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.
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.



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