My disappointing experience with the Eureka Mignon Libra
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Espressofilo
My experience with this grinder is definitely chequered. As a possibly important piece of information, I specify that my only previous grinder was a Gaggia MDF, which I modified to make it stepless.
Let's start with the pros of this grinder: the grind-by-weight function, when put in the right conditions, actually works. This is no small feat considering that there is only another grinder, in this price region, which has this function (Baratza Sette 270 if memory serves). All other grinders grind either manually or "by time", or cost like a lawyer.
Access to the burrs is decently easy, one has to unscrew 5 screws and to take away the plastic badge with the logo. I fear the clips on this plastic badge might wear out with time though, if one cleans the burrs often, as he should.
The general impression is of solidity, the grinder is heavy and feels robust.
The grinding appears to be pretty uniform as far as grain dimension is concerned, but I have to verify further on this with different blends. It makes many "clogs" but that's due to atmospheric conditions I presume.
When one opens the grinder to clean the burrs and close it again, the zero position is not lost, that happens because the upper burr is the fixed one and the lower burr is the one which is moved by the regulating knob.
The cons are quite surprising for a grinder of this sizeable cost (€639 sent to me here in Rome, Italy) and I think they should be known before deciding for this purchase.
The first grinder which was sent to me - and was replaced free of cost by the seller - had two problems, the second problem might be a "feature", I don't know, see below. The first was definitely a manufacturing defect.
The weight function has a preliminary phase, when one inserts the portafiltro in the bracket the grinder tries to recognize the presence of a portafiltro and might answer with a "FH" message, which means "Filter Holder" and which requires extracting the portafiltro, waiting for a few seconds (let's say no less than 5 seconds, this is not stated in the manual, but believe me wait for some seconds) and then reinserting the filter holder. The problem with this function is that it is quite "choosy". I have an historical portafiltro (which came with the "Millennium" Gaggia Baby, with fixed spouts) and this was - with the first defective grinder - "refused" nine out of ten times, i.e. I would almost always get the FH message. I bought very quickly another portafiltro (a "bottomless" one, as I had none of this kind) and the same problem also identically happened with this second, new one.
So, I gave the grinder back by courier and it was recognized as defective. This should not have happened because those grinders are supposed to be tested one by one at the factory, and they even have a "100% tested" sticker on them. Imagine that, it was "100% tested" but it did not work properly as brand new.
The replacement grinder works better, but still not flawlessly: with the "historical" portafiltro it works well, as it is almost always recognized, in a way that is quite acceptable, the occasional FH messages are not disturbing. The newer portafiltro is never accepted though, it always causes the FH message to appear. I suppose this might be due to this second portafiltro being brand-new, and there might be some coating which interferes with the weight function (which I suppose being some sort of piezoelectric sorcery). Ceramic doesn't work as well. A funnel to be applied on top of the PF is quite useful as the coffee tends to fall on the other side of the PF when grinding 14 grams or more.
The second problem, which is shown by both the "defective" and the present grinder, is more serious because it makes you seriously think the grinder is broken: in my other Gaggia MDF grinder, and in this grinder according to one YouTube video and to basic logic, if one turns the knob all the way to the finest position, the knob should reach its end-of-run at 0 (zero) and that would be the position when the burrs touch - or, even if they don't touch, that would be the finest-grinding position.
With this grinder model, it is possible to turn the knob for more than one complete turn, actually for several turns. So if you start from 0, and you want to grind for let's say drip coffee, you must make e.g. two and a half complete turns of the knob. The knob will indicate "5" but in reality you are in position "25".
The disconcerting feature of both my Libra grinders, the first defective one and the one which was sent as a replacement, is that they just don't grind in the first couple of rounds of the knob. I mean that if one turns the knob until it stops turning, and then chooses any position below a certain position, let's say "25", when one tries to grind the grinder emits a "--" message and nothing happens, one only hears a faint electric "buzz".
One has to turn gradually the knob until one hears the burrs rotating and touching each others, with no coffee produced. This point was at around "20" with my previous defective grinder, and is at position "43" with the present "good-working" grinder (!). That means I have to turn the knob for four entire rotations and then for another 3/10 of a complete rotation just to find the position when the burrs touch each other! Useful grinding positions begin at 44 for espresso in my grinder, but they might begin somewhere else in yours. With my current blend, good results for espresso are obtained at 47 and 1/3. From a still not complete test, the good positions for a Moka grinding are at around 51-54, 57 being already too coarse. That obviously will vary when using another blend.
Another annoying feature is that, contrary to what happens with some grinders - such as my MDF Gaggia - with which one turns one burr with his own hands, and it is always possible to go from maximum coarse to maximum fine position in one go, because any coffee debris within the burrs is crashed by the action of the hands themselves, with this grinder - and possibly others - the regulation of the distance between the burrs is indirect, and there is no real force applied to the burrs that can break the coffee fragments which might have remained stuck between the burrs.
This means that, when passing from a coarse position to a finer position, the grinder can remain stuck (and believe me, it does! It will emit the "--" message and the buzz, and you will have to go to a coarser position again, grind a little bit, etc). That is even said in the instruction manual, that one must grind some coffee every two notches "at most" when changing the coarseness of the coffee powder.
Practically if you want to grind some coffee for your Moka, supposing this is at position 52, when you want to go back to your espresso position, supposing this being at 46, you must make "at least" two intermediate grindings at positions 50 and 48. If you are in the habit of switching often (maybe you like Moka in the morning and espresso at lunch, or you like espresso but your wife prefers Moka) that will make you waste some decent amount of time and coffee every day, besides the "purge" when you reach your destination position. If you alternate from French Press to Espresso every day, you will hate this grinder very fast!
This "feature" of having the "touching burrs" position very far from the 0 position is not described in the manual (!) and it's presumably a manufacturing defect which I had in both the Libra which I received.
In short:
PROs:
Heavy and presumably robust;
Grind-by-weight at a relatively affordable cost, at the moment it's a quasi-unique feature;
Generally described as having low retention, around 1 gram, but I cannot measure that;
CONs:
The first which was sent to me was defective;
The second is "choosy" regarding the filter holders he likes to work with;
The "touching burrs" position does NOT coincide with the zero position on the knob, but with a random position some complete knob rotations away. This can make the use of this grinder totally disconcerting until one gets where the problem is;
It is not possible to actuate wide changes in grain fineness for different extraction methods without making several intermediate grindings.
Would I advise this purchase to a friend? No, I wouldn't, too many manufacturing quirks. I asked the seller to enquiry with the maker on whether this rotating knob behaviour is "normal", and I will post here the answer*. In a couple of months I will update the review with the general impression on grinding quality for Moka and for Espresso, which appears good for now, if I except that my puck always remains too wet even with 14 grams, that might be due to the blend I am using, and that I have never used before.
* The seller answered that this grinder behaviour is normal, the "endlesslly turning knob". One wonders why on Earth the manufacturer doesn't explain this in the instruction manual. It's a very weird behaviour for a grinder IMO. One is obviously led to think that "0" is the finest position, not "3 after 4 complete rotations of the knob".
Let's start with the pros of this grinder: the grind-by-weight function, when put in the right conditions, actually works. This is no small feat considering that there is only another grinder, in this price region, which has this function (Baratza Sette 270 if memory serves). All other grinders grind either manually or "by time", or cost like a lawyer.
Access to the burrs is decently easy, one has to unscrew 5 screws and to take away the plastic badge with the logo. I fear the clips on this plastic badge might wear out with time though, if one cleans the burrs often, as he should.
The general impression is of solidity, the grinder is heavy and feels robust.
The grinding appears to be pretty uniform as far as grain dimension is concerned, but I have to verify further on this with different blends. It makes many "clogs" but that's due to atmospheric conditions I presume.
When one opens the grinder to clean the burrs and close it again, the zero position is not lost, that happens because the upper burr is the fixed one and the lower burr is the one which is moved by the regulating knob.
The cons are quite surprising for a grinder of this sizeable cost (€639 sent to me here in Rome, Italy) and I think they should be known before deciding for this purchase.
The first grinder which was sent to me - and was replaced free of cost by the seller - had two problems, the second problem might be a "feature", I don't know, see below. The first was definitely a manufacturing defect.
The weight function has a preliminary phase, when one inserts the portafiltro in the bracket the grinder tries to recognize the presence of a portafiltro and might answer with a "FH" message, which means "Filter Holder" and which requires extracting the portafiltro, waiting for a few seconds (let's say no less than 5 seconds, this is not stated in the manual, but believe me wait for some seconds) and then reinserting the filter holder. The problem with this function is that it is quite "choosy". I have an historical portafiltro (which came with the "Millennium" Gaggia Baby, with fixed spouts) and this was - with the first defective grinder - "refused" nine out of ten times, i.e. I would almost always get the FH message. I bought very quickly another portafiltro (a "bottomless" one, as I had none of this kind) and the same problem also identically happened with this second, new one.
So, I gave the grinder back by courier and it was recognized as defective. This should not have happened because those grinders are supposed to be tested one by one at the factory, and they even have a "100% tested" sticker on them. Imagine that, it was "100% tested" but it did not work properly as brand new.
The replacement grinder works better, but still not flawlessly: with the "historical" portafiltro it works well, as it is almost always recognized, in a way that is quite acceptable, the occasional FH messages are not disturbing. The newer portafiltro is never accepted though, it always causes the FH message to appear. I suppose this might be due to this second portafiltro being brand-new, and there might be some coating which interferes with the weight function (which I suppose being some sort of piezoelectric sorcery). Ceramic doesn't work as well. A funnel to be applied on top of the PF is quite useful as the coffee tends to fall on the other side of the PF when grinding 14 grams or more.
The second problem, which is shown by both the "defective" and the present grinder, is more serious because it makes you seriously think the grinder is broken: in my other Gaggia MDF grinder, and in this grinder according to one YouTube video and to basic logic, if one turns the knob all the way to the finest position, the knob should reach its end-of-run at 0 (zero) and that would be the position when the burrs touch - or, even if they don't touch, that would be the finest-grinding position.
With this grinder model, it is possible to turn the knob for more than one complete turn, actually for several turns. So if you start from 0, and you want to grind for let's say drip coffee, you must make e.g. two and a half complete turns of the knob. The knob will indicate "5" but in reality you are in position "25".
The disconcerting feature of both my Libra grinders, the first defective one and the one which was sent as a replacement, is that they just don't grind in the first couple of rounds of the knob. I mean that if one turns the knob until it stops turning, and then chooses any position below a certain position, let's say "25", when one tries to grind the grinder emits a "--" message and nothing happens, one only hears a faint electric "buzz".
One has to turn gradually the knob until one hears the burrs rotating and touching each others, with no coffee produced. This point was at around "20" with my previous defective grinder, and is at position "43" with the present "good-working" grinder (!). That means I have to turn the knob for four entire rotations and then for another 3/10 of a complete rotation just to find the position when the burrs touch each other! Useful grinding positions begin at 44 for espresso in my grinder, but they might begin somewhere else in yours. With my current blend, good results for espresso are obtained at 47 and 1/3. From a still not complete test, the good positions for a Moka grinding are at around 51-54, 57 being already too coarse. That obviously will vary when using another blend.
Another annoying feature is that, contrary to what happens with some grinders - such as my MDF Gaggia - with which one turns one burr with his own hands, and it is always possible to go from maximum coarse to maximum fine position in one go, because any coffee debris within the burrs is crashed by the action of the hands themselves, with this grinder - and possibly others - the regulation of the distance between the burrs is indirect, and there is no real force applied to the burrs that can break the coffee fragments which might have remained stuck between the burrs.
This means that, when passing from a coarse position to a finer position, the grinder can remain stuck (and believe me, it does! It will emit the "--" message and the buzz, and you will have to go to a coarser position again, grind a little bit, etc). That is even said in the instruction manual, that one must grind some coffee every two notches "at most" when changing the coarseness of the coffee powder.
Practically if you want to grind some coffee for your Moka, supposing this is at position 52, when you want to go back to your espresso position, supposing this being at 46, you must make "at least" two intermediate grindings at positions 50 and 48. If you are in the habit of switching often (maybe you like Moka in the morning and espresso at lunch, or you like espresso but your wife prefers Moka) that will make you waste some decent amount of time and coffee every day, besides the "purge" when you reach your destination position. If you alternate from French Press to Espresso every day, you will hate this grinder very fast!
This "feature" of having the "touching burrs" position very far from the 0 position is not described in the manual (!) and it's presumably a manufacturing defect which I had in both the Libra which I received.
In short:
PROs:
Heavy and presumably robust;
Grind-by-weight at a relatively affordable cost, at the moment it's a quasi-unique feature;
Generally described as having low retention, around 1 gram, but I cannot measure that;
CONs:
The first which was sent to me was defective;
The second is "choosy" regarding the filter holders he likes to work with;
The "touching burrs" position does NOT coincide with the zero position on the knob, but with a random position some complete knob rotations away. This can make the use of this grinder totally disconcerting until one gets where the problem is;
It is not possible to actuate wide changes in grain fineness for different extraction methods without making several intermediate grindings.
Would I advise this purchase to a friend? No, I wouldn't, too many manufacturing quirks. I asked the seller to enquiry with the maker on whether this rotating knob behaviour is "normal", and I will post here the answer*. In a couple of months I will update the review with the general impression on grinding quality for Moka and for Espresso, which appears good for now, if I except that my puck always remains too wet even with 14 grams, that might be due to the blend I am using, and that I have never used before.
* The seller answered that this grinder behaviour is normal, the "endlesslly turning knob". One wonders why on Earth the manufacturer doesn't explain this in the instruction manual. It's a very weird behaviour for a grinder IMO. One is obviously led to think that "0" is the finest position, not "3 after 4 complete rotations of the knob".
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guijan12
So you're disappointed in the grinder.
A pity!
Welcome to the forum.
Tell us something about yourself, please.
A pity!
Welcome to the forum.
Tell us something about yourself, please.
Regards,
Guido
Guido
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Espressofilo (original poster)
I fell in love with home espresso machines in 1993 while I was hosted by a friend near Parma. The cuisine was delicious, and yet I still remember how eagerly I awaited for the end-of-meal coffee. Must have been mad.
In 2000 I had my house all for myself and I immediately begun planning an espresso setting. I did not research much, if I had studied the question better I would have made different purchases.
My adventure in the espresso coffee world begun with a Baby Gaggia and a Gaggia MDF grinder. I still remember the first blend that I brewed was a Segafredo Zanetti "Intermezzo". The Gaggia MDF was the one with the distributor (big mistake). I had years of satisfaction from the duo, until I realized that a stepped grinder was not adequate for my needs. In particular, I never managed to get a decent cup out of the Illy coffee which was so delicious in certain bars.
After a bit of search, I found the instruction for the modification of the MDF to make it stepless and I applied the modification, it must have been some 10 years ago. It worked although I remember the burrs remained stuck for weeks (too much plumber teflon tape) and I could separate them only with great effort and many curses. That also made me feel uneasy in opening the MDF again, and I "cleaned" it with rice all the time until last January.
Last January I decided that it was high time that I opened my MDF and cleaned the inside burrs decently. I found everything between them, except dead mice or so. I cleaned the burrs with care and love, and when I reassembled the burrs, I managed to have them "stuck" again. Aarrggh. I decided I had to devote some money to a serious grinder that was easy to clean, that would give me today's coffee and not yesterday's, and that would last for decades. That's how I decided to buy the grinder described above.
I also love Moka coffee, and I like coffee made with a Napoletana, but I am basically an "espresso guy". I never dwelled into the world of drip coffee and French press because I also love tea and if I have to brew a 250 ml warm cup to cheer me up in winter, that's invariably tea. When I go hiking, I take my small Napoletana with myself, but I have just lost the upper part of the "filter", so next time in the mountain I will bring a small 1-cup Moka which I bought just recently (I normally hike alone, and if I go in a party of two, then my friend will bring his 2-cup moka).
This is not the end of my cuisine interest: I cook by myself (I am single), I like to occasionally produce home-made Sauerkrauts, home-made bread (now with a "bread machine", I am becoming lazy), I am a homebrewer and I am a home distiller, although it's two years I don't do beer or alcohol (too busy at the moment). I like doing things at home. I like everything with a complex aroma and a "world" to it: beer, wine, distillates, liqueurs, tea, coffee.
Coffee is probably the least investigated branch of cuisine knowledge in my life so far, but I am now beginning to dwell into it more deeply. I only recently - as you read - bought my first bottomless filter holder, which means I am just now "becoming serious about coffee"
I still have my Baby Gaggia which I use with satisfaction but I am now considering some tweaks here and there: a different "screen", a better filter, I have just ordered a calibrated (15 kg) tamper with the edge for levelling, a WDT tool (although I am not convinced just pressing doesn't do exactly the same job) and I am considering adding at least a thermometer to my Baby Gaggia. A PID modification seems at the moment too complicated considering that all schemes and guides I see refer to the slightly different Gaggia Classic.
If I had to buy an espresso machine now, it would certainly be a lever machine (such as La Pavoni, Elektra, or Flair 58 or a Cafelat Robot, in any case something that allows a variable extraction pressure).
I hope nobody (or this forum) will lure me into the home-roasting path because that would be another rabbit hole, and I have already too many of them in my life. I think the Baby modifications will be quite an interesting subject for a while.
In 2000 I had my house all for myself and I immediately begun planning an espresso setting. I did not research much, if I had studied the question better I would have made different purchases.
My adventure in the espresso coffee world begun with a Baby Gaggia and a Gaggia MDF grinder. I still remember the first blend that I brewed was a Segafredo Zanetti "Intermezzo". The Gaggia MDF was the one with the distributor (big mistake). I had years of satisfaction from the duo, until I realized that a stepped grinder was not adequate for my needs. In particular, I never managed to get a decent cup out of the Illy coffee which was so delicious in certain bars.
After a bit of search, I found the instruction for the modification of the MDF to make it stepless and I applied the modification, it must have been some 10 years ago. It worked although I remember the burrs remained stuck for weeks (too much plumber teflon tape) and I could separate them only with great effort and many curses. That also made me feel uneasy in opening the MDF again, and I "cleaned" it with rice all the time until last January.
Last January I decided that it was high time that I opened my MDF and cleaned the inside burrs decently. I found everything between them, except dead mice or so. I cleaned the burrs with care and love, and when I reassembled the burrs, I managed to have them "stuck" again. Aarrggh. I decided I had to devote some money to a serious grinder that was easy to clean, that would give me today's coffee and not yesterday's, and that would last for decades. That's how I decided to buy the grinder described above.
I also love Moka coffee, and I like coffee made with a Napoletana, but I am basically an "espresso guy". I never dwelled into the world of drip coffee and French press because I also love tea and if I have to brew a 250 ml warm cup to cheer me up in winter, that's invariably tea. When I go hiking, I take my small Napoletana with myself, but I have just lost the upper part of the "filter", so next time in the mountain I will bring a small 1-cup Moka which I bought just recently (I normally hike alone, and if I go in a party of two, then my friend will bring his 2-cup moka).
This is not the end of my cuisine interest: I cook by myself (I am single), I like to occasionally produce home-made Sauerkrauts, home-made bread (now with a "bread machine", I am becoming lazy), I am a homebrewer and I am a home distiller, although it's two years I don't do beer or alcohol (too busy at the moment). I like doing things at home. I like everything with a complex aroma and a "world" to it: beer, wine, distillates, liqueurs, tea, coffee.
Coffee is probably the least investigated branch of cuisine knowledge in my life so far, but I am now beginning to dwell into it more deeply. I only recently - as you read - bought my first bottomless filter holder, which means I am just now "becoming serious about coffee"
I still have my Baby Gaggia which I use with satisfaction but I am now considering some tweaks here and there: a different "screen", a better filter, I have just ordered a calibrated (15 kg) tamper with the edge for levelling, a WDT tool (although I am not convinced just pressing doesn't do exactly the same job) and I am considering adding at least a thermometer to my Baby Gaggia. A PID modification seems at the moment too complicated considering that all schemes and guides I see refer to the slightly different Gaggia Classic.
If I had to buy an espresso machine now, it would certainly be a lever machine (such as La Pavoni, Elektra, or Flair 58 or a Cafelat Robot, in any case something that allows a variable extraction pressure).
I hope nobody (or this forum) will lure me into the home-roasting path because that would be another rabbit hole, and I have already too many of them in my life. I think the Baby modifications will be quite an interesting subject for a while.
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mycatsnameisbernie
I own a Eureka Mignon Specialita which is similar to the Libra but omits the grind-by-weight function. When I did my research before purchasing the grinder, it was apparent to me that all of the Eureka Mignon series grinders have two of the issues you describe:
I'm sorry that you didn't know about these issues before purchasing your grinder. Thank you for providing your feedback.
- Multiple turns of the dial are required to change grind size between filter and espresso, and when changing the grind dial back to espresso it is difficult to get it back to its exact previous position. For these reasons, many people recommend that the Mignons be used for espresso only. One exception is the Eureka Mignon Perfetto, which goes between filter and espresso in less than a single turn of the grind dial.
- The grind dial is applied at the factory in a random position, so "0" on the grind dial is not the true zero point. You have to find your true zero point by listing for the burrs to chirp.
I'm sorry that you didn't know about these issues before purchasing your grinder. Thank you for providing your feedback.
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Emoto
Is there a way to calibrate the burrs so that the knob will be at (or near) zero when the burrs touch, or is one stuck forever with the random location?mycatsnameisbernie wrote:I own a Eureka Mignon Specialita which is similar to the Libra but omits the grind-by-weight function. When I did my research before purchasing the grinder, it was apparent to me that all of the Eureka Mignon series grinders have two of the issues you describe:
- Multiple turns of the dial are required to change grind size between filter and espresso, and when changing the grind dial back to espresso it is difficult to get it back to its exact previous position. For these reasons, many people recommend that the Mignons be used for espresso only. One exception is the Eureka Mignon Perfetto, which goes between filter and espresso in less than a single turn of the grind dial.
Knowing about these issues in advance was a big help to me. I love my Specialita and would highly recommend it for espresso only, since the zero point issue is easily worked around.
- The grind dial is applied at the factory in a random position, so "0" on the grind dial is not the true zero point. You have to find your true zero point by listing for the burrs to chirp.
I'm sorry that you didn't know about these issues before purchasing your grinder. Thank you for providing your feedback.
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mycatsnameisbernie
I'm not aware of any way to recalibrate the adjustment knob. There are 3rd party knobs available on Etsy and other sources that fit over the stock knob, and can be positioned so that "0" is at true zero.
In practice, it's not really a problem. I've had my Specialita for 3 years and got used to it. My espresso range is usually around (not true) zero + or - a half number.
In practice, it's not really a problem. I've had my Specialita for 3 years and got used to it. My espresso range is usually around (not true) zero + or - a half number.
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guijan12
I believe the grinders are not made for fast changes.mycatsnameisbernie wrote:I own a Eureka Mignon Specialita which is similar to the Libra but omits the grind-by-weight function. When I did my research before purchasing the grinder, it was apparent to me that all of the Eureka Mignon series grinders have two of the issues you describe:
- Multiple turns of the dial are required to change grind size between filter and espresso, and when changing the grind dial back to espresso it is difficult to get it back to its exact previous position. For these reasons, many people recommend that the Mignons be used for espresso only. One exception is the Eureka Mignon Perfetto, which goes between filter and espresso in less than a single turn of the grind dial.
Knowing about these issues in advance was a big help to me. I love my Specialita and would highly recommend it for espresso only, since the zero point issue is easily worked around.
- The grind dial is applied at the factory in a random position, so "0" on the grind dial is not the true zero point. You have to find your true zero point by listing for the burrs to chirp.
I'm sorry that you didn't know about these issues before purchasing your grinder. Thank you for providing your feedback.
Therefore I use my Eureka Atom for espresso and AeroPress only, and I have a Kinu handgrinder for pour over, etc.
it's a pity you were not aware of this.
Nice coffee history btw.
Regards,
Guido
Guido
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Busski
I Just received my libra from Clive coffee this morning and am having similar issues with the filter holder "FH" error message on my Clive coffee 53mm bottomless portafilter used on my mini Vivaldi II.
If I adjust with a little more space for the portafilter in the filter holder, it will start grinding, but as the PF is not level it causes grind waste out the sides and the weight measurement is highly inconsistent (12-20g (measured with a separate scale) on an 18g set dose.
I've also tried with the original single and double portafilters that came with the mini Vivaldi and have gotten the FH message intermittently.
Using the included dosing funnel is not an option as it comes with a 58mm funnel that doesn't work with the 53mm PF.
Overall, Quite frustrating as I purchased from Clive and they have historically been great about testing and validating equipment they sell.
If I adjust with a little more space for the portafilter in the filter holder, it will start grinding, but as the PF is not level it causes grind waste out the sides and the weight measurement is highly inconsistent (12-20g (measured with a separate scale) on an 18g set dose.
I've also tried with the original single and double portafilters that came with the mini Vivaldi and have gotten the FH message intermittently.
Using the included dosing funnel is not an option as it comes with a 58mm funnel that doesn't work with the 53mm PF.
Overall, Quite frustrating as I purchased from Clive and they have historically been great about testing and validating equipment they sell.
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boren
I had a chance to try the Libra and it also displayed the FH error a few times. That was back in December. I would hope they'd fix it by now with a firmware update.
Compared with my Sette 270Wi the pros of the Libra are that it's quieter, has nicer build quality and is easier to adjust portafilter height. The cons are that it's messier (especially without the funnel), produces more clumps, not suitable for single dosing and is more difficult to change between grind settings repeatedly. Admittedly I never use the Sette for filter coffee, but switching between grind levels of different beans for espresso (or when switching between baskets) is very easy. I just need to remember to write down the settings.
All in all, it's great to see a company like Eureka join the the affordable weight-based grinder market, but there's not enough there to make me want to upgrade from the Sette. If anything, the ZF64W still seems like a more appealing flat-burr weight-based grinder (except for that huge hopper).
Compared with my Sette 270Wi the pros of the Libra are that it's quieter, has nicer build quality and is easier to adjust portafilter height. The cons are that it's messier (especially without the funnel), produces more clumps, not suitable for single dosing and is more difficult to change between grind settings repeatedly. Admittedly I never use the Sette for filter coffee, but switching between grind levels of different beans for espresso (or when switching between baskets) is very easy. I just need to remember to write down the settings.
All in all, it's great to see a company like Eureka join the the affordable weight-based grinder market, but there's not enough there to make me want to upgrade from the Sette. If anything, the ZF64W still seems like a more appealing flat-burr weight-based grinder (except for that huge hopper).
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LightZone
I purchased a Libra from Clive Coffee and have been using it for about a week now. It replaced a Mazzer Super Jolly grinder that I had been using for the past 10 years (about 2 years ago modified for single dose grinding).
When I received the Libra I immediately set out to find the true zero point by starting the grinder and adjusting the knob finer until the burrs chirped. No, the knob did not read zero. I then backed it off 2 numbers, not rotations, but numbers. I pulled my first shot. It was surprisingly close to being correct for my recipe of 18gr in with 40 gr. our. I adjusted it a bit finer and voila! I had never dialed in a grinder/coffee so easily before.
I did get the dreaded FH in my display a few times at the very beginning, before I found the right technique (for me) of inserting my 58mm bottomless portafilter, with dosing funnel pre installed straight onto the portafilter holder. No lifting, no twisting no adjusting. Just straight in, pause a second and hit grind. It has worked flawlessly ever since, for both me and my much less forgiving wife.
This grinder with its precise grind by weight feature (which I did recalibrate, it was .3 grams off) and very quiet db rating is a very welcome change to our morning espresso workflow.
My only complaint about the Eureka Libra is the bean hopper lid. It is somewhat finicky to get on and off because of its very tight tolerances but what bothers me even more is the ugly dimple right in the center from the manufacturing process. It looks cheap compared to the rest of the grinder. I also wish it was black instead of clear plastic.
When I received the Libra I immediately set out to find the true zero point by starting the grinder and adjusting the knob finer until the burrs chirped. No, the knob did not read zero. I then backed it off 2 numbers, not rotations, but numbers. I pulled my first shot. It was surprisingly close to being correct for my recipe of 18gr in with 40 gr. our. I adjusted it a bit finer and voila! I had never dialed in a grinder/coffee so easily before.
I did get the dreaded FH in my display a few times at the very beginning, before I found the right technique (for me) of inserting my 58mm bottomless portafilter, with dosing funnel pre installed straight onto the portafilter holder. No lifting, no twisting no adjusting. Just straight in, pause a second and hit grind. It has worked flawlessly ever since, for both me and my much less forgiving wife.
This grinder with its precise grind by weight feature (which I did recalibrate, it was .3 grams off) and very quiet db rating is a very welcome change to our morning espresso workflow.
My only complaint about the Eureka Libra is the bean hopper lid. It is somewhat finicky to get on and off because of its very tight tolerances but what bothers me even more is the ugly dimple right in the center from the manufacturing process. It looks cheap compared to the rest of the grinder. I also wish it was black instead of clear plastic.
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