Mignon MCI Programmable Doserless Espresso Coffee Grinder

As I’m sure you’ve seen it’s about clarity vs body rather than flat vs conical. E.g. Eureka with espresso burrs or Philos with 189D will occupy the same space as the niche Having said that, I’d suggest 064s with SSP MP or 078s with SSP, good high clarity flats

The Eurekas - especially the espresso burrs on em. Or Sette 270wi

As a former barista I think you will be most comfortable with a Gaggia Classic E24. It will feel closest to the commercial machines you've used in the past. Don't forget to budget for a good grinder. When brewing espresso, the grinder is much more important than the espresso machine. lf you really have a budget for $1K, an E24 for $450 will leave you $550 for a grinder. Spend as much of that as you can stand. If you want to single dose, Timemore 064s would be a great choice. Get it at one of Amazon's frequent 20% discount sales. If you want to grind-on-demand with a hopper, then one of the Eureka Mignons.

Ja mám už roky delonghi dedica s vlastným sitkom a pákou (neviem, ako sa to po slovensky správne volá) a eureka mignon mlynček. Do 500€ by si sa mal vojsť.

Yep, my Mignon is also quiet. I've found that much of the sound it does produce, is through motor's resonance with my kitchen cabinets, which then act as speakers of sorts. If I lift it up, it's really quiet as far as grinders can be (that is with hopper lid and bean valve closed, which makes a difference). Sound is low-pitched too. Note: I don't actually lift up the grinder in daily use 😆 I also happen to have an E55 Pro and while it's not exactly loud, it does produce a relatively high-pitched noise compared to my Eureka (my gf finds it annoying, but doesn't mind the Eureka). Other than that, great grinder!

Yes, I think they are great. Much less retention than the Mignon we originally bought & then returned. Easy to adjust, reliable. We use it for decaf, V60 & filter in a small cafe.

There are issues with the cheaper Eureka grinders like the Mignons/Specialita etc. The grind chamber isn't isolated from the electrics, where the circuit board and motor are housed. I have seen many posts and horror pics where when their Eureka failed, they took it apart completely, and there is more than 30 grams of old stale coffee all over the circuit board and electrics (probably the cause of the fail) a shocking amount. I don't know why Eureka hasn't addressed this and made the grind chamber sealed off from the electrics like other good grinders do. They have known about this problem for years with their grinders. I guess they just don't care because it takes about 5 years to be an issue, and they don't care at that point. I don't think this problem applies to their more expensive grinders like the Atom but it does for many in their range.

That was my plan, but if I am gonna open it, gonna lose at least 10% of my money. I went into this rabbithole for my limited budget, was essentially between vs4 and casa, if not for the bad quality control of vs4, I would have picked it up, while asking this sub last week, I came to include 78s too because it is great value. But Casa is too damn easy, beans in, beans out, very simple, no retention, no kilos of seasoning. That was my usecase, "decent quality effortlessly". Few years ago, I chose "sage barista touch" because it was "a piece of mind process with great results" then went into gaggia classic for 2 weeks, I was like what is the HELL even that? All that time for a cup of cappuccino", sent it back.. went again the coffee machines rabbithole, from rancillo, ascaso, bezzera, ecm.. then settled for lelit. I was about to buy the mara, then realised the pump noise and the choice to make between espresso or steam priority, so I went more than double my budget for lelit bianca v3 that was the end game for me, machines wise, even if i have the funds, la marzocco linea micra or mini is not an option, because I see no value for it. For the grinders, I went for the most famous at the time, mignon, wasn't happy about the aesthetics nor the coffee that comes out heated too much, so I replaced it by XL, was decent till it broke after 2 months. Then I decided no more on this regard to invest and try, I went for a sturdy commercial tank sort of grinder, euereka helios 65. Straight forward, in 4 to 6 seconds, I get 18g. It has been two good years, my only 2 complaints. It is LOUD, so I lose the benefits of my quiet rotary pump lelit bianca, second, 13 kgs to move around to clean is a troublesome. Casa is way quieter, even with weird chin sound as reported by many in this sub reddit, and easy to move around like a toy. It just gives me this novelty feeling again to try new stuff with my setup. By that people who wonder why some are obsessed by having high end or end game coffee machines, despite the grinder is more important, understand the mobility dilemma(size, weight) matters! Getting high end coffee machine is a smart move so you don't have to be annoyed by changing it or sending it to service because it is problems prone. While the grinder is managenable and easy to resell by the way. My next move will be something like zerno (z1, z2) or lagom p80, or whatever a grinding disruptor in two years.