Grinder In dublin or limerick

columf2008

Hi all am looking to purchase a decent grinder not keen on going down the internet ordering route as I woul like to see the unit before I puchase I have a Casa Bugatti Diva espresso machine and am currently using my gaggia mm steel burr grinder which is a horrible little bastard of a machine when it comes to espresso.
I am wondering which shops in dublin have what as I live in Tipperary and no car so its a long bus ride to dublin to turn around and come back with nothing so if you know what they have and cost it would be sweet was looking at a Rocky or iberital would like a stepless doserless one if possible hav tried limerick Brown thomas (they have the kitchen aid which I am not keen on having read reviews) Debenhams have a few but not what I am looking for looking to spend 200 to 300 for the grinder so if you got any ideas cheers

Gran Hermano

Based on your budget and requirements I'd seriously consider the Iberital
MC2 - the Gaggia MM is a truly horrid machine you'd be better
off with the Gaggia MDF if you can find one.

Home Store & More stocked the Gaggia MDF in the past but stocks
were low lately. Call the stores before visiting to check stock.

You should seriously consider ordering the MC2 online from Happy donkey in UK.

RE*AC*TOR

The Bald Barista (café) has a Rancilio Rocky for sale, but I think it's something like €370. That's way over the odds IMO. Can be got on espressocoffeeshop for €260.

Brown Thomas used to and still probably have the reliable Gaggia MDF in the 200-300 range, can't remember the exact price (€250 sounds right).

columf2008

have looked at that allright but would still rather buy it from a brick and mortar as I have had bad experiences from online vendors

Gran Hermano

columf2008 wrote: »

have looked at that allright but would still rather buy it from a brick and mortar as I have had bad experiences from online vendors

Unfortunately I find to have a decent choice I end up ordering most of my coffee gear online.

I've used both Happy Donkey and Ristretto numerous times without any
problems - as have several posters here.

Mr Magnolia

Gran Hermano wrote: »

Unfortunately I find to have a decent choice I end up ordering most of my coffee gear online.

I've used both Happy Donkey and Ristretto numerous times without any
problems - as have several posters here.

Yup. 99% of my gear is purchased from online vendors.

RE*AC*TOR

I recently bought my Macap M4 from espressocoffeeshop
If you spend €300 you get free delivery - and it's 2 day delivery (mine actually arrived the next day).
The guys were good responding to emails as I changed my mind a couple of times.

As for Happy Donkey - Scott who runs it is very quick to respond to queries, very friendly, and very helpful.

Personally, for me, having used the Ascaso I2 for a few weeks, before passing it on, the infinite adjustability is great, but if it's not coupled to some sort of a scale, it becomes difficult to redial the grind when you change beans or the humidity goes bananas.

That's why I ended up going for the Macap, and it's probably the first grinder I've owned that I've been fully happy with (I've had a Gaggia MDF, a Mazzer Super Jolly, a Nuova Simonelli Grinta, and an Ascaso I2). It's infinitely adjustable but there is a scale on the collar as well. So I can still see roughly what one "notch" of stepped adjustment would be.

In any case, the important thing, and I can't stress this enough, is that you really should buy online. Put aside your past experiences, you'll get far more bang for your buck online.

The stepped version of my grinder can be gotten fro €349 on espressocoffeeshop.
The one I got was €429 (extra for chrome & extra for stepless).
But I've been reliably informed that the steps on the M4 are quite small, so it should still be great for dialling in expresso.

columf2008

supose Im going to have to buy off the internet thanks for all the help guys

Mr Magnolia

Let us know what you go for.

rockbeer

I have an Ascaso I2 which I'm completely happy with. Got over the scale problem Reactor rightly points out by sticking a mark on to the adjustment dial - making adjustments is now easy, I just count how many turns in whichever direction. I also (unscientifically) 'calibrated' the dial by trial and error, so I now know that 1 full turn is roughly equivalent to 1.5 seconds or so of pour time. No problem.

As for buying in Dublin, you sadly will waste a trip if you travel all the way up expecting to find some kind of coffee mecca. One of the reasons (aside from the massive savings) why everybody ends up buying online is because there's nobody with any sensible amount of stock. But that aside, the prices you'll end up paying really are absurd - I was in negotiation (for a very short time) with Ireland's 'only' supplier (this later turned out to be a lie) of a very big espresso brand name, shan't say who but they're a big player. They wanted to charge me literally double what I would pay online for a small commercial machine, and when I pointed this out to try and get some sensible discussion going they stopped answering my emails or returning my calls. That's the sort of thing you're up against.

So I gave up trying to do the right thing and shopped online. Everyone does in the end.

TKK

I bought an Iberital MC2 from HappyDonkey a while back and can highly recommend them. When it arrived the base was cracked but Scott got another off the manufacturer and sent it out to me no problem.

pob1

I bought the rancillio rocky off these guys www.watermark.ie it was only €265 and they are based in city-west business park (dublin 22/24).
I only had it a week though as the size of it in my small kitchen (& the missus) forced me to get rid of it.

I would reccomend them :

http://www.watermark.ie/rancilio_5.html

RE*AC*TOR

Those are actually quite good prices.

columf2008

ok so I will be ordering on monday or tuesday dont you love tax back
from you experience would you go with the rocky or the iberital
Each as I can see have their plus points.
The rocky is a solid performer from what I have seen and read people seem to love it. I'd be buying form a company based in Ireland and they say I would have it the next day.
I like happy donkey for the MC2 as its stepless giving a huge amount of control over the grind they have other stuff a new tamper and such which I want but cant seem to find down here happydonkey have a rock solid rep for been a good company with great service and of course its cheaper.
So now I will scratch my head and wonder just a side note generally how long does it take from order to reciving gear on happy donkey take.
Again thanks for all the advice folks.

Kannon

I have an Iberital MC2 and i am very happy with it, though it's my first grinder so i wouldn't know the merits of any others. I got mine from Happy Donkey too, i ordered it on a Monday and it arrived on the Thursday.

columf2008

ok I have made the plunge and ordered a mc2 from Happy donkey had to ring them as their online systmes does not do have the delivary specs for Ireland or something but rang em on the phone the guy was helpful so happy enough

columf2008

so got my mc2 this morning happy with the delivary times and all of that just have to wait to bring it home from work to dial it in and try it out

Mr Magnolia

Good luck with dialling it in. Use crap beans as there's a lot of wastage.

Gran Hermano

Congrats on the purchase.

Have a look at this thread here for a couple of pointers on setup
should you need any. My advice would be to remove the hopper
and adjust the burrs until they look like they are almost touching
before you start grinding and running test shots. One or two turns of
the dial for grind setting is a minor adjustment with the MC2 to see any
big difference in grind you'll need 10+ rotations of the dial.

columf2008

yeah I picked up a can of illy beans yesterday for dialing in cheers for the advice guys will deffinatly go back to happy Donkey again