Ashley83 Senior Member Joined: 8 Oct 2011 Posts: 12 Location: London, England Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sun Feb 24, 2013, 10:24am Subject: Do I need to upgrade? Mazzer madness
Ok so I currently have an izzo vivi espresso machine which is great, which I use with a mazzer mini. I find the grind quality fairly good, sometimes a little clumping, but what really bugs me is the doser on the front. And the fact that if I weigh 19 grams of beans I only get about 17.5g back sometimes, then on the next shot it might be 20.5g for example. Is it worth me upgrading to a mazzer mini e, vario w, or even looking out for the more expensive on demand grinders on eBay? I would also love the functionality of just pressing a button to dispense 19 grams, rather than having to weigh them each time.
In that case the Mahlkönig Vario W might be your best choice, because its built-in scale offers to grind by weight with an accuracy of about 0.2 gramm. The only drawback is that you cannot grind direcly into the filter basket but must use its original bin, because the scale is calibrated that way.
*** "This drink of the Satan is so delicious that it would be a shame to leave it to the infidels." (Pope Clement VIII on coffee)
calblacksmith Moderator Joined: 25 Nov 2007 Posts: 5,761 Location: Riverside, Ca, U.S.A. Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: ECM Veneziano A1 Grinder: Many different commercial Vac Pot: 40s era Silex Drip: Milita, Bunn&Curtis... Roaster: Cast iron pan, gas burner
Posted Mon Feb 25, 2013, 6:45am Subject: Re: Do I need to upgrade? Mazzer madness
Or you could just add a timer to the grinder and grind by time. Remove any finger guard and use a small tool such as a chop stick to clean the chute between the grind chamber and the doser then dose all the coffee from the doser to the PF basket. It is very consistent and is what I did for years with a SJ. YMMV!
In real life, my name is Wayne P.
Feed the newbs, starve the trolls and above all enjoy what you drink!
Wayne, do you think a timer would be as accurate as grinding by weight? In my personal experience, the built-in timer of my Eureka doesn't even come close to being precise by 0.2 gramm, especially when you have to adjust coarseness setting. I still have to weigh my dose.
*** "This drink of the Satan is so delicious that it would be a shame to leave it to the infidels." (Pope Clement VIII on coffee)
calblacksmith Moderator Joined: 25 Nov 2007 Posts: 5,761 Location: Riverside, Ca, U.S.A. Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: ECM Veneziano A1 Grinder: Many different commercial Vac Pot: 40s era Silex Drip: Milita, Bunn&Curtis... Roaster: Cast iron pan, gas burner
Posted Tue Feb 26, 2013, 6:51am Subject: Re: Do I need to upgrade? Mazzer madness
I ran my SJs that way and it was just fine, I did not notice any difference in the cup but perhaps, I just have a dull mouth!\
I don't think there was much of a variation though, after I set the grind time, It would only be checked against a scale if I had a large change in grind adjustment. For day to day use, I did not bother to weigh each dose. I did have the small mini hopper on the grinder and kept it about 1/3 full or more for constant pressure of beans and I did clean the chute between each grind, with a plastic chopstick, (they last longer than wood).
In real life, my name is Wayne P.
Feed the newbs, starve the trolls and above all enjoy what you drink!
jwoodyu Senior Member Joined: 31 Dec 2010 Posts: 705 Location: Michigan Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Allex Duetto II Grinder: Mazzer Major Roaster: Poppery
Posted Tue Feb 26, 2013, 10:03am Subject: Re: Do I need to upgrade? Mazzer madness
Likewise i run my Major on a digital dark room timer, love it, and it is at least as accurate the W. It takes up more space on the counter but not enough to motivate me to cut a smaller one into the side of my Major.
To the OP regardless of control mech I would skip the Jolly or Vario and go to a Major or K-30 or Koney or Robur or K-10 blah blah blah.
You know those people that want to tell you how to raise your kids but have none of their own? That is how i feel when someone with a kitchen appliance tells me how the merits or dis-merits of my machine or how to use it.
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