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Am I an Idiot for contemplating an X54 as dedicated French Press Grinder?

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  • Am I an Idiot for contemplating an X54 as dedicated French Press Grinder?

    As the title suggests, I drink a French press everyday and currently have a Breville SGP as a dedicated FP grinder
    its fine. It does the job but it’s getting long in the tooth and I fear it’s not long for this world
    As I’m the type of guy who is constantly looking for the next shiny thing to pick up, I’ve been passively looking around for a replacement grinder

    The kicker is, it would need to be a grinder with a hopper and have timed doses as single dosing for French press is more effort than my missus would prefer to deal with.

    I previously looked at the Mahlkonig X54 when on the hunt for an Espresso Grinder (it didn’t make the cut, but I’m still pretty interested in one) and it seems to fit the bill for what I’m chasing.

    While the cost doesn’t really put me off, it kinda feels like overkill despite the fact it would be used 7 days a week

    Are there any other (more sensible) options I should consider?
    Should I just buy another Breville?
    Is a mid tier grinder a diminishing return when only using it for French Press?

    Advice is appreciated


  • #2
    well you know what my answer to this will be
    If it ticks all boxes and as you say, will use it everyday, i dont see why not.
    Ill most likely be using my p64 purely for pourover, my p100 purely for espresso and the Key when the mood takes me and for milk based drinks

    Comment


    • 20in40out
      20in40out commented
      Editing a comment
      I enjoy your brand of bad influence

  • #3
    Considering how reasonable the price is on the X54 I'd say it's as good an option as any. Retention would actually be quite low at a course grind setting as well. The two other similar options I can think of with similar features and around that price are the Hey Cafe H1 or a Eureka.

    Comment


    • JohnA
      JohnA commented
      Editing a comment
      The heycafe H1 doesnt do timed grinding, and you need to hold the button down when grinding...

    • 20in40out
      20in40out commented
      Editing a comment
      I don’t think the Eureka can grind into anything other than a Portafilter or small dosing cup

  • #4
    20in40out the x54 is a super high quality grinder. The "sensible" thing to do is to buy one. You'll likely never regret it and it will give you a warm fuzzy feeling every time you use it. For many of us, it's about more than what's in the cup.

    Comment


    • 20in40out
      20in40out commented
      Editing a comment
      I also enjoy your brand of bad influence ;-)

  • #5
    The Breville is surprisingly not terrible at coarser grinding like French press, and the X54 is apparently terrible at coarser grinding. Most grinders aren't consistently good across a wide range, usually better for spro, or better for brew, or kind of average for both.

    If you want a dedicated hopper grinder with timer for brew, something like the Settle 30 would probably be similar to the Breville but faster and louder, or for an upgrade in grind quality the Forte BG. Then there's also the Virtuoso+, Mignon Crono, Mignon Brew Pro...

    Comment


    • level3ninja
      level3ninja commented
      Editing a comment
      PSD goes to poop at coarser settings apparently. I think it was in Lance's video comparing it with the Vario & something else.

    • Fohral
      Fohral commented
      Editing a comment
      I don’t know how much info is out there about the Rancilio Stile, but it would be comparable to the X54 in terms of price and function. Maybe it does a better job at French press?

    • Steve82
      Steve82 commented
      Editing a comment
      Sounds like ForteBG (make sure it has steel burrs) is exactly what you want. Keep the hopper at least half full and its very accurate / repeatable.

      I gave dad my old VarioW with steel brew burrs a long time ago and always reminds me how much i enjoy hopper fed grind on those burrs. Unfortunately with the range and types of coffees i brew its just not viable to have hopper grinder.

  • #6
    Great french press grinder, but I reckon that the fellow Ode 2 would do just as good a job. Hell, you'd have $$$ for a set of SSP burrs if you weren't happy with the out of the box results. I have a Ode 1 with SSP and even that's terrific.

    Comment


    • 20in40out
      20in40out commented
      Editing a comment
      Ode was my first choice but Single dose only knocked it out of the running

    • Caffeinator
      Caffeinator commented
      Editing a comment
      Ok. I would have thought that if you were grinding for french press or another manual method that you would want to weigh in?

    • 20in40out
      20in40out commented
      Editing a comment
      I typically set the timer on dosage til it’s close enough
      I’ve never felt an exact and precise dose was required for FP
      If it’s close to 60gr/litre, thet’ll do

  • #7
    The x54 burrs are definitely espresso focused — the ideal set up would be a vario or forte with steel burrs. Hopper, timer (or by weight for Forte), and burrs that absolutely shine for brewed coffee. Baratza also have fantastic service.

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