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Iberital review

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  • Iberital review

    The Italian Trespade hand conical burr grinder has been in the family long enough to probably qualify as an exhibit in a coffee museum somewhere. The burrs look blunt, but can still grind fine enough to stump my new Silvia.

    But after much research, it’s been put back in the cupboard and a new Iberital conical burr grinder sits proudly next to the Silvia on the kitchen bench.

    It’s a doserless model. The fineness is controlled via a knob. The duration of grind is controlled, via a timer, adjusted by a smaller knob on the side. So far so good. So, hit the portafilter against a switch under the chute, and away it goes

    Positives: Noise is acceptable, and there is no complaint about the quality of its output. It appears sturdy, heavy, made of steel. Obviously built to give long service. The hopper is large, but that is meaningless as you wouldn’t want to fill it with beans and leave them there for days or weeks, exposed to air. The adjustment is infinite, not stepped. Very simple to use, as I said, just bump the portafilter against the switch to begin the timed grind.

    Gripes: There is no reference point for the adjustment of grind. That can be a problem if changing from one type of bean to another, and then possibly back again to the original. There is no numbered setting or any marks to tell where the knob has been turned to or from. To give me some guide, I glued a little paper arrow on the face of the knob. Same for the timer knob. Possibly like many such grinders, some grounds (about a teaspoonful) tend to get stuck in the chute. That means the basket is underfilled, and they fall, stale into the basket next time round. To avoid this I bent a stainless steel paper clip into a probe to eek out the remaining grinds. If the hopper is removed while it contains beans, they spill out the bottom because there’s no shut-off valve. I suppose that desirable feature comes in more expensive models.

  • #2
    Re: Iberital review

    The timed grind sounds like a good feature that I havnt seen mentioned in these "Rocky-rocks" bias pages before although I do remember reading about a Mazzer that was timed...somewhere.

    I wonder why more grinders dont offer a timer?

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Iberital review

      Yes, the timer is handy. Just turn knob clockwise for longer grind, anti-clockwise for shorter. With enough initial tweaking, it can take the guesswork out of how much grinds to put into the basket. And that can mean no waste if you tend to over-grind and then level off.

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      • #4
        Re: Iberital review

        You didnt mention price or supplier?

        Give them a plug if your happy with the product and service!

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        • #5
          Re: Iberital review

          Yes, a plug would be in order. Grinder and Rancilio Silvia were bought at Coffeecompany at 260 Carlisle Street, Balaclava  Melbourne.  They have many, many brands or grinders and  machines on display and as working displays too, so they can show you how they work. They also roast and sell beans. The service there was amazingly excellent. The guys showed me how to use the Iberital and Silvia (using their own beans, too!) And made me a fantastic complimentary latte while I waited for Silvia to warm up. I even went back for a follow-up lesson several days later and they were glad to assist.  Very highly recommended.

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          • #6
            Re: Iberital review

            Hi All,

            Its my first post so Ill attempt to make it worthwhile.  First up, great site! I had no idea that there were other people as obsessed with coffee in Melbourne as I am!  Sweet.

            Im looking at buying a Silvia + grinder in the next month or so and having researched the machine-side of things and think I’d be making the right choice going with the Silvia (see part B of my question for more on this).  

            However, grinders are a different story.  Ill be making <15 cups of coffee per week (every other morning plus weekends), and am therefore reluctant to spend the money on a Rancilio Rocky grinder, BUT on the other hand, I refuse to by a crap grinder.  I need quality!

            Question Part A:
            Thus I believe Im presented with the following choices:
            * Gaggia MDF - Approx $350. A good grinder which my dad used to own (along with his HX machine) and hence Ive used it for a considerable period of time in the past (a couple years), but since getting married and leaving home, had to kiss it goodbye.  :-[   Surely I need not mention the agony of also leaving behind an excellent Gaggia HX machine.  

            * Iberital Challenge - Approx $270. Ive never used a conical burr grinder before and I’m concerned this wont match up to the MDF (flat burr) standard the the MDF beast would pump out, but its in my price range!  I am also aware that Miss Silvia gets her panties in a knot if the grind isnt right  :-?   So whatever grinder I get, it has to be good.

            I would like to save myself $80 and get the Challenge, but can it match the MDF standard? I love the idea of infinite adjustment levels on it, as my one gripe with the MDF was that it needed more fine adjustments in the 5-9 slot brackets.  

            So ive said all that to ask this: Compared to the MDF, will an Iberital Challenge produce excellent quality grind? And is it a sturdy, reliable beast?  I hate poor quality things.  Please let me know if there are other grinders that you recommend in this price range (or not)!  

            Question Part B:
            Ill throw this out for what its worth - can a Silvia produce coffee as nice as my dads HX? I miss that machine... and I’m tired of crying myself to sleep at night.  So I have to buy a machine that can produce that kind of shot, but at half the price.  I have a limit of $750 for the espresso component of my venture - the Silvia seems to fit nicely.   I also want a manual machine - Silvia fits this requirement too.  

            Frankly, I cant bare the thought of stepping down to any form of lower quality coffee after living in a house with an HX machine for so long.  I dont mind learning the quirks of the machine (thats half the fun), but I need to know that this little bad boy can cut the mustard.  Any comments would be greatly appreciated!

            Thanks everyone,
            Rob.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Iberital review

              Rob,
              dont even think about it. How much pain you are going through to see if one product matches up to the one you really want. Save up or say your buying a house and mortgage yourself to the hilt.

              Quality still remains long after the price is forgotten". An oldie I know




              Dill

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              • #8
                Re: Iberital review

                Ihug, Ive said before in this forum about the Iberital: Grind too fine, and it will leave Silvia, and, I suspect, any other machine, going purple in the cheeks gasping for breath trying to push through water. In other words, it is by far more than a match for Silvias alleged idiosyncrasies. Many a time Ive had coffee very reluctantly drip, drip, drip out after more than a judicious time because the extra-fine grinds caused too buch back-pressure.

                The build is very sturdy, steel body. Weve been grinding away, about 60 grams a day, every day, since February and the burrs are in the same conditions they where for their very first grind.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Iberital review

                  Hi Rob,

                  Basically, I support what the other chasps have already said. If youre talking about maybe spending $350 on an MDF, why not put the extra small change in the kitty and buy a Rocky D/L? Im sure one of our Site Sponsors would be able to give you a very good deal on one.

                  Conversely, the Ibertal Conical (I think they also make a Flat Burr grinder too) is a very capable grinder and well suited to a Silvia and many other high-end machines. Conical burrs are actually superior in performance than Flat ones you know.... mainly because for a given overall diameter, the Conical burrs have a much larger burr cutting surface area and as a result, can mill the beans at a significantly lower speed than a Flat burr grinder and thereby reduce the risk of excessive heating of the bean cuttings due to friction. The Conical burr design also allows for much more accurate and consistent cutting size control as well since the very design of one cone fitting into another is self centring, where-as Flat burrs require a much more robust burr carrier design to try and hold the burrs parallel to each other despite the situation where one side of the burr system might be trying to cut through beans of different size and hardness with respect to the other. This is a pretty common situation where blended coffees are concerned. The only possible downside to the Ibertal grinders though, is that they use a "Stepless" grind size control. This may prove to be inconvenient if you use the same grinder for a wide range of coffee brewing techniques. It is a definite "plus" though if you are only going to use it for your espresso machine.

                  Conical burrs by their very design are also a cleaner operating grinder because the cuttings fall through the centre of the burrs and out through a chute, as opposed to the Flat burrs which depend on centrifugal force to "fling" the bean cuttings to the periphery of the rotating burr and eventually out of the chute. This also leads to an eventual build-up of stale cuttings that require much more frequent removal because of the larger quantities that accumulate and much more quickly too than for a Conical burr system.

                  Why do Rancilio and others use Flat Burrs instead of Conical ones? Because, for a given throughput, a Flat burr machine is cheaper to produce than a Conical design. Large commercial grinders are nearly always of Conical burr design because of improved efficiencies, accuracy and simplicity of construction of the complete grinder. Driving a higher throughput Conical grinder requires that the rotating burr rotates at a slower speed for a similar throughput Flat burr grinder because of the previously mentioned increased cutting surface area. This can be achieved in one of two ways basically.... via a reduction speed gearbox or via a slower speed motor (more expensive to manufacture). In a small domestic grinder running from a 1-Phase A.C. supply, it is much more economical to go via the reduction gearbox route and this is what Ibertal, Lux and others have done. Large commercial grinders with Conical burr systems are generally 3-Phase A.C. designs and use low-speed 3-Phase motors which are significantly cheaper to manufacture than equivalent 1-Phase units.

                  So, there you have it... Conical burr designs are better but limited to either small low throughput domestic designs or large 3-Phase Commercial high throughput designs. In the end, I think you would have to possess a very discriminating palate to be able to distinguish the benefits over one design to another but such people do exist and where they have committed their opinions to print, they most often prefer coffee produced that has been ground or milled with a Conical grinder. Im afraid my palate is unable to detect the sorts of subtleties that are involved with this type of comparison and I am more than happy with using my Rocky ;D.

                  All the best,
                  Mal.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Iberital review

                    Well said, Mal. A very thorough, in-depth and informative evaluation of both types of grinders.
                    You are spot on with the stepless Iberital adjustment. It can be a pain, but Ive "invented" a marker to tell me exactly where the setting is. Ill put up a picture soon. On the upside, each turn of the knob makes such a tiny difference that theres no fear of over-correcting.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Iberital review

                      Great comments guys - thanks so much.

                      On the weekend I went and had a look at a Lux, Iberital Challenge, Rocky, and MDF grinders. I went down to Coffee Company on Carlisle st which is only about a 3 min drive from my house and really close to my gym (how could I not have noticed this shop for so long???) Anyway, I have determined that for the amount of coffee I will be grinding, a Rocky is simply overkill. I may be making as few as 6 coffees per week (its just me and wifee in the house, and wifee doesnt drink much coffee)

                      Coffee Company had the stainless steel plated MDF for only $299rrp - great price! They had the Challenge for $270rrp, and the lux was the same I think. They also seem willing to bargain and im confident I could get a Challenge/Lux for sub $250 (contrast that to the price of the Rocky, and the Rocky is just out of reach).

                      I got to hear the lux grinder working and decided that it is a sound that I can live with more easily than the MDF (that thing is LOUD) So I think ill get either the doserless Challenge, or the doserless Lux.

                      I guess my decision now comes down to weighing up if I want pre-timed grinding sessions (as offered by the Challenge) or the more simple on/off action of the Lux. I think the timed grinding amount is a great idea because then once you work out exactly how long 14g (or whatever) of coffee takes to grind, you can adjust the preset duration of the timed grind. However this may change depending on the beans... hmmm....

                      Does anyone know if the type of bean can effect how long it takes to grind? This would influence whether or not I get a Lux or a Challenge.

                      Thanks again for the great comments - much appreciated!
                      Rob

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Iberital review

                        They type of bean, the level of roast, and the fineness of the grind will all effect how long it takes to grind a given quantity.

                        Java "Working on the roaster" phile
                        Toys! I must have new toys!!!

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                        • #13
                          Re: Iberital review

                          I own a Lux, and it has served me well for the last few years, but if I was buying a new grinder in your price range Id get the Iberital in a heartbeat. The steps in the grind adjustment on the Lux are just too large to work well with the Silvia. Sure you can work around it a bit through tamp pressure and dose amount, or you can mod the Lux to get finer adjustment, but Id just buy the Iberital.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Iberital review

                            Does anyone know where / if these are available in Perth ?

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                            • #15
                              Re: Iberital review

                              I went down to Coffee Company on Carlisle st

                              Thats where I got my Iberital/Silvia combo. Highly recommended for price, and service. The place is unbelievable. Not just a good place to buy machinery, but a professional cafe as well.

                              And they have a huge roasting operation there too. They also have many machines to  demonstrate and compare, using their freshly-roasted beans.

                              But what reall knocked my socks off was the gratis latte they made while I waited for the new Silvia to warm up so they could give me my first coffee lesson.

                              Without a doubt, it was  the most amazing, best, smoothest, greatest-tasting coffee Ive ever had. Anywhere.

                              www.coffeecompany.com.au

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