Gaggia RI8123/01 MD15 Coffee Grinder, ABS, Black, Stainless Steel

Product Information

If you're concerned with sustainability or cost, you'll be glad to know they're very cheap, and you can re-use them multiple times before they rip. This is where there is the greatest amount of choice. These all have proper burrs, either conical or flat, and they tend to be specialist grinders, either brew specific or espresso specific, with a couple of exceptions. There also an increasing number of the mid and premium range grinders that are being made purely for single dose use. Via the Smart Grinder Pro, I was able to get great results, with plenty of range left (I was around at about setting 16, so nowhere near finest). With the Krups GVX231 and the De'Longhi KG79, I couldn't get anywhere close to acceptable via standard baskets, so very under-extracted espresso. Barista & Co have come up with a different, and quite intriguing design for this coffee grinder, with a removable grinding unit. This part can be easily removed to clean, which means it can be easily replaced too.

The bellows and the lid leave a bit to be desired, I think this is the worst feature of the grinder where looks are concerned, the main body of the grinder looks really good for the money, but they do the job, and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This is a 40mm conical steel burr grinder, and it's a grinder that has been generally well accepted within the home barista market along with the Eureka Mignon as one of the obvious choices for an entry to mid-level burr grinder, especially for espresso although it'll work well with manual brew methods too.Espresso specialist grinders usually have stepless adjustments, which makes them great purely for espresso, but not so good for jumping around to grind for different brew methods. They kept the classic straddling these two markets, but then they added a pro steam wand – which you'll love if you're a home barista, but which you may find a bit daunting if you're not. Honestly, there's nothing to it, just a bit of practice, but I do wonder how many people are actually put off by the wand. Coffee grinders differ mainly by their price point, not only, but mainly, and can be categorised as follows. The reason for this is that out of the box, the OPV is set to around 13-14 bars, and this is because they're trying to serve two markets in one, with the Classic. This is the latest “Zero” option from Eureka, and while the Oro Zero (below) is the zero retention version of the Mignon XL with the bigger, “diamond inside” burrs, this is the Zero retention single doser version of the Mignon Specialita, and at the price point they've set it at, I think it's a very interesting alternative to the Niche Zero.

Locate and remove the two small Phillips head screws that fasten the faceplate to the housing at the top of the machine. But then on the coffee side of things, the Barista Express is very user friendly, and the temperature stability is going to be better with the Barista Express, with the PID, and it comes set to 9 bars of pressure (overpressure valve), while an un-modded classic pro will be slightly higher pressure (12 bar, I think, off the top of my head but very easy to mod), and less temp stable so temperature surfing requires (simple enough) or fitting a PID.

Best entry-level burr grinders

By the way, you're clearly interested in improving cup quality given you're looking to upgrade your grinder (unless it's your first grinder, of course, but in any case, this will still be relevant) but what about upgrading the quality of your coffee beans? Can I recommend some amazing quality, freshly roasted coffee beans, I hear you ask – sure :-). Here's a shameless plug…

The Baratza Encore is a grinder which has been around for a good few years now and is one of the most popular entry-level grinders, particularly for manual brew and for espresso with pressurized baskets. Baratza is owned by Breville, by the way (who we know as Sage, in the UK), which is only really anecdotal information as they are run as completely separate businesses. Try some of my coffee from The Coffeeworks, if you spend more than a tenner delivery is free within mainland UK, and here's a discount for you, too: The design of the new filter-holder ensures an even tamping as, when put on a flat surface, it stays in a horizontal position. Moreover, it has an ergonomic handle with a premium touch & feel. Solid materials andThoroughly clean the grinding chamber. This includes all of the threads, both on the top burr plate and the matching threads on the wall of the grinding chamber. Clean the burrs as well. A group brush does a good job cleaning the parts and threads in the grinding chamber. Be sure to clear the chute between the grinding chamber and the ground coffee dispenser. A vacuum really helps to get into the tight corners and avoids a lot of mess. The first thing to say about the DF64 is that it's a flat burr grinder, vs the conical burrs in the Niche Zero. The Zero has 63mm conical burrs, the DF64 has flat 64mm burrs. If you're someone who has a particular preference for flat burrs, then this may be something that draws you towards this grinder. I can't tell the difference in the cup between flat and conical, so it's not something that would make a huge difference to me personally. Among coffee fans, to dose or not to dose is somewhat of a big deal, since you are choosing to either dole out your grinds in measured quantities, or not.