Home Grinder to switch from Brewed to Espresso??

[samdixon Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close samdixon]

Hi All, First Post.

Currently Running a Breville Smart Grinder brewing Chemex, V60, Aero & Mocca Master.

It's my second. Bang for your buck they are great. The inconsistent grind plays havoc with the Chemex. Time to upgrade.
At the same time I have decided to get back into espresso at home and am planning on picking up a Rocket Giotto PID so am now looking for what seems to be impossible, a grinder for both brewed and espresso.

At first I was looking at the Mazzer mini e. looks neat, good reports and has electronic and manual dose but after a bit of digging it looks to be a real pain to change the settings.

I have been pointed towards a Ditting, not sure how the will go with espresso but they sure look easy to adjust. At that price though I'm almost at an EK43 (and spending more on the grinder than I was on the machine) Should I be looking for a cheaper Deli style grinder?

Does anyone have any recommendations for a grinder around the $1500 mark that will swap between brew methods. I really don't want to buy two $750 grinders and sit them side by side.


Thanks in advance.

[LeroyC Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close LeroyC]

Home Grinder to switch from Brewed to Espresso??

Is having 2 grinders out of the question altogether? I use my Compak K8 only for espresso, even though it is easy to adjust and is stepped. Going backwards and forwards across a wide range of grind settings will see you wasting coffee, mostly when dialing in when adjusting back to espresso. For that reason I keep a small Delonghi KG100 in the pantry for when I have a soft brew of some sort. It's not the greatest, but it's good enough and is very small and easy to move. I'll swap it for Sunbeam EM04xx of some sort when I get a chance.

If you've got $1500 to spend I wouldn't spend $750 each on two grinders, I'd spend $1000 or so on something like a Macap M4D. Or look at one of the outstanding 2nd hand grinders that often pop up for sale on the forum here, such as the Compak A8 that recently sold for bugger all. Put the rest into the best small conical grinder you can afford that comes with a container to grind in to (perfect for tipping into a filter). Something like a Sunbeam EM5000 (known to be better than the Smart Grinder in the filter range), or Mahlkonig/Baratza small conical.

If you absolutely must have one grinder only then one of the site sponsors are probably best to make a recommendation. Maybe you could fill out the quote form on the forum.

[MadForCoffee Member Find all posts View Profile Close MadForCoffee]

There's no grinder on the market that can switch without any sort of compromise....Not sure what's your % of espresso vs brew, a good dedicated espresso grinder + a small electric/hand brew grinder would be the way I'd go.

[TC . Find all posts View Profile Close TC]

There's no grinder on the market that can switch without any sort of compromise.

I'm not so sure about that. I'm using a Rocket Fausto as my second at home. Main duty is filter and other manual methods. Last weekend I used it for espresso (decaf) and I had the best shot of my week from it. Yes- I was surprised as well. Just goes to show...

The Fausto is consistent, relatively compact, pretty quick and repeatable to adjust. It's also a terrific match for the OP's intended new machine. If it's not the perfect all rounder, it's damn close

[MadForCoffee Member Find all posts View Profile Close MadForCoffee]

I'm not so sure about that. I'm using a Rocket Fausto as my second at home. Main duty is filter and other manual methods. Last weekend I used it for espresso (decaf) and I had the best shot of my week from it. Yes- I was surprised as well. Just goes to show...

The Fausto is consistent, relatively compact, pretty quick and repeatable to adjust. It's also a terrific match for the OP's intended new machine. If it's not the perfect all rounder, it's damn close

The keyword was no compromise....I assume you need to purge (when going either way)? If you have beans in the hopper, you need to run the grinder while adjusting finer (otherwise the burrs might jam)? How many rotation you need to do to get from brew/press to espresso, and vice versa (it might be confusing after a few turns)? Lastly, espresso flat burrs (Super Jolly for example) normally produce too much fines or inconsistent grind for brew (for some coffee snobs OP might not be so snobby about it )

[JojoS Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JojoS]

I suppose Versalab M3 is way over the budget.

[kbc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kbc]

My recommendations is the Macap m4D. Quicker than the Mini e, less grind retention and better looking IMO. Also. Costs less.

Another one to look at is the Quamar Q50. Lots of choice.

Finally, there's a new Rancilio KRYO I saw at MICE. Grinds at 3.5g per second for $1400ish. Take a look at that.

[kbc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kbc]

I run a Compak K10 Fresh. It's the perfect grinder IMO. Got it on clearance 3 weeks ago

[kbc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kbc]

My K10 below

[shortblackman Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shortblackman]

Hg one. Very easy to change settings and clean out.

[JojoS Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JojoS]

My K10 below

You use it for both espresso and drip

?

[Logga Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Logga]

Why don't you buy a OE Lido E grinder from Chris at talk coffee, once you find your setting for Chemex, V60, Aero & Mocca Master and espresso your away, no coffee wastage.
I use a kony e for espresso and the OE Lido E when I want to play around with other stuff.

[Logga Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Logga]

I should of said as well, keep your Breville for espresso if you don't want to keep changing the settings on the OE Lido E, but I think you will find that the OE Lido E will be way above the Breville.

[TC . Find all posts View Profile Close TC]

Lido E stock is a couple of weeks away.

[samdixon Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close samdixon]

I'm not so sure about that. I'm using a Rocket Fausto as my second at home. Main duty is filter and other manual methods. Last weekend I used it for espresso (decaf) and I had the best shot of my week from it. Yes- I was surprised as well. Just goes to show...

The Fausto is consistent, relatively compact, pretty quick and repeatable to adjust. It's also a terrific match for the OP's intended new machine. If it's not the perfect all rounder, it's damn close

Thanks TC

I have tried to look at some reviews of the Fausto online but have not seen anyone adjust or layed eyes on one myself. They look lovely and would certainly compliment the machine.

I would be flipping daily, would you say that this would be easy enough with the Fausto? Does it have a manual grind setting or can you only use the timed dose function?