New Comandante MK4 grinder - Page 3

September 6th, 2021, 11:48 am

Hmm... I love my Comandante... One of my first specialty coffee purchases. 100% daily use for a few years now, no issues, wonderful to use, never became a hassle (luckily I don't need to grind 30g+ often), and ITC the quality is simply amazing.

I'm not sure I'll feel the need to sell and upgrade but it's nice to see them doing some work still.

#22: Post by **Yan** » September 23rd, 2021, 7:05 am

The reason they keep the Burr Geometry, capture from IG.

September 24th, 2021, 9:22 pm

What is the coating on the Comandantes that aren't with wood veneer?

#24: Post by **jbviau** » September 24th, 2021, 10:05 pm

It's a powder coat.

#25: Post by **nyzt_98** » September 25th, 2021, 11:42 am

Make sure your retailer is verifying they are shipping the MK4.

Comandante didn't make it easy to differentiate MK4 and MK3 on the box - they use the same bar code even.

I got an MK3 shipped twice instead of MK4 and had to return

September 25th, 2021, 3:38 pm

How is the powder coat durability versus wood veneer? I think I'd be fine with a powder coat but it wouldn't feel like a Comandante to me without wood... Plus I do like some of the powder colors.

#27: Post by **Brien** » November 19th, 2021, 7:31 pm

I would be tempted to upgrade for the new opening alone... I get beans stuck in there all the time (but now pour them in to avoid and helps 95% of the time).

...but the new $360 MSRP (at least at many of the US stores) is just insane. You can buy 3 or 4 1zpresso's for that, or 2 Kinus.

#28: Post by **Yan** » November 19th, 2021, 7:57 pm

I weigh the beans (12gr - 40gr dose) with the Jar and put the grinder/hopper upside down closing the Jar rotate and shake to drop all the beans from jar to hopper and never had experience the beans stuck...

#29: Post by **rennix** » January 12th, 2022, 11:50 am

The grind is excellent in comparison, but you really need the Red Clix mod to fine tune so I ordered that within a day.

Unfortunately, the red clix comes with no instructions on how to install and you have to rely on a poorly made YouTube video. I put a washer on the wrong side of a retainer so when dialing back to zero caused the adjustment knob to seize up entirely. I finally got it loose but didn't yet know the washer was the cause. I loaded some beans by flipping the jar over into the chamber using the upside down trick. Of course this means the washer came loose into the bean jar, then into tye chamber to be ground...and it was. It took me a bit to wonder why the burrs were sticking occasionally it I found the washer all banged up as well as some damaged to the burrs.

Immediately I went online and found I was not the first to do this, given the poor instructions supplied by Comandante. I brought to their attention via email and they offered a new washer and then ignored my response where I explained the poor documentation and that others have had the same issue.

I had to email again because Support chose to ignore me entirely. Their response was defensive blaming me for being distracted and that they have positive comments from customers about their product. Okay, yes. I like the product as well...but their response was very disappointing.

Since that dead end I noticed on Instagram if anyone gives them a critical comment on social media they simply delete it and block it! I know, because they deleted mine immediately for simply saying their service needed some work.

All this is to say - it's a great grinder but their service and attitude towards customers is abhorrent.

January 12th, 2022, 12:00 pm

rennix wrote:I bought a Comandante to replace my Monolith Max, which was entirely unsuitable for filter grinding (despite what owner may say or imply). The grind is excellent in comparison, but you really need the Red Clix mod to fine tune so I ordered that within a day.

Unfortunately, the red clix comes with no instructions on how to install and you have to rely on a poorly made YouTube video. I put a washer on the wrong side of a retainer so when dialing back to zero caused the adjustment knob to seize up entirely. I finally got it loose but didn't yet know the washer was the cause. I loaded some beans by flipping the jar over into the chamber using the upside down trick. Of course this means the washer came loose into the bean jar, then into tye chamber to be ground...and it was. It took me a bit to wonder why the burrs were sticking occasionally it I found the washer all banged up as well as some damaged to the burrs.

Immediately I went online and found I was not the first to do this, given the poor instructions supplied by Comandante. I brought to their attention via email and they offered a new washer and then ignored my response where I explained the poor documentation and that others have had the same issue.

I had to email again because Support chose to ignore me entirely. Their response was defensive blaming me for being distracted and that they have positive comments from customers about their product. Okay, yes. I like the product as well...but their response was very disappointing.

Since that dead end I noticed on Instagram if anyone gives them a critical comment on social media they simply delete it and block it! I know, because they deleted mine immediately for simply saying their service needed some work.

All this is to say - it's a great grinder but their service and attitude towards customers is abhorrent.

My experiences are at the opposite end of the spectrum. I reached out to them because the magnet in the handle came loose. I asked them for a recommendation for glue to glue the magnet back in. My grinder was a few years old. They asked me for my address to send me a replacement instead acknowledging that they had issues with the glue at some point in the distant past