Need a Grinder

jebuz

Hi Guys,

New to this forum, just got myself a very basic espresso maker yesterday along with some beans I bought in Insomnia. Next step, I need a grinder, something cheap preferably. Can anybody recommend somewhere in Dublin city I could pick up one of these devices? Oh and do they still sell manual grinders? I wouldn't mind that either.

Cheers

Conor.

Gran Hermano

Manual grinders are too much effort if you're grinding beans for an espresso
machine, they might be feasible if you're just grinding for a french press.
Getting coffee as fine as an espresso machine needs is a tedious process
and one I would not like to do frequently.

The issue with grinders is that the cheap machines produce inconsistent
and bad results, I'd be of the opinion that it is worth investing in a good
grinder that will provide you with the opportunity to continue using it if/when
you upgrade yor espresso machine. A good grinder plays a crucial role in
producing good espreso - if the grinder is giving you badly ground coffee
you will not get good shots (it's like trying to polish a turd ).

The cheaper end of the range of grinders will have blades as opposed
to burrs which will provide you with ground coffee of various particle
sizes which is why they are not recommended. You will need to
spend at least €150+ in order to get a good burr grinder. I'm using
an Iberital MC2 and can't fault it, the Gaggia MDF is another popular
choice.

I'd rather purchase small amounts of freshly roasted and pre-ground
coffee than try and use one of the cheaper blade or manual grinders
for making espresso.

jebuz

Brilliant stuff there Gran, thanks for the useful information. Ive been checking the web just there and came across a Gaggia Burr grinder on gumtree. The guy is selling it for 50 quid, bought it a few months back and says its barely used, what would you reckon about that?

Also I bought a big bag of beans in insomnia, this was a bad idea I guess as Ive been looking at a few threads here and realised I should be using it up within 2 weeks max. What would you recommend I do, could I maybe grind some in the morning, and use it with a french press in work?

Edit: Its a Gaggia Type MM Burr Grinder

Gran Hermano

That Gaggia MM grinder is the cheapest of the Gaggia range
and several posters on here and other fora have said whilst it's
useful for French-press or filter it is not really suited to espresso
making. It's the next model up, the MDF you need if you're looking
at the Gaggia range - bad news, it's around double the price of the
Gaggia MM. A good grinder is not cheap, but look on it as an
investment!

As you've noticed the secret with buying coffee is to buy little and buy
often to ensure you getting the freshest. Grinding at home and using
in work in a french press is a good way to ensure you getting a decent
cuppa during work hours. If you're working near a supplier of freshly
roasted beans you should be able to pick up fresh stock (even pre-ground)
easily and regularly, check the stickies on this board for details.

kmick

Unless you are going to buy a commercial grinder like one of these http://www.espressoparts.com/category/01espressomachinesgrinder.mazzerespressogrinders/ forget about it. I bought a 100 euro grinder and a 200 euro grinder and both were useless for espresso. They can't grind fine enough. form a relationship with a coffee shop that sells beans and buy it freshly ground (with their commercial grinder) by the quarter pound. Unless you have a budget of around 1000euro it is hard to buy a good esresso machine/grinder combo.

Gran Hermano

Whilst I agree that all grinder under €100 tend to be not worth purchasing,
you do not need to spend around the €1,000 mark.

The Iberital MC2 will produce top results for around the €200-250
mark. It'll grind fine enough even for Turkish coffee.

jebuz

Cheers for the replies lads, appreciate all your help. Although I'm no expert I would tend to be sceptical about having to spend at least a grand on a decent grinder, it doesn't make any sense, i'm just looking for a half decent coffee instead of the instant sh!te at home. I might take the entry level grinder since funds are very limited, and see how things go from there.

Mr Magnolia

Gran Hermano wrote:

Whilst I agree that all grinder under €100 tend to be not worth purchasing,
you do not need to spend around the €1,000 mark.

Definitely not.

The Iberital MC2 will produce top results for around the €200-250
mark. It'll grind fine enough even for Turkish coffee.

Jebuz, I have the MC2 and am very happy with it too.

I would agree with everything Gran Hermano has said. It would be worth stretching to the MC2 if you could afford it.

Don't worry about the beans expiring keep them in an airtight container in a press and they'll be fine for a while.

jimmytwo

I have a Rancilio Rocky which I am really impressed with, although it is a bit more expensive than some of the others. My brother recently bought the MC2 from Ristretto - excellent grinder for the price!

One thing I like about the MC2 is that it has stepless grind adjustments

jimmytwo

kmick wrote:

Unless you have a budget of around 1000euro it is hard to buy a good esresso machine/grinder combo.

Sorry I just don't agree with this. I believe that the importance of a good quality grinder is often overlooked - but do not agree that you have to spend 1000euro to get this. Just look at the reviews of something like the Rancilio Rocky - it gets rave reviews worldwide

jebuz

I know some of you said the Gagia MM burr wasn't the greatest grinder, but I really wanted something cheap and effective, so I forked out 50 quid for a second hand one. Well let me tell ya, had the most beautiful home made coffee last night, it was so good to be able to drink an 'insomnia' coffee in my own living room! The grinder seemed to do a pretty good job of finely grinding my beautiful beans, into the espresso machine and voila! I think Ive just started something that might never stop!

Mr Magnolia

Great stuff jebuz.

I'm really glad you're enjoying good coffee. Keep us posted. If you want any tips etc. just ask

jebuz

I will indeed Mr.Magnolia, you're all such lovley people here in the tea and coffee realm, i'm amazed!

rockbeer

jebuz wrote:

you're all such lovley people here in the tea and coffee realm, i'm amazed!

It is amazing isn't it? All that caffeine ought to make us the most irritable crowd on boards

BTW, for what it's worth, I have the Ascaso/Innova I2 stepless grinder which also costs a little over €200, has a quality burr set and is a fantastic grinder for espresso. I'd recommend it to anyone. There's no way you need to spend a grand for an espresso grinder, or even a machine/grinder combo. But having said that, you'd be doing well to see any change out of €500 for the combo.

RE*AC*TOR

Ahhhh - just noticed this thread now. I would have suggested there are some great bargains to be had on ebay, especially the Italian ebay.

However, €50 is not bad for an MM, and should you decide you want to step up in the market later, it would be a decent second grinder for french press or drip coffee.

Anyway - for future reference - the Grinder they sell in starbucks is a rebadged Solis 166 or something, (now trading under Baratzza) - is just about the cheapest - semi decent burr grinder - at about €100.

Here's a second hand MDF on ebay for €80 - http://cgi.ebay.it/macinacaffe-macina-coffee-cafe-kaffee-GAGGIA-caffe_W0QQitemZ150158964257QQihZ005QQcategoryZ20671QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

An Isomac for €142 - http://cgi.ebay.it/ISOMAC-MACININO-PROFESSIONAL-KAFFEEMUHLE-KEGELMAHLWERK_W0QQitemZ170144736449QQihZ007QQcategoryZ69205QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


There are plenty more out there, if you take the time to look - the Italian and German ebay sites are a treasure trove.

As for the budget of €1000 - its absolute bollox. You could make espresso on a budget of about €150 that would outperform 90% of the cafés in Dublin, you just have to be clever about how you spend it.
I bought a Peppina lever machine off ebay for €40. Couple that with the MDF above for €80, and a stove top roaster for about €35, and I'd challenge anyone to a taste test.