I got home from work today expecting to have a big box in the kitchen. No luck, it was still on the UPS delivery truck. While I am upstairs changing I hear the dog bark, I grin ear to ear. A few moments later the wife calls out 'you have a delivery, what did you get?' to which I reply 'cups!'. An awkward moment of silence, aaa, this is not a box of cups??!!. I am grinning so hard my face is going to break.

So I come down stairs and there it sits on the kitchen table. A BIG box, so I meander over, give it a look. Hmm, man, they did it again! I have to quit ordering cups from Chris Coffee. Every time I order cups they send me a grinder! I got my Mazzer from him not quite a year ago and used the same line.

Thankfully she got a chuckle out of it and none of my blood was spilled.

This guy is hefty. It outweighs my Mazzer by several pounds. It is about the same size as my Mini. That squat bean hopper is deceiving, it holds a good pound of beans. It may be a little bigger than the hopper on the Mini P. It feels like there is more packed into smaller package than the MM.





I hook it all up and grind my first shot. The Cimbali has larger burrs than the Mini so I was expecting it to fly through the dose. I was somewhat disappointed in the grind speed. The grinder was still set on 2, which is where it was out of the box. So I start my level. The grinds feel finer than I am use to. Upon closer inspection, that was more a Turkish grind, power like, now I am impressed. A couple of grinds later, I have it dialed in. Noticeably faster grind than my Mini and a pretty good shot.

So I guess this means I have officially gone over the edge and there is no turning back at this point. A lever machine, Cimbali Jr and a two group commercial machine in the kitchen. I should probably seek professional help...

I love my cimbali, I got an outrageous deal on it from chris' it was only $375, it was a return with the finger guard cut out of the doser, I really like the on off switch, I like the positioning and the doser is really clean with no mods! I did find the tamp to be a little obtrusive when it came to removing my portafilter after dosing, but all you need to do is take it off! I think more people should look into the Cimbali, I seem to think it's under rated.

I have already removed the tamper on the front and I think the finger guard will be next. Not being able to sweep out the grind shoot is annoying. Thanks to Chris and the HB birthday special, I got it for 395, brand-spanking new.

I really like the micro grind adjustment. It only gets used for espresso so having rapid wide adjustments, like the Mazzer adjustment ring, is not needed. It grinds faster and quieter than my Mazzer. I was surprised at the inertia that the larger burrs carry. With no load, the burrs take several more seconds to spin down vs. the Mini.

My first few hours' impression of the grinder; I think the Mazzer has a more solid feel but that is probably due to the large, solid aluminum case vs. the Cimbali's stainless shell. However, the Cimbali appears to be easier to work on because you can remove the shell from the frame. With a Mazzer, you have to drop the guts out of the housing.

I have not looked at the burr carriers so I do not know how difficult it would be to change the burrs in the Cimbali; the Mazzer is incredibly easy to change. But given the duty cycle of the Cimbali, it will be years before I have to replace them. The Cimbali also appears to not throw the grinds as far to the left as my Mazzer does when whacking the doser. I also like the push button power switch located in the front of the machine just under the doser lever. That way you can push the power button with your thumb while dosing.

Cimbali Jr verses the Mazzer Mini, the Cimbali defiantly seems more full time business and the Mini more of a backup production grinder. The larger burrs, automatic doser fill and doser counter help emphasize that point. I am sure both grinders will serve me well for a lifetime. The Mini is going to support my Isomac at my office and my Gaggia MDF will go up for sale.

cannonfodder wrote:I have already removed the tamper on the front and I think the finger guard will be next. Not being able to sweep out the grind shoot is annoying. Thanks to Chris and the HB birthday special, I got it for 395, brand-spanking new.

It's a great grinder. Far be it from me to dissuade you from "modding" something you have already bought, but be advised that you can easily clean out the chute with a chop stix, coming in from the sides of the finger guards. The next time you eat in an Asian restaurant, ask for another free pair of disposable chopstix and you will be set for life.

ken

I used a dremel to cut the finger guard off of my Junior but it probably wasn't necessary. I just grind a couple of grams of coffee and dump them, if the grinder has been sitting for awhile.

Bob

The chop stick is an interesting idea. I am currently using a long bristle brush. It is about the diameter of a pencil. I was thinking of something with a 45 degree bend so I could work from either side of the doser.

I am using a combination of both yours and Bob's idea. I have been cleaning out the chute with the brush and then giving it a two second pulse to clean out any remaining grounds.

It may still meet my Dremel at a later date. I do not believe I have one piece of equipment that has not been modified to some extent. I even returned the handle on my generic tamper to better fit my hand. My HB tamper may be the only unmodified device that I have.

Any other words of wisdom as to any specific quirks the grinder has will be appreciated.

I don't know of any quirks per se.

You're really going to like the worm gear grind adjustment though. It is capable of minute adjustments. You can easily play games with your grind and brew times. For example, if you have adjusted the grind for a 25 second 2 oz double and you want to see how a 25 sec 1.75 oz shot will change the taste, you can. This is very useful for a home roaster, who might want to explore different extraction times for different degrees of roast.

Bob

You dog!! You live a couple states closer to you get yours a day earlier. I'm supposed to get mine tomorrow and can't wait.

Continued good luck with yours.

John

cannonfodder wrote:Any other words of wisdom as to any specific quirks the grinder has will be appreciated.

The only little quirk I can think of is in the path from the hopper to the burrs. If you look down there you will see there is a slight "shelf" that the beans can get caught up on. It may be more of an annoyance for folks that load up only enough beans for each shot in the hopper. I know some folks slip an appropriately sized tube in the hopper throat to try to eliminate this possible detour for the beans.

If, for some reason, your wife drops a veto or some other ultimatum and you need to makeup by getting rid of something, I'll make a sacrifice for a coffee friend and buy that Cimbali for what you paid.



Chris