Eureka - Mignon Manuale

I haven't read all the replies to this thread yet. My only advice so far is to NOT buy any of the grinders you have shown. I have a Eureka Mignon Manuale which is very good, but I only use it for light roasts nowadays because I also have a Timemore Bricks 01s which cost me even less but I prefer it. My next step is probably going to be to replace the Eureka with a Timemore 064S or a Lagom Casa. I am just waiting long enough to avoid my wife's annoyance at yet more investment in grinders even though the coffee we share is already excellent!

I have had 3 Shardor grinders, 2 of them being the model shown, one being a replacement for a cheaper one, the third being a replacement for the second. The first 2 lasted less than 6 months in combined total, and the third showed signs of exhaustion on speciality coffees, at which point i moved up to a Eureka Mignon Manuale. You are much better off with a Barazza ESP or a Breville SGP. Or even a DF54.

Sorry I have no experience of this particular model. (I misinterpreted the original photo, I had 3 cheaper grinders with smaller, conical burrs) However their after sales service was quite good for me, they replaced or refunded for all 3 of my faulty models. So maybe it would be worth the risk, but I wouldn;t buy one myself. The Manuale is rock solid and gives good results, but it is tedious and inconsistent if you change grind settings frequently. I now have mine on a fixed setting for the locally roasted decaff beans I drink every day, and use my Timemore for 4 bag medley taster packs I buy online.

I have had 3 Shardor grinders, 2 of them being the model shown, one being a replacement for a cheaper one, the third being a replacement for the second. The first 2 lasted less than 6 months in combined total, and the third showed signs of exhaustion on speciality coffees, at which point i moved up to a Eureka Mignon Manuale. You are much better off with a Barazza ESP or a Breville SGP. Or even a DF54. (Phillintheblank90 suggested I move this post to where it would be more obvious, to act as a warning. I must admit that the vendor of my Shardors gave excellent after sales service, both free replacements were sent free, but that might also suggest that they were resignedly familiar with the problems.)

Go for the eureka and buy the bigger dial. It’s the one that’s built the best , like a tank, and has little to no quality control issues. Unlike the others in your list.

Neither the Shardor, Hibrew, or Casabrews are likely to meet your requirement for a 5 year life. The Baratza ESP has the best build quality of any device on your list, but you can still do better. I'd suggest a Gaggia Classic E24 for the machine, and one of the Eureka Mignon grinders. These are high quality products that should last forever if well taken care of. I wouldn't give a lot of credence to the Amazon reviews. Many people buy espresso equipment (especially Breville) without realizing how difficult it is to learn to use. They get rapidly frustrated, blame their problems on the machine, and give it a poor review. Feedback from this sub and other coffee/espresso forums is much more relevant than Amazon ratings.

Search this sub for "Opus" and note the many issues reported with it. You might want to take it off your list. The other 3 grinders are all solid choices. DF54 and Manuale are worth more than the ESP if you are willing to spend the money.

Stay away from the Opus. The ESP is a good choice, though I feel like the Mignon Manuale/Facile/Notte is the best budget espresso grinder you can get, and SCG has it for $280. ESP for the easy adjustments if that’s important to ya.

How’s the grind consistency with single dosing on the Manuale? I tried it for a bit and while retention even without bellows was 0, shot times varied by about 5-10 seconds. Has been incredibly consistent with hopper dosing!

For that budget I'd go for 3 options depending on preference/workflow. - Turin DF54 (54mm flat burr, single dose, dosing cup) - Fellow Opus (44mm conical burr, single dose, dosing cup) - Eureka Manuale (50mm flat burr, hopper or single dose, direct to portafilter) Those are all great options that are towards the top end of your budget with Eureka coming in a bit higher with the Opus being the cheapest option. IMO the Eureka is probably the best built quality and durability wise.

Pro tip, if you struggle to get a good coffee out of it in a few years, first thing you should try is replacing the burrs. I was going crazy getting 15 second shots with the burrs nearly touching. After replacing them, I'm more than half a rotation of the dial back. Not sure how they became blunt after 4 years of 1-2 coffees a day...

Eureka Mignon Manuale ($450aud, 4 years ago). It was good for a couple of years, but somehow the burrs wore down, and for the last 6 months I've been struggling to get a good coffee out of it. Replaced the burrs ($50aud) which fixed the issue, but I'm still considering switching. The retention is ridiculous (more than 0.5g), so I got the bellow upgrade which helped, but theres still 0.1-0.3g of exchange. Plus, I find the workflow annoying, as the button is plastic and my portafilter is obviously metal, so there is zero friction in pressing the button, meaning I regularly slide off the button causing the grind to stop. The Lagom Casa has nothing but good reviews, so that's my next grinder. As someone who's been down this path, a word of advice; spend more on your grinder than you do on your machine. It sounds crazy if you're just starting, but it's true.

Eureka manuale here, 0 ragrets but very loud! But if I'm spending 500-1000 on a grinder, it'll be another Eureka

For flat burr grinders the Eureka Mignon range has better options imo. Crono, Manuale & Zero are all worth looking into as alternatives for the Ode 2

At your budget, you could do a Breville Bambino Plus and a Mignon grinder. That's what I have and it is plenty of grinder and machine below aficionado "I can taste the differences between Arabica, Robusta, Liberica, and Excelsa beans at any roast level." Cheap machines are discussed so often here I keep a post: https://www.reddit.com/r/espresso/comments/1pemyi9/comment/nshft26/ SUMMARY (US market): * hand grinders: 1Zpresso Q Air Manual ($70) and KINGrinder K6 ($100) * electric grinders: Baratza ESP ($200), MiiCoffee/Turin DF54 ($250), and any Eureka Mignon intended for espresso you can find refurbished or used * espresso machines: Casabrews 3700 ($100), HiBrew H10B ($125), De'Longhi Dedica ($150), De'Longhi Classic($180), Breville Bambino ($250), Breville Bambino Plus ($400)

If a Eureka can be found in this price range get it!! 😎💪 The real deal