Siliconslave's how to make espresso thread

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What are the go to coffee grinders these days?

I fancy trying some of these more unusual coffee suggestions but don't feel my Delonghi bean to cup machine will do it justice. That said, I would also then need to grab an espresso machine...

Eureka Mignon has some good options. Atleast 50mm burrs if you are into espressos. Niche zero is great too.
 
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Thanks will take a look! Are hand grinders any good? I think I've seen you post about them before?



Thankyou :)

some hand grinders are better than others but you will really want to hand grind for the fun of it or it gets old fast. Grinding fine for espresso can takes a while. Or about 15s on an electrical one.

I would say a good one…one that I would go for would be like near £100. At that point you might as well get a used Mignon.
 
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Depends on your budget, intended use, arm strength and how much you value aesthetics but i'd probably recommend the following:

For brewing (pour over, cafetiere, moka pot, aeropress) id look at
<£100 - hand grinders
~£100 - Wilfa Svart
~£190 - Eureka Mignon Filtro
~£250 - Wilfa Uniform
£300 - Fellow Ode

For espresso
£100 - £150 - hand grinder ie 1Zpresso
£130 - £160 - Iberital MC2 / Lelit Fred (same thing, different cases) - has its drawbacks but good for the money
£280 - £400 - Eureka Facile to Eureka Specialita
£400ish - Solo / DF64
£500 - Niche Zero
£1260 -Lagom P64
£1500 - Weber Key (although pre-production)
£2500 - Weber EG-1
 
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olv

olv

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Depends on your budget, intended use, arm strength and how much you value aesthetics but i'd probably recommend the following:

For brewing (pour over, cafetiere, moka pot, aeropress) id look at
<£100 - hand grinders
~£100 - Wilfa Svart
~£190 - Eureka Mignon Filtro
~£250 - Wilfa Uniform
£300 - Fellow Ode

For expresso
£100 - £150 - hand grinder ie 1Zpresso
£130 - £160 - Iberital MC2 / Lelit Fred (same thing, different cases) - has its drawbacks but good for the money
£280 - £400 - Eureka Facile to Eureka Specialita
£300ish - Solo / DF64
£500 - Niche Zero
£1260 -Lagom P64
£1500 - Weber Key (although pre-production)
£2500 - Weber EG-1

Given you started the thread I'm very upset by your spelling of espresso :p

This is not a direct response to you but my experience of grinders over the past couple of month. I recently went from a Sage Smart Grinder Pro to a Niche and whilst it is a wonderful thing and I'm really pleased with it, on a pragmatic level it's not worth 2.5x the Sage 'in the cup'. It is worth it for the build, the workflow, the sound, the very fine control, all of that is great. The espresso it makes does have improved flavour and texture and it makes dialling in easier, there's less waste etc etc. But the Internet would have you believe it's night and day, but I think it's very much a case of incremental gains to me.

This thread has proved really useful over the past 18 months and from someone who went from drinking very little coffee to really enjoying the whole process it's been a good hobby to pick up.

Yjsg9oG.jpg
 
Man of Honour
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Given you started the thread I'm very upset by your spelling of espresso :p
...

This thread has proved really useful over the past 18 months and from someone who went from drinking very little coffee to really enjoying the whole process it's been a good hobby to pick up.

oh man, i can't believe i did that :o super embarrassing!

Glad your enjoying the thread and hobby, lovely looking setup(+gin cart!)
 
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Depends on your budget, intended use, arm strength and how much you value aesthetics but i'd probably recommend the following:

For brewing (pour over, cafetiere, moka pot, aeropress) id look at
<£100 - hand grinders
~£100 - Wilfa Svart
~£190 - Eureka Mignon Filtro
~£250 - Wilfa Uniform
£300 - Fellow Ode

For espresso
£100 - £150 - hand grinder ie 1Zpresso
£130 - £160 - Iberital MC2 / Lelit Fred (same thing, different cases) - has its drawbacks but good for the money
£280 - £400 - Eureka Facile to Eureka Specialita
£300ish - Solo / DF64
£500 - Niche Zero
£1260 -Lagom P64
£1500 - Weber Key (although pre-production)
£2500 - Weber EG-1

Can you really get the Solo/DF-64 for £300 as it's £399 on Bella Barista?

There is also the new Eureka Mignon Oro single dose grinder at £500, but that appears to suffer the same problem as most of the Eureka range that you cannot easily change from espresso to brew type coffees.
 
Man of Honour
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Can you really get the Solo/DF-64 for £300 as it's £399 on Bella Barista?

There is also the new Eureka Mignon Oro single dose grinder at £500, but that appears to suffer the same problem as most of the Eureka range that you cannot easily change from espresso to brew type coffees.

your right, I defiantly need an editor today, that should have been £400! I've not seen any reviews on the Oro Single Dose yet so waiting to see what its like - feels a bit like its just the xl on a wonk with a small hopper.
 
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Given you started the thread I'm very upset by your spelling of espresso :p

This is not a direct response to you but my experience of grinders over the past couple of month. I recently went from a Sage Smart Grinder Pro to a Niche and whilst it is a wonderful thing and I'm really pleased with it, on a pragmatic level it's not worth 2.5x the Sage 'in the cup'. It is worth it for the build, the workflow, the sound, the very fine control, all of that is great. The espresso it makes does have improved flavour and texture and it makes dialling in easier, there's less waste etc etc. But the Internet would have you believe it's night and day, but I think it's very much a case of incremental gains to me.

This thread has proved really useful over the past 18 months and from someone who went from drinking very little coffee to really enjoying the whole process it's been a good hobby to pick up.

Yjsg9oG.jpg


That's beautiful!

I feel the same, coming from a £20 grinder to a MC2 (which is allegedly awful and you need to spend £500), the difference whilst there it isn't as much as the internet will let you believe at all. I suppose it depends on how much money you have, but IMO I don't buy into it all that much.
 

olv

olv

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oh man, i can't believe i did that :o super embarrassing!

Glad your enjoying the thread and hobby, lovely looking setup(+gin cart!)

Thanks, very content with it and fortunately have no urge to change any of it, hopefully it will all last a long time if I look after it. The coffee kit upgrade escalator seems like it can be brutal (see the chap considering a Weber in the other thread) but this thread seems more grounded with plenty of Gaggia classics still going strong. I actually ordered a Mara X before the Rocket after weighing up the two machines for weeks but as soon as ordered it I knew I had chosen the wrong one for me and have been chuffed with the Mozz'.
 

olv

olv

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That's beautiful!

I feel the same, coming from a £20 grinder to a MC2 (which is allegedly awful and you need to spend £500), the difference whilst there it isn't as much as the internet will let you believe at all. I suppose it depends on how much money you have, but IMO I don't buy into it all that much.

Yep, and a lot of it is palette and experience which is a skill in itself. I've no doubt there is a tangible difference between a Niche and a Weber EG-1 but I'm confident I wouldn't be able to pick it out.

One of the main things I missed out before is the improved consistency, which is valuable, knowing you can get repeatable results.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1LUkfpTtu0 James Hoffmann's budget espresso for £250 vids is one of his best. Arguably you don't need more than that.
 
Man of Honour
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I feel the same, coming from a £20 grinder to a MC2 (which is allegedly awful and you need to spend £500), the difference whilst there it isn't as much as the internet will let you believe at all.

The biggest jump is by far pre-ground to self ground, after than it really is diminished returns from a taste point of view - your paying for repeatability, ease of use and build quality more than anything.
 
Man of Honour
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I actually ordered a Mara X before the Rocket after weighing up the two machines for weeks but as soon as ordered it I knew I had chosen the wrong one for me and have been chuffed with the Mozz'.

The appartamento is a great machine and stunning, i couldn't really justify the extra space for one (or a bianca) but for its footprint the maraX has been great.

Still rocking my Gaggia Classic :D
I do sometimes regret selling mine, served well for so long :)
 
Caporegime
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Yep, and a lot of it is palette and experience which is a skill in itself. I've no doubt there is a tangible difference between a Niche and a Weber EG-1 but I'm confident I wouldn't be able to pick it out.

One of the main things I missed out before is the improved consistency, which is valuable, knowing you can get repeatable results.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1LUkfpTtu0 James Hoffmann's budget espresso for £250 vids is one of his best. Arguably you don't need more than that.

This is my exact setup, probably cost me nearly exactly £250 too. I
 

olv

olv

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Also, learning to pour seems to be a never ending learning curve and the second you think you've got it, it all goes to cack.
 
Man of Honour
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Does anyone know any physical coffee machine stores which I can see a range of these in person?

Apparently bella barista will show you round a few machines with some arrangement but otherwise your'll be lucky. You could try the london coffee festival this weekend?

This is my exact setup, probably cost me nearly exactly £250 too. I
its rumoured (by me, now) that Hoffman based the video on this very thread :p
 
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