I just saw this video about the Eureka Mignon Libra, which will apparently be released this fall:

For those who do not single dose, it seems like having the grinder dose by weight would be a significant simplification of the workflow. (I.e. currently I dose by time, weigh, add or subtract a bit, weigh again, etc.)

Some folks on this forum do not seem super sanguine about the dose by weight feature, while others seem to love their Sette 270Wi machines. Either way, I find it curious that nobody has mentioned the new Mignon Libra on HB, as far as I can tell. I am seriously considering buying one because of the workflow improvement. Am I missing something?

Thanks!

Yet another 55 mm Eureka grinder isn't earth shattering. They tend to have relatively high retention (often in grams) and relatively uninspiring burrs.

At the 600€ or $700 prices I'm seeing, it is more expensive than the Baratza Vario W+. Baratza generally has good burrs, especially for classic espresso. I believe the W+ now comes with steel burrs. Well aligned, they probably do a good job with more modern espresso as well.

If you want a GoD Eureka, I'd look at the Atom 75 which has Mythos-like burrs.

See, for example, Lucca Atom 75 Espresso Grinder Review

I don't really see why they felt the need to make a grind by weight, since their on demand grinders are pretty much there by time already. Probably just trying to grow bigger yet.

Weight of ground is the important data, not time. Time is measured only to give an estimation of weight, and it will vary with beans, humidity, grind adjustment etc...

Figure out a way to vacuum seal the hopper like an Airscape when not in use, tint it, add grind by weight and you could largely eliminate single dosing for many users who want a simpler, faster work flow when they can barely think or see straight in the morning.

Kaffee Bitte wrote:I don't really see why they felt the need to make a grind by weight, since their on demand grinders are pretty much there by time already. Probably just trying to grow bigger yet.

Maybe this is not an issue on the Eureka grinders because the interface is user-friendly, but on my current grinder (Ceado E6P), it's a PITA to adjust the timer. So grind-by-time is maybe a close enough proxy for grind-by-weight, once the timer is correctly set for a given bean. But put in a new batch of beans and it's back to trial and error with the timer. My thinking is that grind-by-weight will eliminate all that fussing around and simplify my workflow considerably.

I haven't used any ceado at all. But yeah the eureka grinders I have used in shops were all so close by time for the desired weight that weighing was more time than worth it. And found them simple to change on the fly though rarely do except at opening.
Having worked in shops for so long I just can't get into the single dose workflow of weighing everything. So used to just doing the prep and pulling I am bent that way now. Only worked in one place that made us weigh everything and log it. It was the slowest coffee shop I have ever worked in. So much wasted time, and the owner didn't really know what to do with the data to improve anything. He was just penny pinching from what I saw. Micromanagement.

But yeah the eureka grinders I have used in shops were all so close by time for the desired weight that weighing was more time than worth it. And found them simple to change on the fly though rarely do except at opening.

That's really interesting because as a home user I've found that the difference in density between a light roast and a dark one can be significant so that a much smaller amount of light roast beans can weigh 18 grams for an espresso dose. I would think a timed grinder would throw that measurement off if you switched beans as the bean feed rate would be the same while the bean density would be different. Also my impression was that a full hopper has a different feed rate than a nearly empty one, again increasing the likelihood of weights of timed doses to be off.

Generally in shops you are not changing out beans. Each grinder has its own blend or SO for the day. You dial in at start, and check your timing occasionally but usually initial dial in rolls all day unless a storm comes through. Also the grinders generally have 1 to 2 kilo hoppers generally you fill it at start with partial load and add as needed when it is low. If you add before it is too low you will always be getting your dialed in dose.

I have seen a few shops that offer SOs as espresso, they usually have more grinders on the counter, each with it's dialed in SO.

Single dosing would slow everything down considerably

Good point. Sounds like if you're using the same bean, you probably don't need to weigh doses, but if you're switching beans a lot, you might.