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What grinder are you using with your LONDINIUM 1 lever?
Hello,
I have just order my L1 and I like to buy a new grinder. I have two choices : Fiorenzato F4E nano or Macap M4D.
Thanks in advance for your comments and advices.
I have just order my L1 and I like to buy a new grinder. I have two choices : Fiorenzato F4E nano or Macap M4D.
Thanks in advance for your comments and advices.
Comments
Infinitely variable grind adjustment, turns at 100-125 rpms, with an 83MM Mazzer burr set.
For a look...
www.hg-one.com
Are you located where you can get good service for parts and or replacement if needed?
I have tried a variety of grinders and the Mazzer Kony-E is what I use along side my HG-One (I have both burr sets 71mm & 83mm), a Pharos and a Versalab. The Mazzer is the only one not specifically designed to be a single dosing grinder.
Are you intending on keeping beans in the hopper?
I'm having a K10 doser, a versalab M3, a OE LIDO, and previously had a Malkonig Vario, a mazzer Mini E, and a Rocky.
Of them all, I'm thrilled with the K10. Combined with the L1 and the proper beans, I had the most amazing cups, and by a large account.
The rocky isn't really worth it. The mini is not made for the home (i.e. single dosing), if I was to downscale my material, I would get back to a Vario.
The M3 is way too expensive, has some quirks, but the concept is nice. It is currently at a friend's place, and when the distribution is corrected with WTD, he gets good results. The day I hear good comments about it from Stephen, I'll bring my to Germany for the famous terranova upgrade.
The K10 is a keeper. Maybe more expensive than the grinders you have in mind, but on the long run, a good investment. He'll sit by the L1 for the many years to come.
I have a friend with the MACAP M4. Although cheaper than a Mazzer Mini for similar burr size, I'm not overly enthusiastic about it. The build quality is alright, but not stellar. Also, after 3-4 years of using it, my friend ordered new MACAP burr set, but turned out they were not fitting his grinder. The M4D comes at ~650Eur if I am not mistaken. That's about the price of a Hg one. Bigger burr, potentially better build quality, less rentetion, if you are willing to operate the machine manually. And if that sounds silly, my friends goes with chop sticks in the M4 grinder chute to dislodge the ground coffee, and this ritual takes up a bit of time for each shot. That's nearly as ridiculous as having to operate the grinder manually. I have the same ritual with the K10, but I don't mind.
Notably, the Vario didn't need such a ritual because of the small chute, if you are interested in an electronic grinder. It has a good reputation, and many people argue it can trump grinders of a superior category (i.e. Mazzer super Joly). Maybe something to look at, and should sell around 400Eur if my memory is good.
Ha yes these rituals and workarounds we make up for ourselves!
I use a quick swipe with a small brush to empty the chute of the Mazzer Mini.
Last year a metal workshop made me a mod to allow single dosing in the Vario.
Recently I put the old hopper back on because I would never succeed in seducing the others in the house to grind their beans in such a complicated way.
Putting the hopper back on had an advantage too. While single dosing, if I had the grind setting right, all 15 grams of beans would be ground in 13 seconds sharp. If I ground too coarse, the grinder would keep grinding air for a second and if I ground too fine, not all beans would be ground in the given timer setting.
Now with the hopper on, there is some compensation for this: if I grind too fine, less beans are ground and if I grind a little too coarse, more beans are ground. Then the effect of the variation in grind setting is nicely compensated in the basket!
This is probably common knowledge but I had to learn it the complicated way ;-)
The L1 and M4D is my first home set-up, and the only other grinder I have used recently is a Nuova Simonelli Mythos which is at the restaurant that I work part time at, so I don't really have a lot of experience.
I looked at the HG1 but didn't want to mess around with single dosing. I also looked at the mazzer mini electronic but I thought the MACAP looked better...
I'm happy with my choice, good luck with whatever you choose!
Cheers.
Ian
But the M4 isn't so great for single dosing, unless you develop a chop stick ritual. Reiss posted about the futility of single dosing, but on the other hand, when you pay more than >10 Eur for 250 g of great beans, you don't want to use up half of it to purge the grinder of old stall ground.
Frans, enlighten me please, what is the purpose of the vario mod? It looks nice, but the hopper isn't unsuitable for single dosing, right?
Actually, the Vario is maybe one of the rare home grinder that also doesn't waste too much when not single dosing. When I had beans in, I would usually just run it for 2-3 sec to purge the old ground. Maybe 5-8 grams of coffee wasted. For the K10, it would be more in the order of 18-20g.
You are right, it's just as simple to throw 15g of beans in the empty hopper but with the mod I think it looks better. The hopper is a piece of plastic tinted like things from the seventies and the aluminum replacement makes it an even more compact machine than it already was.
the slower the burrs turn, the cooler the coffee will be when it exits the burrs
the cooler the coffee (it will always be warmed slightly by the grinding process, even in an HG1) the less you have compromised the delicate notes in the roast
another objective criteria is to look at the power of the motors, for example, 250W - bigger is better
i also believe the longer the grind path the better the grinder, but this is quite difficult to assess sometimes
Many thanks for your help. I choice the Fiorenzato F4E Grinder. The Macap and the Fiorenzato are very similar : low retention , micrometrics grind settings but it seems that the Macap spreads sometimes a little more (variable) and the Fiorenzato no.
Of course, I suppose that some grinders are better but for the moment I don't have the good budget.
I received this grinder, I am just waiting my L1 (I cross my fingers to be delivered tomorrow) :unsure:
i don't think you should stay at home tomorrow waiting for it - perhaps give your local DHL office a call
we look forward to hearing from you when you have it up & running
best
reiss.
Don't worried Habib, I got a Fiorenzato with my L1, and the result is absolutly perfect !
Fiorenzato is one of the most popular grinder maker in Italy : http://www.fiorenzato.it/
You will enjoy the tandem !