The search for a suitable espresso machine seems to coming along nicely, with specifications, advice, recommendations and price having narrowed the list down to a ‘top 3′, all of which are still in the running.
So now naturally, my attention is also turning towards which grinder to best pair with any new machine. The main problem I have with our current grinder is that it has stepped adjustments which are just not fine enough, and this can so often ruin shots, even when the other variables are behaving. It’s also a little slow, and the doser (in the way it doses into the p/f) could be better. Therefore, to get the best from a great machine, a better grinder is a must, I think, and our existing one can be demoted to decaf. Again though, as always, the budget will be limited, and, given that the cafe’s espresso volume is currently best described as medium or even light, I guess we don’t actually need a top of the range beast like a Robur or a Kony anyway (although these might still be my ideal choice if cost wasn’t an issue). A Mahlkonig K30 is probably over budget too (and stepped only?), and besides, whilst I like the speed, convenience, and nifty programmable dosing times on these, I actually quite like having a dosingchamber-and-pedal grinder, as I feel it can help to virtually eliminate clumping issues. But, with a dosing chamber, the ergonomics need to be good – a light and responsive pedal, and similar on/off switch to manually control the ‘on demand’ grinding.
Bearing these issues in mind, I’ve arrived at the Anfim Super Caimano, or the Mazzer Major as the obvious choices within the price bracket. I don’t think either are perfect, but both are good. From what I can gather, a hybrid grinder with the Anfim’s doser and switches, the Mazzer’s stepless adjustment, and a grind speed in between the two might be ideal… The grind quality itself is reported to be similar.
Whichever grinder we choose, it needs to be suitable for very convenient dialing-in, as I (currently) use a changing variety of coffees for espresso, rather than just one seasonal blend.
I’ve heard a lot of praise for the Anfim (with 75mm blades), and know it’s liked by a lot of high profile, very discerning baristas. But, I’m struggling to understand how this grinder can be as good as a stepless; and I feel very cautious about going for another stepped grinder, when our current one causes me so many problems! From what I can gather, the concept with the Anfim Super might be that the timer is meant to counter the fact that it’s stepped; apparently it can dose so precisely, that you can still obtain a pour of exactly the desired shot volume and time, even though it’s stepped. I can kind of see how that would work, but it also seems to pose a lot of problems. For instance, doesn’t it mean your dose size is to an extent dictated by the needs of the grind step and the shot volume/time, rather than the ideal of allowing dose size to have an impact on flavour? (although, with any given coffee, perhaps you can fine-tune the Anfim sufficiently for a dose that works flavour-wise and also shot volume/time wise, on each step?) Even more crucially perhaps; when you have carefully fine tuned the Anfim’s timer for the perfect dose for a certain coffee - what on earth happens when all the other usual variables that affect grinding start to kick in: burrs heating up, atmospheric conditions/humidity, etc? The whole idea of having easily adjustable stepped or stepless adjustments is precisely to cope with these constant changes, and if you’re tied to a carefully worked out timer setting, surely making these adjustents from shot to shot becomes a lot more difficult? And what about single shots – are there two timer settings?
Maybe you don’t need to use the timer on the Anfim, maybe you can just turn it on and off to grind manually - but surely that would then still leave you with the problems of the stepped adjustment? Maybe the steps on the Anfim are actually very fine (much finer than on our Astro 12 for instance), which would mean they would cause less problems?
If I’m totally misunderstanding this grinder, I’d appreciate being put right about it!
Perhaps it’s just a whole different style of grinding that you need to get a feel for… but at present, I quite like the simplicity of our manual grinder, in that you switch it on with the rocker, clacketyclack whilst it grinds, switch it off, clacketyclack out the last grinds, and then rocker it on/off briefly of you need another gram or two. And as the conditions change, you change the grind. Easy. But its crucial problem is that that the grind size is often just not quite right.
On the plus side, the Super’s dosing sounds incredible. And I like the rocker switches they seem to come with – I don’t really like the ergonomics of the twisty on/off dial on the Mazzers. Also, I’m quite attracted by the slower grinding speed (800 rpm) on the Anfim, in terms of reducing heat and preserving flavour as things get busy.
With the Mazzer (with 83mm blades), the primary attraction for me is definitely the stepless adjustment – and I can understand how this works!
Sometimes with our current grinder (65mm blades), there is just no way of achieving the right grind at a desired dose (or any dose for that matter!). Even adjusting your tamp and dose (neither option being ideal anyway), does little to correct the problem in some cases. Sometimes it can be dead-on, but, as environmental factors change throughout the day, the grind will drift into that point where neither step is right. When it’s like that, I actually find myself grinding a certain proportion (varied accordingly) of the shot on the finer step, and the remaining amount on the courser step. I know this is crazy and undesirable in terms of varied particle size within the same shot, and the hassle, but at certain points in the day, this seems to be the ONLY way of achieving the right shot results.
Therefore, I’m very keen on the notion of a stepless grinder like the Mazzer Major. It’s very quick too (1400/1600 rpm), which I guess can be very beneficial, although I worry that maybe it’s too quick (both in terms of blade heat, and in terms of being able to judge and dose just the right amount in 5 seconds rather than 15-20)? As mentioned, I’m not keen on the Mazzer’s on/off dial either (especially in conjunction with the fast grinding speed) - but if the grind’s right, perhaps I could live with it…
Essentially, I want a grinder that can offer a fine enough adjustment in grind size to enable me to have total control (or as near as possible) over the shot volume and time, for a particular dose, in any given varying environmental condition. For instance; if I find a certain coffee works best with a heavier dose, at about 28 seconds, and more ristretto (and a certain temp) - I want to have a fine enough grind alteration to be able to replicate those shot characteristics, even as the environmental conditions alter. If the Anfim can offer that, with better dosing, all well and good – but if it can’t, then I wouldn’t want to sacrifice that level of shot control, just for cleaner dosing…
Am I asking too much?!
…More research needed!
Happy days.
