How much to Spend what to Buy and in what order???

Equipment, technique, or just drinking the stuff

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Postby rooienar » Thu Jun 12, 2008 8:55 pm

I don't know a lot of shops in austria but one:

http://www.espressolutions.at/shop/inde ... ehlen.html

The shop's got a lot of postive reviews on kaffeenetz
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Postby easylife » Thu Jun 12, 2008 11:19 pm

Lameen wrote:Hi guys,

I've just joined Too Much Coffee and I live in Vienna.

I am in need of a new grinder as my current one, Isomac (won't recommended it to anyone, good grinding but too much plastic and easily breakable) is now a write-off. I am undecided between going all out and splashing on a Mazzer Mini Electronic (500 Euros), going the middle way (the new Compak K3-Touch for about 350 Euros) or at the "cheaper" end for an Iberital for 150 Euros. Grateful for advice especially for Vienna or for good shipment to Vienna.

Lameen


As others will tell you, the Mazzer is an excellent grinder, In fact, for most people it will be the last they ever buy, so having bought one you can draw a line under the cost of it and say that (replacement burrs apart) you won't ever need to spend any more in the future. Of course, if you aspire to the higher levels of coffeegeekdom (sorry to use that phrase) you will learn that there is no perfect grinder on the planet, and will acquire an extensive collection of increasingly large, increasingly rare, and possibly increasingly expensive kit ;o)

Either buy the Iberital, based on its cheapness, or buy the Mazzer. You'll be happy you did either..

Not saying the Compak isn't also a good grinder (have never used one), but if you buy it, you'll always wonder whether you should have spent a little more and bought the Mazzer now that it's factored into your decision.

By buying the Iberital, you know you made a conscious decision to spend the least you needed to, and maybe sometime in the future justify replacing it.

Sorry - can't help with suppliers in Wien, but most European suppliers will happily ship cross border.
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Postby fred25 » Fri Jun 13, 2008 7:35 am

Don't know if they're supplied in Austria, but the Maccaps (you can check them out at Bella Barista website) are considered by a lot of people to be as good as Mazzers, except for the name and, er, pricetag (when new).

Could be worth checking out....
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Postby easylife » Fri Jun 13, 2008 8:52 am

fred25 wrote:Don't know if they're supplied in Austria, but the Maccaps (you can check them out at Bella Barista website) are considered by a lot of people to be as good as Mazzers, except for the name and, er, pricetag (when new).

Could be worth checking out....


Sadly :( the Macap M4D - which is the closest equivalent to the Mazzer mini-e, and the fairest comparison - is quite a bit more expensive on their website than the Mazzer.

You do get a more sophisticated dosing control though.

Agreed the MC4 is much cheaper than the Mazzer, but it isn't really such a fair compariosn.
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Postby HughF » Fri Jun 13, 2008 12:53 pm

Stewart - I have replied on your OTHER thread on the same topic
here.

Ho hum...
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Postby HughF » Fri Jun 13, 2008 1:15 pm

Lameen - for your budget, I'd look into a Mazzer Super Jolly, Jolly or Major bought used (allow for the cost of new burrs). Probably you will find doser models and for espresso that's fine (I'd say doser models are better if you buy a Macap but the Mazzers need a bit of doser tweaking to sweep cleanly). You should be able to find something which will last a lifetime for your Compak budget.

There have been a few criticisms of the Mini E on the HB Titan Grinder threads and the MS homeroast mailing list re less rigid mounting for the burrs on the Mini vs. the larger grinders and less good grind quality than some cheaper grinders. I see it as an excellent grinder for brewed coffee (and better than a Rocky or Iberital MC2) but I have happily retired mine from espresso grinding in favour of the (more expensive) Macap MXK doser conical burr grinder. This kind of implies that I don't see the Mini E as the ultimate espresso grinder, even for (enthusiast) home use.

Cheers,

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Postby Gallois » Mon Jun 16, 2008 12:02 pm

HughF wrote:Stewart - I have replied on your OTHER thread on the same topic
here.

Ho hum...


The threads are not identical. The main article of the first thread is what is the next step up from a silvia/mini mazzer.

The second thread concerns a UK supplier for a Silvia/Mazzer package, but I did tag on the upgrade question to that last post for broader coverage over the two forums. I'll ask the OP to close the redundant thread.

Thanks for your advice, it's been very useful.
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Postby staz » Tue Mar 03, 2009 10:51 am

With the whole 'you get what you pay for' I'd just like to say that the mark up on certain bands is INSANE. For example the Kitchen Aid Pro Line Grinder still has a profit margin at £68. There has to be a sweet spot where you get quality/reasonable price. You'd think that commercial units would offer that but as we all know the money has often gone into making them capable of high volumes and we don't need the money to go there. Prosumer espresso is a niche market and as such we'll likely get HAMMERED on prices. Even businesses offering a friendly face and a shoulder to cry on are likely to be only lowering what is already 60%+ margin.

For example places retailing the same milk thermometer I bought at 90 odd pence for £7.99! ;)
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Re: How much to Spend what to Buy and in what order???

Postby bepzi » Thu Mar 03, 2016 11:11 pm

Does anyone knows if promos like this are legit to purchase machines?
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Re: How much to Spend what to Buy and in what order???

Postby Richard » Fri Mar 04, 2016 8:16 am

I'm a pure cynic so commercial promotions stink. I only ever bought two machines, an espresso machine and a grinder. Both machines came with good reports from users of this forum and both machines ere critisized by purists.

Both machines proved to be suitable for me and streets ahead of heavily advertised and promoted machines. No one takes a vendor to task over telling lies about a product, often people don't even complain when the tatt lets them down.

Good kit sells itself so needs very little promotion.
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Re: How much to Spend what to Buy and in what order???

Postby bruceb » Sat Mar 05, 2016 5:28 pm

I have no idea about promotions, but I think one should be aware that a machine of that ilk will probably not last more than a few months. Repair parts are either unavailable or are unreasonably expensive. A home bean-to-cup machine is a poor investment, regardless of price or manufacturer. The innards are all the same and are made of plastic, the grinders don't deserve the name and the electronics are poorly protected from moisture and dirt. Without even considering how good or bad the coffee is the machines are predestined to mechanical/electrical failure.
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Re: How much to Spend what to Buy and in what order???

Postby Richard » Sun Mar 06, 2016 7:02 am

And similar with buying store coffee.

I did 12 months, maybe more, of drinking store-bought coffee. Both whole beans when I could get them but mostly ground coffee.

Now this was an experiment so I had been prepared to throw stuff away even though this is never easy for me though what I wasn't prepared for was the amount of coffee I had to throw away.

I did find good coffee, it was an exception. The only decent coffee I had over that period was from the occasional purchase from artisan source. Then, because of the experiment I had to go back to to store coffee.

I'm glad it's over, I'm back to choosing single estate green beans and roasting/grinding my own. I even found I could better artisan roasts for my personal taste though I never managed to appreciate monsoon malabar. (Smile)

How could anyone enjoy burnt rubber tyres, either with milk, cream or black.

The contributors of this forum are responsible for moulding me into a coffee-geek, get his is what friends tell me when they ask, "Would you like coffee".

Mostly I'll take tea, even so it's a risk.
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Re: How much to Spend what to Buy and in what order???

Postby Annajaden » Thu Dec 21, 2017 7:02 am

Davec wrote:
gouezeri wrote:In the pursuit of perfection people will complain about anything and everything. I just think we need to keep things in perspective. My analogy was simply to provoke, I'm not saying that chefs never complain about poor equipment, but rather that the most important emphasis is placed elsewhere. Doesn't matter how good your oven, if you're putting ready meals in it. There are still plenty of posts on TMC about people buying machines before grinders, and trying to use preground, and we're a specialised site!
:P

A bit off topic in the Lever thread, so I thought I would start a new thread. I think it could be an especially useful discussion to those starting out or upgrading from very basic equipment. I'm probably wrong, but the discussion and comments are going to offer a few perspectives to others that could just prove useful. If nothing else it will give them food for thought.

I used to believe an expensive grinder was very important, wasn't sure if more so than the machine, but wouldn't have argued the point. I now think a good grinder is essential...but not necessarily an expensive one.

If I was considering starting from scratch now I would buy:

Good grinder....probably around £100 ish

Very Good machine (£400+)

Good Fresh Coffee (not from the supermarket! and be choosey about your retail outlet :wink: )


Then Later (after a few years) get a good "expensive" grinder £300-400 and sell the first grinder. The reason I say this is simply that I have come across a grinder I have since sold that doesn't grind far off the quality of my Mazzer Mini E. Sure, it won't do so for so long, it's not as fast or as quiet and grind quality is bound to deteriorate gradually over a 2-3 year period, unlike the Mazzer. I was however amazed that the cheaper grinder could even approach the quality of the Mazzer. This was a suprise for me and although not all £100 grinders are going to grind well....there are obviously some that will!

It's also the cheaper way round to do things as you will easily get £30-40 for a good grinder that cost £100-120 when it's a couple of years old. However, you might lose a little more on a "mid range" coffee machine. Prehaps not in % terms but in total cash. This being TMC though, I am sure there are lots of conflicting views on these comments :wink:
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Re: How much to Spend what to Buy and in what order???

Postby Kalbanon » Tue May 24, 2022 1:32 pm

I agree with the opinion which suggests buying a quality machine right away, it really pays off big time in the long run.
You can't skimp on materials either, I figured that out when I first started, I think 40% of it depends on the quality of tools, machinery, and materials, the rest is a technical question.
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Re: How much to Spend what to Buy and in what order???

Postby CakeBoy » Sun Oct 09, 2022 8:03 am

Absolutely, quality materials and solid basic engineering design certainly outlasts gimmicks in my experience.
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