Okay, so I went to Veneziano today after a hard days barista-ing to pick up my brand spanking new Mazzer Mini...or should I say rebadged by CMA to Rio Mini :-/ Before this I owned a La Cimbali Cadet (rock solid commercial grinder)....and is now owned by another snobs member. This grinder can be viewed as both an upgrade and a downgrade.
Got to meet Dave Makin today who was very welcoming. Had an espresso and an excellent flat white. Was shown around the roastery by Peter. Huge 60kg roaster, which they intend to upgrade to something like double that capacity.
I also got to pull a couple of shots on the FB80...what a beautiful piece of art....for $16k it should be. Perfect shots without any blonding for the duration of the pour and super silent! 8-) Luca, youre a lucky b*stard to be able to work on this thing! Now to convince my cafe to get one... :
Okay so on with the mini review of the Mazzer Mini. I dialed it in with only 2 shots from a complimentary bag of Veneziano Estate. It was very easy to dial it in...working with a Mazzer everyday helps. As an aside...the Veneziano estate is one of the oiliest beans I have ever seen!
Heres a quick pros and con list that I can think of from the top of my head.
Pros:
* Cosmetic appeal. Sexier than the Cimbali by miles.
* Nice and small compared to Cimbali Cadet.
* Quieter than the Cimbali.
* Not as prone to the "left throw" as the Super Jolly.
* Grind tray seems to catch most renegade grinds.
Cons:
* Chute isnt effective. Doesnt push all the grinds out. Rather the left side of the chute empties but the grinds to the right of the chute seem to stay stuck unless prodded at.
* Coffee stays stuck on the hopper vanes. The hopper needs to be knocked to get the beans unstuck from the vanes.
* Doser doesnt completely clean out like the Cimbali
* About 2 grams of coffee stays stuck in the chute (needs to be vacuumed out - or make sure you discard the first part of your grind next time you use it)
* VERY VERY slow to grind coffee compared to the Cimbali or any other commercial machine that I am used to. But faster than the Sunbeam EM0480. Good enough for home use.
* The hopper gate seems to get jammed when trying to open or close it. Guess I will just have to wear it down
* I am annoyed at all the scuff marks and scratches on the new machine.
* Anal, but it has a very plastic looking Rio badge. $299 for a Mazzer badge.....
Sorta like a Ferarri badge hey....
As a home barista this machine is beautiful. As a professional barista, the machine is slow...too slow. However the beautiful thing about the Mazzer, as you all know, is that it has "micrometrical" adjustments...only limited by your skill at adjusting. Side by side with the Cimbali, the Cimbali wins hands down in adjusting for espresso due to its infinite adjustment mechanism driven by a worm gear.
Now the cons clearly outweigh the pros here....but these points are just off the top of my head and Im sure I will find more things to talk about as time goes on. Its as simple as this....am I happy about about the purchase? Absolutely...great price from great people.

Got to meet Dave Makin today who was very welcoming. Had an espresso and an excellent flat white. Was shown around the roastery by Peter. Huge 60kg roaster, which they intend to upgrade to something like double that capacity.
I also got to pull a couple of shots on the FB80...what a beautiful piece of art....for $16k it should be. Perfect shots without any blonding for the duration of the pour and super silent! 8-) Luca, youre a lucky b*stard to be able to work on this thing! Now to convince my cafe to get one... :
Okay so on with the mini review of the Mazzer Mini. I dialed it in with only 2 shots from a complimentary bag of Veneziano Estate. It was very easy to dial it in...working with a Mazzer everyday helps. As an aside...the Veneziano estate is one of the oiliest beans I have ever seen!
Heres a quick pros and con list that I can think of from the top of my head.
Pros:
* Cosmetic appeal. Sexier than the Cimbali by miles.
* Nice and small compared to Cimbali Cadet.
* Quieter than the Cimbali.
* Not as prone to the "left throw" as the Super Jolly.
* Grind tray seems to catch most renegade grinds.
Cons:
* Chute isnt effective. Doesnt push all the grinds out. Rather the left side of the chute empties but the grinds to the right of the chute seem to stay stuck unless prodded at.
* Coffee stays stuck on the hopper vanes. The hopper needs to be knocked to get the beans unstuck from the vanes.
* Doser doesnt completely clean out like the Cimbali
* About 2 grams of coffee stays stuck in the chute (needs to be vacuumed out - or make sure you discard the first part of your grind next time you use it)
* VERY VERY slow to grind coffee compared to the Cimbali or any other commercial machine that I am used to. But faster than the Sunbeam EM0480. Good enough for home use.
* The hopper gate seems to get jammed when trying to open or close it. Guess I will just have to wear it down
* I am annoyed at all the scuff marks and scratches on the new machine.
* Anal, but it has a very plastic looking Rio badge. $299 for a Mazzer badge.....
Sorta like a Ferarri badge hey....As a home barista this machine is beautiful. As a professional barista, the machine is slow...too slow. However the beautiful thing about the Mazzer, as you all know, is that it has "micrometrical" adjustments...only limited by your skill at adjusting. Side by side with the Cimbali, the Cimbali wins hands down in adjusting for espresso due to its infinite adjustment mechanism driven by a worm gear.
Now the cons clearly outweigh the pros here....but these points are just off the top of my head and Im sure I will find more things to talk about as time goes on. Its as simple as this....am I happy about about the purchase? Absolutely...great price from great people.





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