I know, everybody eventually learns it. I have been using a Saeco 2002 for 8 or 10 years for my brewed coffee grinding. Upgraded from a blade. It has smallish flat burrs, mounted in metal, so it should have been ok. Right? Evidently, no. It always produced a fair amount of dust, so press coffee was pretty muddy. And the Santos vac-pot that I bought a year ago never did work well--always stalled from the fines that choked the filter. I even got a Cory rod as a tradition from Brett (which I still need to reciprocate), and it stalled too. Arrrrgh! Drip was "ok". Homeroast made it pretty good. Well I'm sipping on a decaf Sumatra I roasted a few nights ago that just came out of the Santos--a little quick, I may need to tweak the grind next time just a bit, but no stall, and the taste that the vac-pot descriptions mention--bright, clean, mmmmmmm. The difference? Mazzer Mini, set at about 6 (espresso grind is about a 3 on this one). Even grind (fast too), no dust, coffee is excellent. So what took me so long? Some days I'm kinda slooooowwwwwwwwwww. :-) If there is anyone left who is still on the fence, thinking about what grinder to buy: Buy the best one you could ever see yourself wanting. Get a Rocky, or a Mazzer. Upgrade all the way at the very beginning. Save yourself a lot of inferior coffee, a few disappointing upgrades, and a bunch of money. Dean "From *$ to coffee in less than 2 years!" |
On Aug 13, 2005, at 8:34 PM, Dean wrote:
<Snip>
Dean,
Welcome to the club. I just hurts my soul to see people buy
Tom's good coffee, go to the trouble of home roasting, and then waste
much of the quality by using a poor grinder.
Jim Gundlach
"The espresso machine is an accessory to the grinder, not the other
way around."
|
Dean - now isn't coffee great! I do hope the glass rod will do its magic for you every time! I would add to your counsel that if the Rocky or Mazzer are out of range, at least buy a decent Zass - I bought my 3rd zass online two weeks ago from eBay - it was unmarked, except for the traditional Z logo stamped on the bottom. Nobody caught it, save for two of us, and I picked her up for $7.50 + shipping... $20 to my door. Now my office matches my home in Zassability... (Can't swing a second Rocky for the office though...) Regards all, Brett On 8/13/05, Dean wrote: <Snip> ribes) go tohttp://sweetmarias.com/maillistinfo.html#personalsettings<Snip> -- Regards, Brett Mason HomeRoast __]_ _(( )_ Please don't spill the coffee! |
When looking for a quality grinder don't over look the Macap-4 it great for= anyone that grinds for several different coffee extractions. <Snip> unsvbscribes) go to http://sweetmarias.com/maillistinfo.html#personalsettings<Snip> -- George Holt Waxhaw, NC 28173 |
Dean you think the Mini is fast you out to see my Major grind! Les Zar dreaming. On 8/13/05, Dean wrote: <Snip> |
I'd be afraid it would grab my hand when I feed in the beans. :-D Les wrote: <Snip> |
George, Any downsides to the Macap? I'm currently tossing up between it and an MM. I'm favouring the Macap for a few reasons including the one you mention, aesthetics, plus the doser reputedly sweeps cleaner than the MM. Regards, Gary On 8/14/05, George Holt wrote: <Snip> or <Snip> a <Snip> t <Snip> |
When I was shopping I had concluded that they were pretty close to identical. The MM has a friction lock on the adjuster, and Macap has a plunger so it is a little less infinite for tweaking. The MM has been around longer and parts should be available if you ever need them. The MM has a large fan base. (That is a lot of people think it's cool) The new MM has a shorter hopper so it fits on the counter under cabinets better The Macap is a little cheaper, available in a few more nice colors, and may indeed be easier to adjust for big changes in grind with the lock is has. The Macap has a straight switch, the MM has a timer It seems to me that there was a comment on CoffeeGeek that dissed the M4, and that influenced me a little, but I didn't go back out this evening and look for it. I've never seen the M4, can't comment on the doser. Maybe it comes down to a coin flip or a "who do you want to buy it from and what do they carry" choice. For the money, you probably can't go wrong either way. Dean Gary Bennett wrote: <Snip> |
I just read a (Preliminary) 'Geek report on the Macap vs the MM, and the micrometer grind adjustment of the MM gave it the edge. After all, when you're talking grinders- It's the Grind, Silly, and the ability to grind with a finer variation than the index stops of the Macap= gave the Mini the nod in the prelim. report. The wire sweeper of the Macap's doser bin got a big Attaboy, but the Grind= of the MM still gets the nod for now. My Mazzer Brevetto has a 7/8 HP motor= and ten year old burrs! If I could run it 5 years on the old burrs, I could= better run it 5 years on brand-new burrs. Not to worry- you can have the motor running and toss in 35g of beans for a= drip brew. By the time the beans hit the bottom of the Grand Canyon bean hopper and the hungry burrs, your hands will be holding the filter basket,= out of range! The doser has been excised on my MM, so I grind right into the PF or drip= filter basket. Mere seconds between grind and brew, and does this Bolivian= Cenaproc Peaberry ever appreciate it! It was green 70 hours ago, and is really peaking now. Bottom line- between the Macap and the MM, it's almost a toss-up. But the= Mazzer has stepless micrometer grind adjustment- I could describe 200 different, repeatable settings on the Brevetto, and the Mini should be the= same. So much to learn- "classes" are a blast... Cheers -RayO,aka Opa! On 8/14/05, Gary Bennett wrote: <Snip> <Snip> t <Snip> <Snip> t <Snip> -- "When the theme hits the bass, I dance the Jig!" - -Virgil Fox at the Wichita WurliTzer |
From what I've read, it seems to grind as well as the mini and costs
about $50 less. Disadvantage noted is stepped grind adjustment.
Now that I have infinite grind adjustment, I'll never go back to a
stepped machine. Another advantage is that it is probably the best
looking grinder out there.
Jim Gundlach
On Aug 14, 2005, at 6:52 PM, Gary Bennett wrote:
<Snip>
"The espresso machine is an accessory to the grinder, not the other
way around."
|
Thanks for the comments, guys. Given that I usually grind for two doubles at a time, and I dose and tamp by look and feel rather than weighing, I suspect any advantage of the infinite adjustment in the MM is outweighed by the better sweeping of the Macap and the relative ease of grinding for different preparation methods. Regards, Gary On 8/15/05, Pecan Jim Gundlach wrote: <Snip> t <Snip> ave <Snip> her <Snip> or <Snip> <Snip> |
The Macap was the grinder for me. I drink a great deal of French Press coffee and an equal amount of Espresso. I can go from FP to Espresso quickly with very little fine tuning.The doser really sweeps clean on the Macap. I have a Zass I use for travel and cupping but I don't have the time to use it for my day to day grinding. I would not mind getting MM just for Espresso bur right now I have my eye on a new double boiler. Maybe next year I'll get a dedicated Espresso grinder. On 8/14/05, Gary Bennett wrote: <Snip> for <Snip> t <Snip> r a <Snip> lot <Snip> y. <Snip> ribes) go tohttp://sweetmarias.com/maillistinfo.html#personalsettings<Snip> -- George Holt Waxhaw, NC 28173 |
George, Thanks. Your experience/usage pattern sounds very similar to mine. I grind for Press in the morning and grind for espresso in the evening. I also have a Zass for travel or for when I need to grind quietly. Regards, Gary On 8/15/05, George Holt wrote: <Snip> at for <Snip> hat <Snip> or a <Snip> a lot <Snip> ney. <Snip> scribes) go tohttp://sweetmarias.com/maillistinfo.html#personalsettings<Snip> ribes) go tohttp://sweetmarias.com/maillistinfo.html#personalsettings<Snip> |
Dean ... you most likely know this .. but you can get two different size hoppers for the Mini .... I elected to get the smaller on ... so it would fit a bit better where I now have it ... Holds about 1# of beans ... Works great. Later, Bob <Snip> |