In our geeky world of high end coffee and espresso equipment, we hear phrases like "Rocky Killer" or "Isomac Killer" and such, indicating a new machine that comes along, and attempts to (and mostly fails to) knock the undisputed "king of the hill" off their little throne. That we're so geeky about this is shown in the fact that most people don't have a clue what we're talking about, or what machine is the king of the hill in most price points or market positionings for coffee and espresso equipment.

Not so with a company called Mazzer though. It's long been held (and rarely disputed) that the Mazzer Mini is the be all, end all grinder for espresso in the home. It's a full blown commercial grinder, slightly miniaturized so that it can fit into tight spots, and any serious espresso head knows that's the epitome of the perfect home espresso grinder - so much so it's overkill for most home enthusiasts.

But today, it looks like the marketplace may have a very legitimate contender to the Mazzer Mini's status. It's a grinder that is just as "commercial grade", and just as serious as the Mazzer. It's a grinder that even takes some cues from the minor deficiencies in the Mazzer Mini (and trust me, there's very little) and tries to improve on them.

This contended is the brand new grinder from Macap, called the M5.

Haven't heard of Macap before? It's not surprising, since their N. American marketshare for espresso grinders has been limited until recently, and they don't just make coffee equipment (they make things like juicers and blenders as well, to name a few). The company is very famous in Italy, and is often seen by many as the only legit contender to Mazzer's fame and quality build of products.

Macap is finally getting serious about penetrating the N. American market, and soon you'll be seeing a slew of grinders from the company, from upscale home models, to serious high volume machines for the commercial cafe.

For now, we're having a first look at their premier "mini" commercial grinder, the M5. As always, this is a first look, based on only one week's evaluation of the unit. We haven't even put it head to head against the Mazzer Mini yet (though we did test it against a Mazzer Super Jolly, albeit briefly). Anything and everything covered in this First Look can change by the time we publish our comprehensive Detailed Review on this grinder.

Enjoy the rest of the First Look!

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