Mini E or switch?

by **Raf** » Sun Jan 18, 2004 2:45 pm

*** copy of post to a.c ***

I had almost bought a Mazzer Mini switch model, but then all the European
distributors went out of stock so I had too much time to think about it. And
now I'm wondering: would it be worth it to go for the Mini E instead of the
regular model?

My question is really: how exactly does it work? As far as I understand it,
there's an electronic scale inside the doser, so that you can dose out
exactly the same amount (say, 17 grams for a double) for every shot. Now,
does the weight mechanism only work with a full doser, or does it fill the
doser up to a given weight every time you activate the grinder?

The first option would be worthless in a home environment, because the
grinds would go stale in the doser. For the second option, however, I would
be willing to pay a considerable premium.

Anyone?

by **Danny** » Sun Jan 18, 2004 7:16 pm

I cant answer your question, but I am going to throw my 2c in as a mazzer owner.

I cant wait till I get time to remove my doser and make it doserless.
I am going to make a funnel like the one seen here: http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/espresso/machines/4847

It will keep it clean and I should be happy with the freshness. I hate the doser (on any grinder).

So in my opinion I'd try and find a normal mazzer. www.esw.nl ship the mini to all eu countries (It's also not that far from Brussels).
365 euros.

I am not sure if they have any in stock but they had a shirtload of them in october when I got mine...

-D

by **Raf** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 8:01 am

That's exactly the sort of funnel the E version has - you can buy the 'E' doser/funnel separately, btw.

by **Danny** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 8:18 am

Really?
I did not know that they did this... I have not seen a picture of the E yet and I just assumed that they have the standard doser.
Hmmm Might have to check that out..

by **Raf** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 9:59 am

I see I didn't express myself very clearly there. I meant you could buy the whole "E"-thing separately, i.e. the stainless steel funnel and the electronics - I don't think you'll be able to buy only the funnel, which is what you seem to be interested in.

by **mnemonix** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 10:37 am

I've only had a few days using the Super Jolly but I don't mind the doser as I only put enough beans for the shot in the hopper, grind and flip the handle until the doser is empty. There are a few grinds left behind sure, but enough to make a difference ?

From phoning around it seems most of the bits for Mazzers are available as spares and Ian sent me details of the chute modification so I think it might be available on its own.

Chris.

by **alans** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 11:25 am

This conversation from coffee-forum.com is very interesting. So it uses an precise programable eletronic timer and grinds in to a funnel rather than a doser. Has anyone found any pictures?

A third button allows to grind as long as it is pushed, which is good to eject the few stale grams in the morning...

This tells me you've still got the problem of the grounds still getting stuck in the chute. This always seems to me to be such a simple problem to fix it annoys me that no one does. Why don't they just angle the chute right after the burrs?

At $300 more than a mini (expectation of 1st-line.com) I'm not sure it's worth the price, but that's difficult one to say without trying one for a few weeks.

by **Raf** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 11:41 am

I saw that post, and I thought it was rather convincing. I don't think the grounds get stuck in the funnel (much), but rather in the area around the burrs (like with every grinder).

Pictures can be found here and here (the different buttons).

Phil, weren't you thinking of getting an 'E' as well? Can you tell us why?

by **mnemonix** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 12:07 pm

sorry my mistake, i haven't seen the e-doser before. there is a simple chute available as an alternative to the doser though.

chris.

by **phil** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 12:28 pm

I was thinking (no more than that) about getting a Mini E because cleaning out Rocky's doser is a PITA and also I like the idea of adjusting the dose. Furthermore my potential supplier (you know who) told me she could price a Mini E at (from memory) no more than around GBP50 over the price of the Mini itself (which it must be said is much more expensive over here than in your neck of the woods Neku - it's the old "dollars to pounds" trick applied to euros in this case - but I blame the importer :-(

)

However I've not really done any serious research on this matter yet, as I have other financial priorities in the short term. Rocky does not give me the adjustability I need for some blends, particularly those containing Monsooned Malabar, but I can live with mine for a while if I have to. Neku's Rocky, on the other hand, is every bit as bad as he's frequently said. I had the good fortune to visit chez Neku this weekend (thanks once again for the wonderful hospitality btw mate!) and that grinder of his isn't even fit to be a paperweight.

At the end of the day my interest in the "E" model was based on the expectation that it wouldn't price out at much more than the base (timer switch these days) Mini. I wouldn't mind getting my hands on one to look at first though, as I'm very careful about cleaning Rocky every day and I'd want to know how easy a Mini E would be in this regard, using my trusty brush and can of compressed air. I find that my Rocky stores quite a bit of partially ground coffee around the burr set, going stale rather quickly no doubt, and the only way to get this out effectively so that it doesn't contaminate the next day's batch of grounds is to turn the grinder upside down and shake it gently! I really don't want to have to do this with a Mini, even if one of my hobbies is weight-lifting!

by **moccafaux** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 2:30 pm

I made an enquiry at www.eis-fassbaender.de recently. They sell the standart Mini for 330,- and the "E" for 460,-.

by **moccafaux** » Mon Jan 19, 2004 2:31 pm

I made an enquiry at www.eis-fassbaender.de recently. They sell the standart Mini for 330,- and the "E" for 460,-.

by **Raf** » Tue Jan 20, 2004 1:32 pm

I emailed them too, but the price I got was slightly higher (almost 500 I believe). I see they have a special price for the regular Mini if you buy before the 12th of February, maybe I'll do just that. Or maybe I'll order it from ESW. Or maybe... Bah, I can't decide.

by **alans** » Tue Jan 20, 2004 2:06 pm

The link for the grinders:
http://www.eis-fassbender.de/aws/showit ... tegory=149
What does "!!! Achtung keine Lagerware: Lieferzeit ca. 2 Monate !!!" translate to?
I'd like a Mazzer Mini Electronic but getting a Mini for €495,00 when a Mazzer Super Jolly auto is only €472,00 seems a bit too much. I wonder if the price will drop in a while....

by **alans** » Tue Jan 20, 2004 2:13 pm

I've just realised that a standard Mazzer Mini is cheaper than my Pavoni JDL, perhaps I shuld sell off my two JDLs and get a Mazzer Electronic.....

Mini E or switch?

Mini E or switch?

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