Re: Need a new grinder!
Ive had my rocky doserless for about 5 years or so. Never felt the need to make stepless, as steps are very small anyway. Dont know about in canada, but here second hand rocky grinders have very good resale value, so even if you did start with a new rocky and wanted to upgrade after a few years you woulndt be losing out much. I figure if I were to sell sell mine I will have lost about $20 a year!
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Re: Need a new grinder!
what does you machine demand of you? perfection in every cup? must stress you out big time ozscottOriginally posted by ozscott link=1226768945/0#17 date=1228166101until you have a more demanding machine.
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Re: Need a new grinder!
Getting back to your budget, can I suggest that you look at the Rancilio Rocky (nowhere near the Mini in price). Whilst it is stepped from the factory (and depending on your machine it will be small enough in increments from the factory) you can (very) easily make it stepless with $2 worth of black plastic tube and about 10 mins (I did a thread on it a while back). With the small amount of carrier play taken care of and stepless adjustment afforded in that one mod, make no mistake the Rocky is a very competitive grinder...I have the Mazzer SJ to compare it to.
The Rocky is built akin to the proverbial outhouse. Its grind quality when modded as above is not quite as good as the Mazzer but we are not talking a yawning chasm here....and whether you would notice any difference is debatable until you have a more demanding machine.
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Re: Need a new grinder!
LOL.... ;DOriginally posted by Greg Pullman link=1226768945/0#15 date=1228133718rather than the (comparatively) high-school metalwork job on the Mazzers.
Good one mate
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Re: Need a new grinder!
I guess I cant say much more than what I already did in the review. I dont think the Compak is a step down in build or component quality as such. Its more the implementation that I think lets it down a little - no usable scale and wobbly adjustment collar (which is simply normal slack in the thread). If you have the money for a Mazzer thats fine and I dont regret keeping mine, but dont think for a moment that the extra $$$ on a Mazzer translates into a better grind than the Compak - and of course you get that beautiful milled hopper on the Compak rather than the (comparatively) high-school metalwork job on the Mazzers.
Greg
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Re: Need a new grinder!
They are manufactured in Spain where, for the time being, labour and manufacturing costs are lower than other European countries....Originally posted by Buschy link=1226768945/0#13 date=1228124752I assumed much the same, but then it is less expensive so what gives? :-?
Mal.
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Re: Need a new grinder!
Yes, I too would be interested in hearing from someone that is grinder smart how the Compak K-3 shapes up against the other 2 brands. I assumed much the same quality wise (I have read the review as well), but then it is less expensive so what gives? :-?
Originally posted by flatwhite link=1226768945/0#12 date=1228119288According to Greg Pullmans thorough review, the K3 may be a step down in price, but not necessarily in quality. Anyone with direct experience of both care to weight in?Originally posted by Intellidepth link=1226768945/0#10 date=1227941136next down in $$$ and quality is the Compak K3. Dont go below that. It
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Re: Need a new grinder!
According to Greg Pullmans thorough review, the K3 may be a step down in price, but not necessarily in quality. Anyone with direct experience of both care to weight in?Originally posted by Intellidepth link=1226768945/0#10 date=1227941136next down in $$$ and quality is the Compak K3. Dont go below that. It
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Re: Need a new grinder!
I was in a similar position to the original poster only a few weeks ago. Decided to spend the money, and bought a Mazzer Mini. I cant describe what an excellent decision that was.
Go for it, if youre already thinking about buying one.
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Re: Need a new grinder!
Hi LaurM83, the Mazzer Mini, and Macap M4 or M5 (only difference is hopper size), have very similar grind results, next down in $$$ and quality is the Compak K3. Dont go below that. It sounds like youve got the budget for the Mini, so go for it or the Macap M4, whichever you personally prefer.
(And welcome to CoffeeSnobs!)
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Re: Need a new grinder!
Hi LaurM83, YES the Mazzer Mini will definitely do the job. But so will other machines. Any particular reason your heart is set on the Mazzer Mini? The snobs here may have an opinion on other options you have
You need to decide if you are happy to have a STEPLESS grinder like the Mini.
If you are not sure what that means, here is a brief explanation:
A "Stepped" grinder like a Rancilio Rocky has a dial where you dial up a setting (eg. 1-30). So you might end up using (for example) 10 when you need espresso, and 15 when you need it for the French press.
The fact that there are distinct "steps" is an ADVANTAGE if you are constantly switching between different grinds. However lets say that your espresso machine finds 9 too fine and 10 too coarse - you wont be able to set it at 9.5 (without doing some modification).
The Mazzer Mini is a stepLESS grinder - you basically have an infinite range of settings by turning the adjustment. So you can dial in 9.5 (or 9.6 or 9.7) by turning in tiny steps until you are happy.
But if you need to change to a coarse grind for your French press, then you will have to find your espresso "sweet spot" manually all over again when you go back.
Another thing that *may* be a consideration. The Mazzer Mini uses a "doser" (that dispensing chamber in front of the grinder) whereas something like a Rancilio Rocky has a "doserless" option
I am not entirely sure but I would imagine that if you constantly change grinds that a doserless machine may have the advantage of not having "leftovers" in the doser that would "contaminate" the other grinds when you change the setting.
Food for thought
Do post a shortlist of other machines you have considered though - the snobs here are fantastic.
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Re: Need a new grinder!
Wow, heaps of good information on here. Thanks! Keep it coming :0)
We just pulled out our Salton (wedding gift
) espresso maker, and it is S-H-O-T! Will not pump the water.
So it looks like were now in the market for another one as well as a grinder. We know a guy who sells decent machines (Gaggia) for a good price, so we may have to do it and continue the grinder research.
Just to clarify, the Mazzer Mini IS able to do a variety of grind types by adjusting the collar?
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Re: Need a new grinder!
Yes you are correct Chris my thoughts were jumbled at the time of writing
I was thinking of the Mazzer Mini as easy adjust via the collar and adjusting arm

My train of thought on step-less was in the form of worm drive as you pointed out
Sorry for the confusion :
KK
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Re: Need a new grinder!
Correcting you again KK,
The Mazzer mini is not stepped. I repeat- it has a stepless adjustment via infinite adjustment of the grinder collar.
A stepped grinder has incremental adjustment via a locking pin. The Mazzer does not do this.
I suspect that you might be thinking only of micrometric adjustment via worm drive. This is but one way of producing a stepless grinder.
Chris
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Re: Need a new grinder!
The Mazzer Mini is stepped and noted that it was a good choiceMazzer Mini is rated light commercial so you will have no problems and a good choice on your part
Also consider the grinder range from Macap and Compak. They are of similar quality
However should Laur choose another model or brand I felt it should be noted that a stepped model would be more appropriate for the intended use
KK
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