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!
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 )
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