Green Coffee Buying Club
Coffee Discussion boards => Hardware & Equipment => Topic started by: foreRB on May 25, 2014, 01:57:17 PM
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Hi all, I have a neighbor who is upping their morning coffee. They are buying beans every ten days to two weeks, using good water and a french press, This morning they measured water temp and had a sort of epiphany (not a big stretch over their Cuisinart drip). They have decided to upgrade their whirlybird grinder to a modest burr. I've heard the lower end one's create a lot of static and are messy. Your thoughts will be appreciated....foreRB
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SHEEESH! Already 3 minutes have gone by, and nobody said BARATZA!
Must be a holiday weekend.
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So Peter....Are you saying that BARATZA is the obvious choice or just perceived to be the obvious choice? Help me out brother!
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Baratza Encore. Have recommended it several times and new owners are very pleased.
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So Peter....Are you saying that BARATZA is the obvious choice or just perceived to be the obvious choice? Help me out brother!
In that price range there are a handful of grinders that appear to have very similar burr sets, motors, and chassiseses (what's the plural of chassis anyhow?) with the big difference being the case design. But even if everything on the inside was the same, Baratza is still the clear choice just because it's so much fun to say Baratza with a thick Italian accent. The fact that they have unsurpassed customer service doesn't hurt either.
I bought a 2 year-old Virtuoso off of craigslist. A couple days after getting it home it would jam on very light/hard beans. When I called them for advice, they diagnosed it over the phone based on what color capacitors were on the circuit board, and sent me new parts at no charge - not even for shipping - even though they knew I bought it second hand.
That is all you need to know... comparable performance to other like-priced grinders, unbeatable company standing behind their products.
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I bought a refurbished Vario-W from them that had some problems with the scale. They sent me a brand-new one. They told me to keep my old one to use until my brand-new one arrived. When the new one arrived there was a shipping label in the box for prepaid postage back for the old one.
There are some companies I feel downright guilty giving my money to (Apple, Verizon, a local lumber distributor...) Baratza is not one of them.
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What they all said. I buy the Baratza Encore for family and friends who are doing everything but espresso. Customer service is second to none as well.
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Just to jump on the bandwagon. You can't beat Baratza for the price.
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Just saying.. I know the Encore is not ideal for espresso but it is capable of descent unpressurized espresso. At notch 5 calibrated for finer grind it can choke out my Silvia with little effort. I'd say if your willing to adjust tamp and dose you could get good espresso out of the Encore.
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Just saying.. I know the Encore is not ideal for espresso but it is capable of descent unpressurized espresso. . .
The OP asked about a grinder for a friend who uses a french press.
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Just saying.. I know the Encore is not ideal for espresso but it is capable of descent unpressurized espresso. . .
The OP asked about a grinder for a friend who uses a french press.
Oops my bad. I overlooked that.
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I will second what everybody has said about Baratza; their service is outstanding which is really
unusual in this day. Have your neighbor check their site for refurbished models.
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https://www.baratza.com/ (https://www.baratza.com/) <The Baratza website
https://www.baratza.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?search=action&category=RFRB (https://www.baratza.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?search=action&category=RFRB) <Refurbs available
Thanks for the info, guys. I've been shopping for a grinder and this has helped narrow down the players.
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Argh, missed this thread.
You can get 'em for $150 on ebay if you're patient: Breville Smart Grinder.
The consistency of the grind on this thing is marvelous. I replaced a faithful Solis Maestro Plus (did 10 years of duty at the farmers market) with the Breville this year after reading a LOT of reviews and agonizing amid the options. At the market I use it for Aeropressing, but what I love it for is pourovers on my own time. The grind consistency has changed my pourover life, you might say. And that's coming from using commercial Bunn grinders -- not known for their inconsistency -- prior to finding the Breville.
It's a broad company, hardly specializing in coffee gear. But they've clearly done something right with this thing.
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You can get 'em for $150 on ebay if you're patient: Breville Smart Grinder.
I am currently watching three of these on ebay. Prices range from $60 up to $120, increase rapidly on last day:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Breville-Conical-Burr-Smart-Grinder-Silver-BCG800XL-NEW-see-listing-details-/141326696081 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Breville-Conical-Burr-Smart-Grinder-Silver-BCG800XL-NEW-see-listing-details-/141326696081)
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Go with The Warden (Peter) on this. I just got a Baratza Encore for $122. It can grind true espresso and probably choke most prosumer machines if set at 1 or 2. My Maestro lasted 5 years of abuse. Baratza service is also unmatched.
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I bought a Baratza Encore from an ebay seller for $119, shipped. After 35 years of using a whirlybird chopper, I'm very happy with the grind I'm getting from the Encore. I just wish I hadn't waited so long!
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I have been using a DeLonghi burr mill for several years. I think it has finally worn out, as it takes a long time to grind and gets the beans hot. That's very bad. Based on this thread, I just placed an order for a Baratza encore mill for $129 shipping included (amazon prime). Since I never do espresso (i use an aeropress most of the time and a drip sometimes) I think the Baratza low end machine will do fine.
Anyway, I am seriously looking forward to the grinder upgrade. Thanks for sharing your expertise.
BTW, when I got into this, Peter said it is like going down a rabbit hole. He was right. But what fun it is when I share coffee and people are amazed at how good coffee can be.
Cheers,
Ramzy
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It's a good hole, and the rabbits are friendly.
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It's a good hole, and the rabbits are friendly.
And there are a lot of rabbits hanging out down there.
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I agree, we only have five grinders.
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I agree, we only have five grinders.
And I've been giving myself a hard time about ordering grinder #3????
What was I thinking???
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You were thinking crazy thoughts. I would not be concerned until you hit double digits.
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Do hand grinders count? :o
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You were thinking crazy thoughts. I would not be concerned until you hit double digits.
I am a happy little pig with two. The Macap MC4 gets the daily work; the LIDO2 gets all the espresso work. Life is very, very good.
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You were thinking crazy thoughts. I would not be concerned until you hit double digits.
I am a happy little pig with two. The Macap MC4 gets the daily work; the LIDO2 gets all the espresso work. Life is very, very good.
Yeah, and I just had to have one of those Macaps :-))))
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Yeah, and I just had to have one of those Macaps :-))))
Macap stepped/doserless 58s are the Rodney Dangerfield of the grinder world. They don't compare with Peter's Compak (64mm?) but boy, they are all I need in my world (with a ton of different preps) with that LIDO2 on the side for espresso. Granted, I am probably missing out on 5% <?> but they are functional and appropriate for my coffee world.
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They don't compare with Peter's Compak (64mm?) but boy, they are all I need in my world (with a ton of different preps) with that LIDO2 on the side for espresso.
Mine is going to sit right next to the K-10 (for espresso) and the MD-50 (for Espro). Like Sosha, I am setting impaired, so I need a grinder for every brew style.