Used compak k10, or any mazzer (ok, ok, I got my k10 for 300)

 

If you're happy with buying a used grinder, you should be able to pick up a Mazzer Super Jolly in good condition for that amount.

 

Aaron, commiserations! I have a Eureka Mignon for sale in 2 weeks. Ask anyone who has or does own one and they will tell you that they are solid, and produce a fantastic in the cup experience. By now, I am sure most on know I think the Vario is pants, and I would still ask what a commercial grinder like a Mazzer Super Jolly really has in the domestic scene, especially when coupled to a Classic or similar. They are commercial because they are ideally suited to producing many shots per hour.

You can see the Mignon here at Bellabarista where I bought it from.

http://www.bellabarista.co.uk/espresso-grinders/coffee-grinders/eureka-mignon-instantaneo-grinder-auto-manual-chrome-557.html

I want £200 for her and I have the original box

 

Hey Guys!

Thanks for the replies.

I am not too sure about a used grinder, I guess if the deal is very good I would consider it.

I guess the most important thing for me at the moment is to get a grinder that gets me a great coffee on the Classic

If I keep the coffee bug I have at the moment and I choose to upgrade I am prepared for the fact that the grinder I get now might not be up to the job.

In my head I was thinking of something like a Rocky. Which if I get upgraditis, I could chuck on the bay and make some money back.

I am nervous about spending a fortune on a grinder before I have had any good coffee, which is a bit of a catch 22 I guess.

I could probably afford to spend £500 or so at the moment, but it is a big risk, far bigger than the available workspace in my current kitchen too

Decisions Decisions

 

Have you changed to the proper baskets and removed the pressurised one?

 

No Aaron, it can be really frustrating chasing the sweetspot. Basically, there are three important variables to get right. These are (IMO) in this order: grind, doseage and tamp. I upgraded my kit a while ago and was amazed at the improvement in shot quality but only after I had tweaked the three variables above. Clearly, the grinder is paramount. Never heard of a Solis - is it a burr grinder? For £250.00 you should get a very decent grinder. Eureka Mignon and Ibertal MC2 are well respected. Once you've got your new grinder, pull a shot and time from the moment the esprsso begins to flow until you've pulled around 1oz espresso. This should take between 25-30 seconds max. A couple of shot glasses help here. Incidentally, from the moment you hit the brew button to moment the espresso appears should be 5-6 seconds. Note, this is not to be counted as part of the above 25-30 seconds. If the shot takes less than 25-30 secs, adjust your grind finer. If the shot takes longer, adjust to slightly coarser grind. Keep the dosage to 16grms to begin with. Don't change the dosage and tamp pressure until you are pulling shots that hit the 25-30 sec duration. You should then start to enjoy consistent shot quality. It's best to keep to the same beans as well as different beans can require different levels of grind and doseage. Above all, don't despair, it will come right and you will enjoy great shots.

 

Have you changed to the proper baskets and removed the pressurised one?

Hey Glenn

Yes, using a standard basket, got rid of the pressurised one instantly

Aaron

 

The Eureka Mignon at £200 is a steal

 

Aaron, commiserations! I have a Eureka Mignon for sale in 2 weeks. Ask anyone who has or does own one and they will tell you that they are solid, and produce a fantastic in the cup experience. By now, I am sure most on know I think the Vario is pants, and I would still ask what a commercial grinder like a Mazzer Super Jolly really has in the domestic scene, especially when coupled to a Classic or similar. They are commercial because they are ideally suited to producing many shots per hour.

You can see the Mignon here at Bellabarista where I bought it from.

http://www.bellabarista.co.uk/espresso-grinders/coffee-grinders/eureka-mignon-instantaneo-grinder-auto-manual-chrome-557.html

I want £200 for her and I have the original box

The k10 brought out immense levels of depth the mini I had, simply never did, even with fresh burrs. Even on a classic.

 

Hey Guys!

Thanks for the replies.

I am not too sure about a used grinder, I guess if the deal is very good I would consider it.

I guess the most important thing for me at the moment is to get a grinder that gets me a great coffee on the Classic

If I keep the coffee bug I have at the moment and I choose to upgrade I am prepared for the fact that the grinder I get now might not be up to the job.

In my head I was thinking of something like a Rocky. Which if I get upgraditis, I could chuck on the bay and make some money back.

I am nervous about spending a fortune on a grinder before I have had any good coffee, which is a bit of a catch 22 I guess.

I could probably afford to spend £500 or so at the moment, but it is a big risk, far bigger than the available workspace in my current kitchen too

Decisions Decisions

A mazzer, will keep its value. They also are incredibly well built, unlike a plastic consumer grinder. You most likely won't need to do anything, at worst burrs with a used mazzer.

 

'from the moment you hit the brew button to moment the espresso appears should be 5-6 seconds. Note, this is not to be counted as part of the above 25-30seconds.'

Forgive me not using the 'official' quoting process - I haven't spotted how to do that yet:act-up:

I was intrigued to note your statement that the 'non-productive' 5-6 seconds is not included in the 25-30 seconds quoted for preferred shot time. Whilst I have seen references to the basic 25-30 seconds in very many posts I have never before seen the suggestion that this only comes into play after the shot starts to run. Can you please confirm that this is actually the case because - as a relative newby - this would be a new ball game to me.

Thanks

 

I'm under the impression that timer starts at button press. So the waiting time is inclusive.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

i'm pretty certain the time is supposed to start from the moment you hit the brew button, not when the stream of coffee first appears. this is something that i wondered about as well at first.

 

I second Glenn's comment on the Mignon. I have one and rate it very highly. I would take the secondhand offer.

 

the whole "wait" time was discussed in another thread, and no real conclusion was reached.

IN general, the 25-30 seconds starts from when you flip the switch. But there will be a machine to machine variation in this. e.g. it can sometimes take quite a while for water to start pouring from the brew head of my E61 type group. whereas in the classic, the water came out a bit quicker. So the wait time will vary by a few seconds between machines.

but, as long as you're keeping your counting consistent for your machine, that should be all that matters. As long as its between mid 20's and early 30's you should be doing ok

 

Remember that time is just a guide that you are in the right ballpark. You should not be aiming for a specific time as proof of a good extraction, but when around 25secs you know you are near. I would then scrap the timer and adjust to taste.

 

Hi Aaron,

Sorry to throw a spanner in the works, but after reading your thread and seeing you going up to £500 for a grinder I would suggest >>

Buy a 2nd hand Rancilio Silvia, which in my opinion will out perform the Classic any day of the week. Miss Silvia is a bit of a madam, but once you get a feel for how she behaves, you can get fantastic repeatable shots.

The Classic is a machine I see lots of people going for, mainly driven by the fact they dont want to shell out more than £200, which is not much ££ for a decent espresso machine. The reality is, the Classic may look OK for £200, but the quality of it's shots are not great. But, I guess, it's all down to the individual's taste...

In terms of grinder, you could gran a used Mazzer SJ (don't be put off by 2nd hand grinders, as solid grinders last for a LONG time. Or, as a poster above states - the Eureka Mignon is also a very good option (I strongly recommend).

In short:

Get shot of the Classic. Buy a machine that WILL give you repeatable shots. The Classic is £200 for a reason.

Invest in a good grinder and don't be put off by the 2nd hand tag (it's not important).

 

Thanks for that view SGX

I had a similar internal dialogue when I decided to go with the Classic.

Due to gift vouchers I managed to get the Classic for £120, so that swayed my decision. In my head I thought the money saved on the machine would free more money for a grinder.

I did a lot of reading on the Classic vs the Silvia. The general view was that the Silvia was the best, but that the classic is capable of good shots.

I made the decision to get the classic as a starter machine, to get practicing the techniques etc.

I am not intending to keep it long term, within a year or so I would like to get a Rocket, hence not wanting to spend considerably more on the Silvia.

Thanks again.

 

Very sensible. The Silvia is not significantly better than the Classic to justify the greater expense, especially when you know you are going to upgrade in the future. Spending more on the grinder will show a greater quality in shot far above the difference between a Silvia and Classic.

 

Very sensible. The Silvia is not significantly better than the Classic to justify the greater expense, especially when you know you are going to upgrade in the future. Spending more on the grinder will show a greater quality in shot far above the difference between a Silvia and Classic.

Agreed, Silvia is better, but not significantly better..

 

Very sensible. The Silvia is not significantly better than the Classic to justify the greater expense, especially when you know you are going to upgrade in the future. Spending more on the grinder will show a greater quality in shot far above the difference between a Silvia and Classic.

I agree with this completely. I took this approach a while back to learn and wait for the money for a significantly better machine. Mind you then kids, SWMBO etc... got in the way of those plans but that's another story...

 

I had a gaggia classic before the izzo. At the time I moved from a mazzer mini to the k10. By far the biggest difference compared to the izzo vs the classic.

The classic isn't so bad for single shots of espresso.

 

i had a gaggia carezza (pretty much the same as a classic) and i knew that a silvia wouldnt be enough of an upgrade for me, so i didnt bother wasting my money. I just saved a bit until i could get something approaching my dream machine

I love my cherub, but in the back of my mind, lingers the concept of a rocket R58

 

Thanks for that view SGX

I had a similar internal dialogue when I decided to go with the Classic.

Due to gift vouchers I managed to get the Classic for £120, so that swayed my decision. In my head I thought the money saved on the machine would free more money for a grinder.

I did a lot of reading on the Classic vs the Silvia. The general view was that the Silvia was the best, but that the classic is capable of good shots.

I made the decision to get the classic as a starter machine, to get practicing the techniques etc.

I am not intending to keep it long term, within a year or so I would like to get a Rocket, hence not wanting to spend considerably more on the Silvia.

Thanks again.

No probs...

It's all about opinions on here.

Reading the above posts - Classic Vs Silvia debate.

I hear what people are saying, but personally I've not seen many great shots come out of Classics. Sure the cost is a fair bit higher, but Silvia's resell for a decent fee, so it's not like your pouring ££ down the drain.

For me it all comes down to the quality of the espresso, and the Silvia wins every time on that front.

I'd rather pay £350 for a great shot, than £150 for a sour one!

 

So far at least, I find the Classic isn't that bad. The biggest issue for me is pushing quantity through. With just one boiler, if you want to make lots of milk based coffee drinks its something of an issue. However, to upgrade to a dual boiler and get good quality, I am told, costs a lot of money.

Coupled with a decent grinder, and I love my Eureka Mignon, the classic can do a decent job. It all comes down to understanding how to get consistently good coffee and to realise what the root cause is when the coffee comes out inconsistently.

I have seen an order of magnitude improvement in my coffee's having moved from tinned ground to freshly ground from Union Roasted and from having had no instruction to having had some instruction from Glen.

Yes, spending a fortune may improve coffee and its consistency to some degree but understanding how to extract the flavours in the first place is far more important than throwing money at hardware, IMHO.

Buy the Eureka, its a good deal and maybe consider putting the saving toward getting some one to one instruction on coffee preparation. It's fun and it will set you up for life.