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Ideally would like a sage smart grinder but they are few and far between second hand.
Are Melitta any good or just generic shite?
Surely that touched someone's upgrade button
Do you have a hammer ?.
Problem resolved.
These are well regarded amongst the coffee crowd:
https://hard-lines.co.uk/equipment/wilfasvartcoffeegrinder
Budget is >sage smart grinder
Agree, I didn’t want to fork out for a flat burr grinder so waited til I could get a deal on a Sage Smart Grinder Pro through one of the small peoples student discount, I’m pleased with it, easy to figure out, very fine adjustments, coffee is good.
I think the OP is using an espresso machine so the Wilfa won't work.
I got a Sage SGP last year when they were doing 25% off, a lot of coffee geeks seem to dislike Sage and dismiss their products as rubbish. I figured it has better functionality and at a cheaper price than any fancy coffee brands and if you can get it at a decent price brand new then you get the warranty too.
Might be worth keeping an eye out for possible discounts online, I paid £150 and you get people asking for that for second hand SGP's.
Still looking
I think the OP is using an espresso machine so the Wilfa won’t work.
Out of interest why? I only drink filter at home, but im pretty sure the wilfa dial goes all the way to espresso on the grind settings.
Everything I've read says it doesn't go fine enough for espresso, it doesn't mention espresso on their website at all.
I find with some grinders that they do go fine enough but there’s no adjustment. So you might get the grind dialled but as the beans age you can’t make that fine adjustment to keep the extraction right (either you’re between clicks or the mechanism just isn’t sensitive enough).
Mine has a stepped adjuster from filter to espresso, then a vernier dial to make fine changes between shots.
@bikerevivesheffield with the vernier adjustment, a Mahlkonig (now Baratza) Vario, and the Baratza Sette. The latter works better for espresso, haven't gone near the finest end of the scale. Don't bother with the weighing versions.
Are Melitta any good or just generic shite?
I've a melitta calibra at the moment which I've been using for about 2 months. (paired with an isomac maverick pid)
For the price I'm pretty impressed. Steps of adjustment are a bit wide and limited at the espresso end (steps 1-5) but that said I tend to sit at 2 or 3 anyhow and have only had any issue with some crap beans which to be honest could have done with going in the bin rather than the grinder.
The built in scale isn't perfect but it's a damn site more accurate than a few less expensive single dose grinders I've used (which seemed to run on time) and keeps my waste down which is good.
Hopper size is, as ever, pointlessly large for domestic use.
Its conical so quieter than an equivalent flat burr and runs at a generally lower rpm than flat which is no bad thing. Grind is good and consistent which is the usual fall down of conical.
I got mine from redber roasters, the price was good and it came with a free bag of beans, which was a nice little extra.
Is it a brilliant grinder? No.
Is it IMHO good for the money? Yep.
Is it more than capable for home use for 99% of people, yep.
With a decent machine like the Sage (pretty sure that's what you got before), you are limiting the quality of the coffee (output) with the grind IMO. It's not about whether it can go fine enough for espresso, it's about the tiny adjustments you want to make to alter the shot time/pressure.
So by all means get something budget, but don't expect really complex flavours to come through if you use a single grind setting for a variety of beans. I'm basing this on having a bodum grinder, buying a 3D printed part to push the burrs closer together still not being happy with the outcome and then getting a pricey manual grinder (Kinu Phoenix). I don't use the Bodum any more.
Just get a Nespresso machine.
Just get a Nespresso machine.
Hah, he's just got a fancy Sage tho!
I picked up a Mazzer Super Jolly for £120 quid, fresh flat burrs too. Yes the footprint is larger but its relatively easy to mod and probably will outlast the Sage.
If anyone wants a cheap Krups burr grinder you have mine for £20 plus post. The button cover broke and fell inside, and perhaps someone clever can fix that, although without it as you can still press the internal button with a wooden spoon and it works fine.
Gotta match the brand to your speaker cables
Looks like I'll get a sage smart grinder unless I can do better for £200