Fellow members, it seems appropriate to bring this up here, now:
Because of a direct question from a client, myself and the client ran a side by side test between 2 opposing grinders yesterday.
The question posed by the client was something to the effect of………..”I have read widely and am concerned by reports that if I buy the "cheaper" grinder, that my coffee will suffer from using a grinder that may give me a lesser “grind consistency” than the more expensive grinder”….and…”will I (the client) be able to tell the difference” (between the coffees made with grinds from each different grinder).
Having some time up my sleeve I pulled a brand new “cheaper” grinder from the showroom, set it up and made ristrettos with the 2 group training machine.
I then emptied all traces of other coffee from the commercial training grinder, filled it with the same batch of beans that had been used in the cheaper grinder, set it up and made ristrettos with this.
We went from the "cheaper", to the more expensive grinder, one on one, several times, and tasted.
For the record,
the "cheaper" grinder was one of the many clones that uses the exact same motor and conical burrs, and similar STEPPED adjusting ring as the Lux, and
the more expensive grinder was a Mazzer Super Jolly with STEPLESS adjustment and (lest this be a cause for discussion), fitted with relatively new grinding plates.
On visual inspection both grinders produced nice gritty grind particles with very little if any “dust” present, although the commercial grinder seemed to produce marginally less (dust).
We tried using slightly less and slightly bigger doses, & packed / tamped more or less hard etc. to see what differences we might pick.
It is possible that the stronger, harder packed larger dosed brews might have been “better” when brewed with the coffee ground by the commercial grinder, but it must be remembered this was deliberately brewed outside regular parameters.
The outcome was that there could be no measurable difference in the character of the resulting ristrettos that could be attributed to having used grinds (be they more, or less “consistent”) from one or other grinder, particularly as there were other variables at work…eg close, but not *exactly* the same dose and tamp for each separate brew, resulting in slightly different flow rates.
The cheaper grinder was brand new, the other had relatively new plates, and I am not making any extrapolation to what the outcome might be if we were comparing used or older grinders. A commercial espresso machine was used, and I am not extrapolating any of the above to what the outcome might have been if a domestic machine had been used.
In view of the above the client in this case opted for the "cheaper" grinder. It is being mated to one of the usual 2500 dollar semi-commercials.
Much is said in special interest forums about various brand names and available options (for example the availability of “stepless” adjustment) being so much better than others, and all the above information is simply given from the point of view of wanting to make sure discussions on grinders are kept to realistic and practical levels for participants seeking genuine information and comparisons on quality, price & suitability for them as individuals, before buying.
Regardz,
FC.
Because of a direct question from a client, myself and the client ran a side by side test between 2 opposing grinders yesterday.
The question posed by the client was something to the effect of………..”I have read widely and am concerned by reports that if I buy the "cheaper" grinder, that my coffee will suffer from using a grinder that may give me a lesser “grind consistency” than the more expensive grinder”….and…”will I (the client) be able to tell the difference” (between the coffees made with grinds from each different grinder).
Having some time up my sleeve I pulled a brand new “cheaper” grinder from the showroom, set it up and made ristrettos with the 2 group training machine.
I then emptied all traces of other coffee from the commercial training grinder, filled it with the same batch of beans that had been used in the cheaper grinder, set it up and made ristrettos with this.
We went from the "cheaper", to the more expensive grinder, one on one, several times, and tasted.
For the record,
the "cheaper" grinder was one of the many clones that uses the exact same motor and conical burrs, and similar STEPPED adjusting ring as the Lux, and
the more expensive grinder was a Mazzer Super Jolly with STEPLESS adjustment and (lest this be a cause for discussion), fitted with relatively new grinding plates.
On visual inspection both grinders produced nice gritty grind particles with very little if any “dust” present, although the commercial grinder seemed to produce marginally less (dust).
We tried using slightly less and slightly bigger doses, & packed / tamped more or less hard etc. to see what differences we might pick.
It is possible that the stronger, harder packed larger dosed brews might have been “better” when brewed with the coffee ground by the commercial grinder, but it must be remembered this was deliberately brewed outside regular parameters.
The outcome was that there could be no measurable difference in the character of the resulting ristrettos that could be attributed to having used grinds (be they more, or less “consistent”) from one or other grinder, particularly as there were other variables at work…eg close, but not *exactly* the same dose and tamp for each separate brew, resulting in slightly different flow rates.
The cheaper grinder was brand new, the other had relatively new plates, and I am not making any extrapolation to what the outcome might be if we were comparing used or older grinders. A commercial espresso machine was used, and I am not extrapolating any of the above to what the outcome might have been if a domestic machine had been used.
In view of the above the client in this case opted for the "cheaper" grinder. It is being mated to one of the usual 2500 dollar semi-commercials.
Much is said in special interest forums about various brand names and available options (for example the availability of “stepless” adjustment) being so much better than others, and all the above information is simply given from the point of view of wanting to make sure discussions on grinders are kept to realistic and practical levels for participants seeking genuine information and comparisons on quality, price & suitability for them as individuals, before buying.
Regardz,
FC.

...that have machines - Sunbeams, Brevilles etc and want to go the next step into fresh beans and grinders. They love my Macap, as do I but they dont want to spend the $$$ required to purchase such a unit - not because they dont have the money, more due to the fact that they think it is poor ecomony to buy a grinder worth 2-3 times what they paid for their machine!
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