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First 2 Weeks With My M4D

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  • #31
    I upgraded from a Breville Smart Grinder 820 to a Macap M2D about 6 months ago and have never looked back.
    The consistency of the grind is amazing, I sometimes wonder if half the reason people new to the whole grind, dose, tamp process (as I was in October 14) simply struggle due to the inconsistency of some of the lower level grinders (there are good examples I know and I know the M2D isn't a hugely expensive grinder).
    The only downside to the M2D was it was a little messier on the bench than the SG, a coffee catcha solved that issue.
    The M2D and Macap in general seem to be great grinders.

    Drew

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    • #32
      My M4d was delivered today, now just to wait 3-4 days before I can play with my new toy when I get back from work! Going to be a very long week...

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      • #33
        Got It. It took several weeks but the M4D and the Rocket Premium have shaken hands. Made 6 excellent flat whites yesterday for group of people. "Best local" coffee was the comment.
        (Rocky has retired and is keeping company with my Silvia V 1.5 ! (version one with adjustable pressure adjustment lock nut) that is still going - 10 yrs old now!)

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        • #34
          To finally see the m4d in the flesh and use it, makes me love this grinder even more. Even though the worm drive makes changing grind size a slow process, it's not really that bad unless you're very delicate and slow at turning the knob. Only able to use it for filter coffee at the moment, but still lovely to play with!

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          • #35
            Originally posted by kyeba View Post
            ...Even though the worm drive makes changing grind size a slow process...
            If you want to speed that up you might try sourcing an appropriately sized/designed guitar string winder. There's even battery powered ones available.


            Java "A tool for every job" phile
            Toys! I must have new toys!!!

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            • #36
              Thanks for the tip java

              It feels plenty fast enough by hand for me at the moment.

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              • #37
                I'm now a few months in to M4D ownership and am posting a few more thoughts.

                I've got rid of the hopper, have gone back to weighing the beans for each shot, and am using my blind filter to plug the top when grinding (the ferocious pinging that occurs during grinding suggests that the M4D would fling the beans far and wide if this filter weren't there).

                The grind is very consistent, and I only need to make small changes every few days as my roasting batch ages.

                Contrary to my post above, and in retrospect I don't know why I was briefly fooled, it may have been humidity, the clumping is ferocious and much, much worse than the output of my DeLonghi. The clumping is such that I have to tamp much harder in order to prevent the formation of little channels in the side of the puck, which tend to ruin the pour by making it too watery. Is this clumping a result of the flat burr? - the DeLonghi had a conical burr. This is the single largest fault of the M4D, and it's not a trivial one.

                I'm becoming a fan of grinding straight into the group, but it is a lot messier than grinding into a hopper. I might get a 21g filter and grind my 15g into it to try to reduce spillage onto the bench.

                The grind retention thing doesn't seem to be a major problem - I was concerned that the first pour of the day might be compromised by several stale grams from the previous day, but I can't taste a difference.

                I have an intrinsic scepticism about this whole "unlocking of flavours" schtick with expensive grinders, and can't say I've noticed any difference in flavour. The change from shop coffee to home-roasted coffee makes a vastly bigger difference to flavour than does a change of grinders, so I would suggest that you make yourself a Corretto or buy a Behmor before worrying about grinders too much.

                It's a nice looking thing on the kitchen bench, and, despite all of the above, and oddly, I'm pleased with it.

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