed in front of and facing the grinder at a distance of 12 inches / 30cm. The recorded levels were of the grinder running under no load. That is, motor only and no beans.

Baratza Virtuoso - 83 decibels
Eureka Mignon - 60 decibels
Lagom Mini - 60 decibels

While the Lagom and the Eureka are almost identical from a decibel perspective, the Eureka has a lower pitch and a more pleasant sound. The Lagom has a higher pitched sound that makes me wonder if there isn't a decent amount of step down gearing between the motor and the burr.

The wall wart is comparable in size to an Apple MacBook Air/Pro charger. If the Lagom Mini was intended/designed for a bit of portability, it would have been nice for the electrical connectors to fold such as the Apple charger.

Top is the Lagom Mini and bottom is an Apple 61 watt USB C charger.

Zero point on mine is 4.5-ish, but that is a nit which is well documented with the P64 as well. It is what it is, but my minor OCD...

So all of this is academic if the ground coffee particle size distribution is abysmal. Unfortunately, the only single origin coffee in my possession was roasted yesterday so it will be another couple days before any grinding and taste testing.

Hope this helps. Best regards.

#27: Post by **jrham12** » April 6th, 2021, 4:46 pm

dlowyr717 wrote:While the Lagom and the Eureka are almost identical from a decibel perspective, the Eureka has a lower pitch and a more pleasant sound. The Lagom has a higher pitched sound that makes me wonder if there isn't a decent amount of step down gearing between the motor and the burr.

Dwight,

When I had mine disassembled per authorization from Option-O, I found that the gearing is 1:1. Just one gear on the motor shaft and a matching gear on the burr shaft. Of course, I did not completely remove the motor; my surgery was from the top down. There may be an additional gear reduction built into the motor itself which I did not get into...

Josh

#28: Post by **dlowyr717** » April 6th, 2021, 5:47 pm

jrham12 wrote: There may be an additional gear reduction built into the motor itself which I did not get into...

Josh

Was the shaft from the motor off center? If so then gear reduction within the motor is possible.

April 7th, 2021, 9:30 pm

It was off-center with respect to the larger diameter top part of the housing where the burr shaft is centered, but I want to say it was centered with respect to the smaller diameter lower portion of the body... I didn't take any pictures showing that perspective.

#30: Post by **dlowyr717** » April 13th, 2021, 4:08 pm

ernvaz wrote:I had a question about the grinder; if it's stepless, why is it not capable of grinding for espresso? According to their website it's not capable of espresso and I'm curious why not? Maybe it's the motor limiting it but someone elaborate if you can

Is the Mini capable of grinding for espresso? Well, yes with some caveats. Just as was noted in a previous post, I also attempted to test grinding for espresso with the stock Mini burr set, but it wasn't great. Of note, the Lagom Mini uses the same burr set as the OPTION-O REMI hand grinder. The stock installed burr set in the Lagom Mini is the Conventional Burrs. If you search for "Option-O Contemporary TiN-coated burr set for REMI Hand Grinder", the results will point you to an espresso burr set. I purchased the Contemporary burr set and installed it in my Lagom Mini, after watching "how-to" videos for aligning burrs when replacing the REMI burrs. Long story short, using the Mini I am able to grind for espresso using the Contemporary TiN-coated burrs which create nice fluffy grounds. My setting is approximately +1.3 to +1.5 turns from zero point (depending on bean & roast level).

Caveats:
OPTION-O advises against replacing the burrs "as it may affect the factory-adjusted alignment".
The Lagom Mini was designed for coarse grind applications. So, grinding for espresso _may_ effect motor longevity.
If used for Espresso, cleaning will be required more often due to the design of the burrs & sweepers.
Warranty: Not certain, but pretty sure I just voided my warranty. However I like to tinker, so meh...