inna Senior Member Joined: 10 May 2005 Posts: 18 Location: Sydney Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Tue Jun 30, 2009, 8:33am Subject: Best grinder around £100 (UK)
I know that to get a great grinder you should probably spend upwards of £500, but I'm looking for a present for a friend that will be making espresso at home.. but it's not going to be anything too serious.
At home I have the original Solis Maestro (bought in Australia) and it does the job very well for me - but I can't find the same model in the UK. I found one store selling the Solis Maestro Plus for £99, but it has some pretty poor reviews on this site.
Around £100 is the really the limit, and I do understand it narrows it down a huge amount, but any help would be much appreciated!
mybs Senior Member Joined: 26 Jan 2006 Posts: 450 Location: Northern CA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: QuickMill Anita Grinder: Macap M4, La Cimbali Jr. Drip: KitchenAid, AeroPress, CCD Roaster: FreshRoast+8, SC/CO
Posted Tue Jun 30, 2009, 10:01am Subject: Re: Best grinder around £100 (UK)
I'm not entirely sure about this (so someone correct me if I'm wrong), but the Solis Maestro Plus should be a better grinder than a regular Solis Maestro. Both units are now renamed to become the Baratza Maestro and Maestro Plus, and here's info I got from Wholelattelove about the differences between the two (link here).
"The Maestro Plus takes over where the Maestro left off - with a sculpted metal base for a heavier, more professional look and feel and a timer for increased flexibility. And, the Maestro Plus has been redesigned to include a more powerful 240-watt DC motor along with an innovative calibration system. The new calibration system offers precise control over the Maestro Plus’ 40 fineness settings and comes pre-calibrated for accurate grinding."
I think the general consensus here is that neither grinder will grind fine enough or is durable enough to produce espresso quality grinds for a pump-driven semi-auto machine. People have obviously attempted to use it for espresso, but most CG members eventually upgraded their grinder to one that is better designed for espresso.
Probably with a strict £100 limit, the Solis Maestro Plus may be the top grinder you can get; however, since I'm not familiar with what is available in the UK and at what prices, I'll leave it to others to advise you further.
wfallon Senior Member Joined: 18 Jan 2009 Posts: 166 Location: Portland, Maine / Providence, RI Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Gaggia Evolution Grinder: Peter Dienes hand mill Roaster: Popcorn poppers!
Posted Tue Jun 30, 2009, 10:36am Subject: Re: Best grinder around £100 (UK)
I seem to recall the Iberital line of grinders, badged under a few names - nemox lux for one, I think - has an entry level grinder for around that price range. It may more more like 129 or 139 euro's though... As I am in the US, I am not all that familiar with Euro priced gear. Well worth looking into though, as this will give you a much much more consistent and quality espresso grind, if that is what you are after. If you intend to use it for press pot or drip though, the micro worm drive adjustment won't do, and you may be better of trying to make do with the maestro.
Posted Tue Jun 30, 2009, 2:24pm Subject: Re: Best grinder around £100 (UK)
mybs Said:
I'm not entirely sure about this (so someone correct me if I'm wrong), but the Solis Maestro Plus should be a better grinder than a regular Solis Maestro. Both units are now renamed to become the Baratza Maestro and Maestro Plus, and here's info I got from Wholelattelove about the differences between the two (link here).
"The Maestro Plus takes over where the Maestro left off - with a sculpted metal base for a heavier, more professional look and feel and a timer for increased flexibility. And, the Maestro Plus has been redesigned to include a more powerful 240-watt DC motor along with an innovative calibration system. The new calibration system offers precise control over the Maestro Plus’ 40 fineness settings and comes pre-calibrated for accurate grinding."
I think the general consensus here is that neither grinder will grind fine enough or is durable enough to produce espresso quality grinds for a pump-driven semi-auto machine. People have obviously attempted to use it for espresso, but most CG members eventually upgraded their grinder to one that is better designed for espresso.
Probably with a strict £100 limit, the Solis Maestro Plus may be the top grinder you can get; however, since I'm not familiar with what is available in the UK and at what prices, I'll leave it to others to advise you further.
The Baratza Maestro and Maestro Plus currently use the same motor, burrs and adjuster AFAIK, the only differences are the metal base and timer on the Plus. I believe that the Solis models are the same, just different badges. I wouldn't recommend either of them for espresso but YMMV. I seem to remember hearing that there is a lower priced model from Anfim that is available in the UK and may be an option for you.
Posted Tue Jun 30, 2009, 7:38pm Subject: Re: Best grinder around £100 (UK)
The Iberital grinder is around £100. As an entry level espresso grinder I think it is unbeatable even if you double the budget.
As the previous poster said it is a worm drive which means a lot of turns of a stiff mechanism for very small adjustment - great for espresso (very fine adjustment). Useless for a multipurpose grinder since you can't go from espresso to drip grind easily.
From visual isnpection of the grounds I think this is an outrageously good grinder. Even at coarser settings the grind is very even.
wfallon Senior Member Joined: 18 Jan 2009 Posts: 166 Location: Portland, Maine / Providence, RI Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Gaggia Evolution Grinder: Peter Dienes hand mill Roaster: Popcorn poppers!
Posted Wed Jul 1, 2009, 7:51am Subject: Re: Best grinder around £100 (UK)
It sounds like the Iberital would definitely be your best option under 100, then. I have heard good things about the grinder when used for espresso only, and it should pair very well with any sort of entry level or consumer machine your friend would be using.
inna Senior Member Joined: 10 May 2005 Posts: 18 Location: Sydney Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Fri Jul 3, 2009, 4:21am Subject: Re: Best grinder around £100 (UK)
I've ordered the Ibertial MC2 Auto from Happy Donkey - £119 total (with VAT and delivery) - looking forward to see how it compares with my Solis Maestro.
inna Senior Member Joined: 10 May 2005 Posts: 18 Location: Sydney Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Tue Aug 11, 2009, 4:00am Subject: Re: Best grinder around £100 (UK)
I finally got to use the friend's Iberital on the weekend - it was originally way too fine for espresso (and possibly anything), but turning the knob towards me for about 10mins did the trick. It seems quite weird to me that the setting change would take so long, but it works beautifully now, and the espresso stream is absolutely perfect with the grind setting now... so much so that I really need to get myself one soon and replace my Solis Maestro.
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