Mazzer Mini E and the cursed chunky clumpyness

[quadshot]

Thanks to all CSrs for your responses! Gaviscon that is a nice piece of kit the Elektra! I think I'll wait till u upgrade?? Put me first in line for purchase of your used!!!!
I think I might try greenmans approach until I can be RSed to get out the die grinder

[Gavisconi007]

Do what I did. Buy an a Elektra Nino and remove the issue altogether

[greenman]

when i purchased my Super Jolly E I experienced the buildup of grounds in the chute making dosing so inconsistent. I have now devised a setup that delivers exact doses with no retention. I removed the mesh screen from chute and have placed a cut-down kitchen whisk inside the cone to disperse any clumps as they fall towards portafilter, I use an Orphan Espresso dosing cone attached to group handle to keep things tidy while dosing, I use a small paint brush to clear out the chute. I weigh each dose on the scales (app 21.5g), once I developed my routine it runs smoothly, not suitable for high volume but works a treat for my needs!

[dumiya]

My thoughts
1. My work Rocky still clumps but they are soft. I now have no channeling. Taste nearly as good as the home kony-e. Grrr!
2. I leave grinds in the Rocky shute the next day grind to clear (7gms?) then grind. The stale grinds remain in place and only the fresh come out. Problem solved.
3. I really think after many years that lots of grinders need to be run in. My Rocky above took several years of two coffees a day before it ground non-channeling grinds (likewise my Kony). That is to grind to a consistent even size. If the grind is uneven (small and large bits) then the hot water finds the easiest path.

[sprezzatura]

Exactly what I do

I have a M2M and do this too but the first dose goes in the Hario for my (looks over shoulder at lovely wife concentrating on FB) lovely wife who takes milk and then I gets the non-retained next dose through the Hario (black maybe a pinch of panela).

[TC]

Thanks to all forum members for your response so far.

Chokkidog, you are bang on about the lack of R&D with the current grinder offerings

After all, we purchase these items, with expectations of refinement that some sponsors herald as the best thing since sliced bread, but then scoff at the questioning of why these items do not "tow the line" in ensuring that items job is done to the highest possible standard.

All of this needs to be taken in the context that Coffeesnobs and similar individuals represent a small percentage of the purchasers of commercial grinders. The issues you mention are in the main totally irrelevant to cafes.

R&D for the commercial market is about producing better grinders for commercial applications- so given that there would probably be relatively few sales of your "perfect" and probably expensive home grinder, the R&D component would take a looooong time to deliver a return to a manufacturer.

If you want something with zero retention, you have options- most of which are non-commercial and/or very expensive if they're close to good.

The choice of what style of sliced bread you prefer is up to you but hundreds or thousands of $$ in the pursuit of savings of a few grams per day may well represent a lifetime of repayment to repay the extra investment. If you purchase a tank to drive to the local shops, you'll probably waste some dinosaur juice. You could walk...

Sometimes there is value in being just a little real.

[herzog]

Do a blind taste test.

Pull two doubles

Shot 1. A couple of grams of day old grounds from the chute mixed into 14-16 grams of fresh grounds

Shot 2. 16-18 grams of fresh grounds

If you can't discern a difference, then you no longer need to keep worrying about it, and you can simply enjoy your coffee. It's only ever going to affect the first shot of the day in any case.

[quadshot]

Thanks to all forum members for your response so far.

Chokkidog, you are bang on about the lack of R&D with the current grinder offerings

After all, we purchase these items, with expectations of refinement that some sponsors herald as the best thing since sliced bread, but then scoff at the questioning of why these items do not "tow the line" in ensuring that items job is done to the highest possible standard. I also disagree at the suggetionof a MINI E being oversized for home use
Im not comfortable wasting beans,thats my choice, just like I don't letdiesel piss over my feet when fuellng up,just because the pump is knackered
so stale grinds are good??MMMM , if that's what works for you fine,but not what I want when it is preventable by either design or manual clean. I might start buying pre ground bricks from IGA

Myquestion was in relation to the prevention/rework of he grinder retention, but seems to have turned a bit feral.

Anal about getting the best out of my coffee?? For sure, But I reckon that's half of the fun of the endless variables of research/roasting and drinking,

[barri]

I always use a timed dose and I find that purging keeps the dose fairly consistent. If I don't purge first thing in the morning I notice that I end up with a smaller dose, maybe half a gram or more. So i don't purge from a freshness point of view more from a consistency point of view.

[herzog]

Running a Macap M4 here (the doser version).

I clear grounds from the doser after use, but I generally grind just enough such that this is minimal.

However - as the grinder is used frequently, I generally don't bother about the small amount of grounds left in the chute. I've tested a fully "clean" batch of grounds after clearing the chute and compared with a shot that includes the few grams of day-old grounds in the chute (i.e.: of the 18grams used for the shot, around 15-16 grams is fresh and a couple of grams is day old). I didn't discern a difference.

Certainly though, if the machine is not used for a couple of weeks (e.g.: going away on holiday) I clear the chute, the doser and the hopper.

[fg1972]

Reading silently here..... I cannot tell you the last time I purged any grind retention in my Macap m2m. I just grind and brew and enjoy my coffee without thinking about it too much. And yes first thing in the morning it's black followed by a latte with left over grinds from the night before and my coffee tastes awesome.

The only time I do purge is when I change beans to a different blend, single origin, dialling in.... The norm.

Exactly what I do

[kopigeek]

Mazzer Mini E and the cursed chunky clumpyness

Sure,

For the very small number of people are are "vocal" in these forums regarding that they say grind retention is a problem, there are thousands if not tens of thousands of silent forum readers that dare not mention they don't sweep out their grinders between uses, lest they receive a lashing for their heathen approach to coffee making, and are perfectly happy with what they are doing and getting in their cup.

Its all about understanding that perspective, and grind retention is only a problem for those who think it is...

Reading silently here..... I cannot tell you the last time I purged any grind retention in my Macap m2m. I just grind and brew and enjoy my coffee without thinking about it too much. And yes first thing in the morning it's black followed by a latte with left over grinds from the night before and my coffee tastes awesome.

The only time I do purge is when I change beans to a different blend, single origin, dialling in.... The norm.

[Gavisconi007]

Yep...

What I and probably several thousand other CSers do every day. Takes all of 5-6 seconds at the end of each coffee session...

Mal.

Can just imagine a scene from Blackadder......"Perhaps a bigger brush is in order M'Lord......"

[artman]

Off the top of my head I'd guess the chute isn't angled because the grounds, especially when using dark roasted/oily beans as so many do, would stick and build up where they impacted the wall. Not immediately when the machine is new, but once it had some time on it. Plus with a horizontal chute it's much easier to clean it out with a little brush.


Java "Horizontal is calling me" phile

Good point. You could have best of both worlds though, horizontal top, sloped bottom. Just as easy to clean, less chance of holding grinds in chute (some grinder hard to get to chute, eg K3).

Cheers

[saoye]

Use a camera dust blower and a pastry brush. I use the Giotto Q-ball for it's angle-ability. Not the cheapest but it's fantastic. gets every gram out ready for the next clean dose.

By the way, the Mini-E grind retention is nothing in comparison with the Rancilio Rocky! I gave up on the rocky and just purge...but for the Mini-E it's really achievable with the blower and the brush.