New Grinder/ machine ballance

[smeltitdeltit]

Two weeks into my new Mign9n XL. Love it, and having a last experimenting with the new project. Thanks all!

[WhatEverBeansNecessary]

Agree almost any 'real' grinder will be a step up. The only problem is knowing when to stop forking out the $$$. Each step up in quality/$ amount will generally be an improvement but the higher end will only be incremental. Still your coffee will get a big boost from the Eureka in flavour, clarity etc.

[Caffeinator]

Any real grinder is an upgrade to the Breville one. The base model Eureka manuale would blow it out of the water, so no contest with an XL.

[smeltitdeltit]

So Breville haven’t come to the party and told me I was responsible for the cost of repair as out of warranty. Would have been good had they told me that at the start, instead of legging the thing across town, twice, to their approved repairer, who then Took 3 weeks to look at it.
could have just had it repaired at my local place right from the start and saved $300 on store bought coffees and a lot of time. Oh well. Lesson learned

in regards to the grinder, is the Mignon XL an upgrade to the one in the Oracle or is it more of a sideways step?

[smeltitdeltit]

So it turns out the repair for my Oracle is only a few hundred and Breville mate be covering it for me. Seems my Italian Dream will have to wait.

still keen on a grinder however, that way my wife can use the stock Oracle auto grind/tamp and I can geek out with better setup.
That way I’ve got the grinder for when the machine does finally die in the next few years and is one less thing to worry about I guess.


still thinking the Mignon XL is what I’m getting. Thanks all for the help with the coffee machine suggestions! Will definitely keep an eye on the market for when I can pull the trigger

[coffeemachine]

Fantastic post, totally agree!

[coffeemachine]

When I bought my first machine many moons ago, the advice I got was the grinder is more important than the coffee machine. It did not make sense at the time, looking back that advice was spot one. Agree with Tom, the grinder is there to make the machine look good. Nice quote!

[MaverickJohn]

Not contradicting this advice however offering an additional / alternative thought bubble........
Italian Espresso Society (chronologically) lists this -
1/ Machina (machine) 2/ Macchianato (grinder) 3/ Miscela (bean) 4/ Mano

I list as this.....(asking yourself each time, if I add that next item will that be The difference to making exceptional coffee, Yes / No)
1/ Fresh quality Bean - yes a must.
2/ Barista - Is the key. Knowledge, and keen interest to deliver.
3/ Grinder
4/ Machine
5/ Water
If you play the add or subtract....without good beans nothing is gonna happen.
But from then on the Barista is the key*. Knowledge, practice and the ability to observe / taste / interpret / adjust / make it happen.
*Given the machinery is of 'an accepted' level of performance.
GL with the upgrade / new kit / experiences.

I 100% agree with your order.
I don't know how many people I tell to buy fresh beans. It makes a lot of difference.
Some people are stubborn and don't listen though lol

[tompoland]

This makes sense a lot of sense.

It's common for "help" posts to start with the idea that something is wrong with a machine or grinder and after a bit of digging around it turns out the beans are El Cheapo with no roast date. I visited a friend who had a new Decent and was pulling his hair out with gushers and channeling. He was using ... you guessed it ... a bag of $20 supermarket beans with ... you guessed it again... no roast date. Go figure: spent 7,000 on a machine and wanted to save $30 on the beans. He was a little sheepish 🐑🐑🐑.

And item 2: as someone said "if your espresso tastes awful, the first tool to check is the one that holds the portafilter".

Glad to see the grinder ahead of the espresso machine. I'm more and more convinced that the grinder's job is to make the machine look good 👌

[EspressoAdventurer]

This is the one thing i learnt. The grinder is almost always the more important of the purchasing decisions.

Not contradicting this advice however offering an additional / alternative thought bubble........
Italian Espresso Society (chronologically) lists this -
1/ Machina (machine) 2/ Macchianato (grinder) 3/ Miscela (bean) 4/ Mano

I list as this.....(asking yourself each time, if I add that next item will that be The difference to making exceptional coffee, Yes / No)
1/ Fresh quality Bean - yes a must.
2/ Barista - Is the key. Knowledge, and keen interest to deliver.
3/ Grinder
4/ Machine
5/ Water
If you play the add or subtract....without good beans nothing is gonna happen.
But from then on the Barista is the key*. Knowledge, practice and the ability to observe / taste / interpret / adjust / make it happen.
*Given the machinery is of 'an accepted' level of performance.
GL with the upgrade / new kit / experiences.

[smeltitdeltit]

Some nice machines there on your short list.

Does the Rocket have PID temp control. I do like the finish on the Rockets. I really did like the way my Appartmento looked.

Have you seen them in person yet? That may help with your final decision.

Only seen the Appartamento and the R58 in person.
The current Rockets (except for the appartamento) do have PiD.
going to try an find a Mozzafiato to see in person early next week.

my main concern with the Technika is reportedly average steam output. WLL states it can take up to a full minute to steam milk which is a bit of a negative.

600 obviously doesn’t have that problem, however my wife likes the look of it the least (I think it’s the black plain steam/water handles) but I think some timber add ons will quickly change that!

[coffeemachine]

Some nice machines there on your short list.

Does the Rocket have PID temp control. I do like the finish on the Rockets. I really did like the way my Appartmento looked.

Have you seen them in person yet? That may help with your final decision.

[smeltitdeltit]

Had it down to the Technika V or the Pro 600. However just checked out the rocket Mozzafiato R and they seem similar spec to the Tech (rotary pump, HX, smaller boiler at 1.8) and it’s much much smaller in footprint at
Rocket Moz = 280x425 WxL. $4150
Technika = 325x475. $3800 (on sale)
pro 600 = 305x 450 $ 3750

hmmmmmmm

[coffeemachine]

That I am not sure about. We don’t get QM here in NZ. I believe they are popular in the US. Clive coffee has a partnership with them and gets them to build machines with the brand name Lucca. They also work with Eureka to make an Atom Lucca machine.

check out this review about their 58 coffee machine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5HVZuO7Ha8

[smeltitdeltit]

Looking good!! Don't forget room for the grinder!

Yup. Why I’m likely going to take your advice and go The 600.
easier to fit, and safer if we move or renovate.

How do the quick mills and isomac compare in terms of quality?