Espresso: Grinders - Espresso Anyone tried the new MACAP Electronic Doserless Grinder? Get Expert Advice Read articles and talk to our knowledgeable staff. Free Shipping & No Tax. Call 866-287-4634. www.aabreecoffee.com   Not Logged in: log in updated topics   new posts   new unanswered   search   faq   sign up   Discussions > Espresso > Grinders -... > Anyone tried the...   view previous topic | view next topic | view all topics Author Messages FredFal Senior Member Joined: 24 Jun 2005 Posts: 328 Location: Jacksonville, AR Expertise: I love coffee Espresso: Brewtus II (Deuce) Grinder: Mazzer Mini E Type B (E.B.) Roaster: GC (Gene) Posted Thu Nov 15, 2007, 2:34pm Subject: Anyone tried the new MACAP Electronic Doserless Grinder?   I noticed the new MACAP Electronic espresso grinder appear on ChrisCoffee.com about a month ago, but still haven't seen any threads on it. I've always admired the MACAP worm gear adjustability (I have to be VERY careful adjusting the Mazzer so I don't overshoot).  The electronic adjustment is intriguing as well. Has anyone used or purchased this grinder? How's the clumping? How much coffee gets trapped in the grind path between shots? How well does the little prong portafilter holder work? Any insights would be appreciated. Thanks, -Fred back to top mgrayson Senior Member Joined: 3 Nov 2007 Posts: 6 Location: NYC Expertise: I love coffee Espresso: Andreja Premium Grinder: MACAP XK7R Drip: Aeropress Roaster: FreshRoast plus8 Posted Sat Nov 17, 2007, 4:40pm Subject: Re: Anyone tried the new MACAP Electronic Doserless Grinder?   I used one for a few months. It is pretty good. The clumping is awesome! Best clumps ever. Don't think of using this grinder without the WDT. I could never tell how much coffee was stuck up in the burrs because it is hard to get a brush up there. Never used the portafilter holder. The timing mechanism works very well. I upgraded to a MACAP MK7R because I really wanted a Robur, but it wouldn't fit in the kitchen. The big MACAP makes fantastic coffee, but is neither small nor elegant. For the price of the Electronic Doserless, I'd go for a Mazzer Major or the 63mm conical burr MACAP. Best, Matt back to top faaparasite Senior Member Joined: 19 Jun 2003 Posts: 168 Location: Dallas Metroplex Expertise: I love coffee Espresso: Bezzera BZ99 Grinder: Mazzer Super Jolly Drip: Technivorm Roaster: BBQ trash can Posted Sun Nov 18, 2007, 12:12pm Subject: Re: Anyone tried the new MACAP Electronic Doserless Grinder?   I haven't ever used a MACAP, but it's selling point of an ELECTRONIC adjustment over an ELECTRIC adjustment sounds like hogwash to me. There's simply no way as far as I know to get a perfect 14 grams or whatever you want every time simply by timing the grind.  There's too many variables involved.  Everyone I know (including myself) who has a timed doserless either over grinds and rakes off the excess or undergrinds and pulses the machine to bring it up to whatever they want.  Having a timer is a great feature because you always get pretty close to what you want, but anyone who thinks you can get a perfect dose every time with an electronic or any other timer is dreaming. back to top xdavez Senior Member Joined: 21 Nov 2007 Posts: 612 Location: USA Expertise: Professional Espresso: La Spaziale Vivaldi II Grinder: Mahlkoenig K 30es, Mazzer... Vac Pot: none Drip: Technivorm Posted Sun Mar 9, 2008, 4:41pm Subject: Re: Anyone tried the new MACAP Electronic Doserless Grinder?   Agreed!   that's why the "digi" thing is a waste!  analog for me! dave back to top CoffeePhilter Senior Member Joined: 9 Feb 2005 Posts: 621 Location: St. Albert, Alberta Expertise: Professional Espresso: Bricoletta Grinder: Macap Posted Sun Mar 9, 2008, 9:30pm Subject: Re: Anyone tried the new MACAP Electronic Doserless Grinder?   Keep in mind I am also an advertiser here, so please take that as you will, but the grinder I use personally for me and my family is the Macap M4 Digital, and this is the first grinder I have had so far (and I go through a LOT of grinders) that has both been able to satisfy both my "coffeegeek" needs and also allow my family to easily and effectively make espresso based drinks.  Is it perfect?  Nope - but it is very household friendly, and that is important to me as well, as I am only 1/4 of the household. Bottom line, DIGITAL TIMING RULES! Analog..pffft...go back to the 70s!  Now if only the digital control was combined with a SMALL kitchen friendly/non-clumping conical it would be the PERFECT home grinder for me.   The M4D, even being somewhat kitchen manageable, I still find too large...as does my wife.  After getting rid of my Mazzer Major, I refuse to go large any more. Of course, the extra cost also has to be figured in when compared to a standard M4....but that is a personal decision. As to accuracy, it is the digital control is VERY accurate by my measurement, and after switching to this grinder, I weighed EVERY shot for some time - and the digital timer is INCREDIBLEY easy to use.  With ALL my previous grinders, I have used everything from mounding, loading, WDT, distributing, skimming to weighing the grounds each basket.  It was always quite the exercise - and I hate doing it....and no one else in my family every *really* did it properly or cared to do so.  With the Macap M4D, I currently have my dosage time set to 7.4 seconds and I get within .3 grams of 14g every time...most of the time closer and dead on.  I have put my scale away and don't even use it any more as I just trust the dosage by time now.  One thing that will effect accuracy is if I let the bean level in the hopper get too low....the pressure/weight of the beans in the hopper is important to keep the timing accurate...again, not an issue for me, as I always keep around 2 days of beans in the hopper. The M4D does hold too much in the snout after a grind....but what grinder doesn't?  For *my* use, I have the "Single Shot" timer function set to my "purge" dose...around 2.0 seconds....I use this get flush older grounds out of the chute/burr path before use.  I have found that by purging around 3-4 grams, I am into my "coffee geek" grind quality range and shots are great.  Since I am not overfilling/levelling etc, my waste level has gone DOWN as well since getting this grinder.  My other family members do not bother purging at all....they just stroll up, hit the "Double Shot" button, do a quick stir with my WDT tool as I have shown them, and lightly tamp and pull as they are frothing milk. The one MAJOR negative point to this grinder is definately the clumpiness.....the worst I have had from any grinder to date, but like mentioned, as long as you are using the WDT to break them up/distribute, no issues with excellent extractions.  The clumps are still very light/fluffy, and they tamp well without WDT, but this does create some channelling I have found.  I use WDT to de-clump and since I use around 14g dosing, I need to stir the grounds to level them anyways. Grant p.s. The coffee-geek in me preferred the Mini-E, but my wife doesn't care for Mazzer looks (I agree - Macaps are more wife/kitchen friendly), and the digital control is waaaay easier to adjust on the fly.   "Wake up and Smell the Coffee" back to top msmithies Senior Member Joined: 29 Dec 2007 Posts: 15 Location: Tasmania Expertise: I love coffee Espresso: Elektra Micro Casa a Leva,... Grinder: Macap m4D Vac Pot: Bodum Roaster: Popcorn Posted Tue Mar 11, 2008, 3:29am Subject: Re: Anyone tried the new MACAP Electronic Doserless Grinder?   I concur entirely with CoffeePhilter.  I have had my Macap M4D for over a month, and found the electronic timing delivers accuracy of +/- 0.1g for a single does of ~8g.  I've had some bigger variations, but not often.  Changing beans requires re-calibration,  eg on a 4.2 second cycle I go from 7.9g to  8.4g with two different beans, but these variations are themselves consistent and predictable   As far as grinds left in the chute goes, I've only found a tiny 0.3 g in mine, so I'm suspecting I've missed something there, and there are more hidden further up.  You can see that I've had fun with the scales, but after a few weeks the novelty wore off, and I was getting such consistent results that I stopped using them. Home-roasted, fresh beans nearly eliminate clumping.   Conclusion:  With this grinder you can certainly achieve dosage mass consistency, which in turn leaves you to concentrate on other variables.    I know I could have stuck with my old grinder, and simply weighed out the required amount before it went into the PF, or bought a doser model and weighed beans before grinding, or timed things with a stopwatch, or ...  Whatever, this is a great device that well and truly achieves for me exactly what I wanted it to do.   A side benefit - My brother called me  "pretentious " (his language was stronger than that) for spending ~A$1k on a grinder.  To prove his point, I've unnecessarily changed the display language from English to Italian, so now it says "dose singola" and "dose doppia". back to top gamehawker Senior Member Joined: 11 Oct 2004 Posts: 33 Location: us Expertise: I love coffee Grinder: Capresso Infinity Drip: Bunn Thermal carafe Roaster: 2 Fresh Roast Plus8 setup Posted Fri Mar 14, 2008, 12:38pm Subject: Re: Anyone tried the new MACAP Electronic Doserless Grinder?   Are there anymore thoughts about this grinder? back to top efilive Senior Member Joined: 28 Dec 2007 Posts: 40 Location: los angeles Expertise: I live coffee Espresso: Expobar Brewtus II Grinder: Macap M4D/Rocky Doserless Drip: capresso aroma... Roaster: Behmor 1600 Posted Fri Mar 14, 2008, 10:36pm Subject: Re: Anyone tried the new MACAP Electronic Doserless Grinder?   This was my first serious grinder and had I known what I know now, I would have bought something else. Today it would be a Hax Hybrid, back then I would have ordered a Versalab. The digital is really nice but I think they could have done a way better job on the interface and adjusting it takes 15 to 20 seconds, not a lot, but foreever if you need to do it a few times in a row.  And it clumps like crazy. I now dose into a small glass jar, stir in the jar to break up the clumps and pour that into the portafilter and stir that again.  It's beautiful and easy to adjust, lots of things about it are wonderful but the clumping drives me crazy. I have also set the single dose to clear the leftover grounds which is useful but seemingly a waste of that timer setting and a lot of coffee.  My wife loves it, but she doesn't use it. Ira back to top gt6267a Senior Member Joined: 17 Sep 2007 Posts: 43 Location: mgm Expertise: Just starting Posted Tue Apr 15, 2008, 4:52am Subject: Re: Anyone tried the new MACAP Electronic Doserless Grinder?   this thread has been around a while now. those with the E should have gotten more exposure to the toy. just wondering if anyone has an update with more experience? i love the idea of timing the grind ... back to top gamehawker Senior Member Joined: 11 Oct 2004 Posts: 33 Location: us Expertise: I love coffee Grinder: Capresso Infinity Drip: Bunn Thermal carafe Roaster: 2 Fresh Roast Plus8 setup Posted Sat Oct 4, 2008, 10:16am Subject: Re: Anyone tried the new MACAP Electronic Doserless Grinder?   Anymore feedback and thoughts on this grinder? back to top view previous topic | view next topic | view all topics Discussions > Espresso > Grinders -... > Anyone tried the...   updated topics   new posts   new unanswered     search   faq   sign up   Not Logged in: log in Discussions Quick Jump: Select Espresso Discussions --Espresso Machines --Lever Espresso Machines --Grinders - Espresso --Espresso Mods and Restorations --Espresso Blends --Questions and Answers --Latte Art and Etching --Barista Jams Around the World --General Discussion Coffee Discussions --Machines and Brewing Methods --Home Roasting Talk --Questions and Answers --General Discussion Columns, How-Tos, and Reviews --Holiday Gift List Feedback --CoffeeGeek Columnist Feedback --Detailed Review Feedback --Products First Look Feedback --Quickshot Review Feedback --Guide Article Feedback --How-To Article Feedback --CoffeeGeek Podcast Feedback Members Forum --Bug Reports and Suggestions --Buy, Sell and Trade --Retail Coffee Jobs Offered / Wanted Ads --Coffee Recipes --Cafe and Bean Reviews --CoffeeGeek Site Info and News --General Off Topics World Regional --United States West --United States Central --United States East --Western Canada --Eastern Canada --United Kingdom --Western Europe --Eastern Europe, Nordic Countries, and Russia --Central and South America --Australia, New Zealand and Asia Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit      = No New Posts since last visit     = Newest post Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. 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