Sounds like I am wrong about Mazzer burrs. Mazzer only makes grinders (unless I'm missing something) so perhaps they have reached the conclusion that it makes more sense to charge a bit more but not too much more for their own branded burrs than the knockoffs can be found for. Missing in this comparison is the price for the knockoff burrs, which if half the price of the Mazzers might still deserve interest.

Mazzer might actually make the burrs themselves (unlike Cimbali) since they are a dedicated grinder maker, and may be the exception in this case, that proves the rule.

ken

From the CC website:

All of the parts you see are factory original, we buy directly from the manufacturers.

I'm sure knockoffs exist, I just haven't seen them. BTW, Cimbali Junior burrs are listed for $50.

Ken Fox wrote:Mazzer might actually make the burrs themselves (unlike Cimbali) since they are a dedicated grinder maker, and may be the exception in this case, that proves the rule.

I wonder if reality is 'more complicated.' I would be surprised if Mazzer makes their own burrs for a grinder like the Mini or the Super Jolly, which use very standard sized flat burrs. On the other hand, Mazzer's conical burrs seem to be an odd size among manufactures--63 mm for the Kony, 71 for the 110V Robur, and 83 for the 220V Robur. I certainly haven't heard of any other manufacturer that uses these sizes--AFAIK, most of the other conicals are 68 mm, though I believe that Macap has a 63 mm conical as well, so who knows?

I believe Mazzer is or soon will be offering a pretty big array of titanium replacement burrs branded by themselves as well. It would be interesting to know who makes those.

Ken Fox wrote: Missing in this comparison is the price for the knockoff burrs, which if half the price of the Mazzers might still deserve interest.
ken

http://www.espressoparts.com/product/MC_18/ Factory - $45

http://www.espressoparts.com/product/MC_18AM/ Knockoffs with issues - $41.63

You have given a comparison (from one dealer) however I am certain that more diligent searching would produce a larger difference in price. I have purchased replacement Cimbali Junior burrs for way less than the cheapest OEM prices I'd seen anywhere, at the time that I bought them. The marketplace may have changed more recently and it has been a couple of years, at least, since the last time I looked. Any price comparison is valid in real time but not valid a couple of years later, so perhaps the market has shifted.

In reality, if you are using a true commercial grinder (I'll arbitrarily define the bottom of that range as a planar grinder with 64mm burrs) in a home setting, you are not going to need to replace burrs more often than every 5 to 10 years, and probably closer to 10 years than to five.

ken

The OP was talking about Mazzer Major burrs not Cimbali burrs. If you are so certain that there is a great savings to be found in buying Mazzer knockoffs over the OEM packaged burrs then post some examples. Note that the quality of the knockoffs carried by EspressoParts does not seem to be up to par with the OEM burrs.

Well excuse me.

When I post on a thread like this I don't do it with the very narrow view that I am answering one person's question one time. I do it with the understanding that considerate forum members (as well as lurkers) will use the search function before they post questions that might conceivably have been answered repeatedly.

When I am looking for this sort of information on any number of interests, I use google (or a forum's built in search function) and pull up search results that often answer my questions without having to bother getting involved in a mundane discussion (such as this one).

I remain convinced that there are any number of good quality knockoff parts that are used in various types of espresso equipment, be they grinders or the espresso machines themselves. There will be situations in which there are no alternatives unless you want to modify stuff yourself, but in many instances there will be good quality knockoff parts that can be used and which will cost much less than the OEM original parts.

Whether one can find good deals on knockoff parts and whether the tradeoff is worth it (savings vs. perceived lower quality in some instances) is up to the discretion of the potential purchaser. How much savings will be realized in a particular circumstance will depend in part on which parts are being considered and also how diligently one is willing to search for "deals."

That is all

ken

RapidCoffee wrote:Chris Coffee has particularly attractive pricing on Major burrs.

And wonderful service too. I needed replacement burrs for my Cimbali Cadet and wasn't sure what to order. CC checked with contacts in Italy to be sure I was ordering the right ones. A well spent $50 IMHO. Heck the Mini burrs I got at the same time for $35 also seems like a fine price.

Mark

Speaking as one who is seriously technically inept, I'd much rather pay for OEM parts and not have to worry. IIRC, there was a thread here about non-OEM burrs that required some tweaking to fit correctly. For me, that is a good enough reason to go for the price difference.

While I was researching this topic, I came across this article that may be of interest
http://coffeetime.wikidot.com/mazzer-burrs.

I ended up getting OEM parts from Chris' Coffee (including shipping to Canada, they and Phaelon Coffee were within a couple bucks of each other). In this case, OEM parts were the least expensive option... go figure.