Monolith Conical (MC6)

Kafatek MC6 if single dosing.

The OP said milk drinks primarily. The SDRM is fantastic for straight shots and great for milk drinks. But the MC6 is better for punching through milk since it highlights some notes in the coffee in a blended way and rounds out the acidity more. The SDRM is predominantly a 80mm flat grinder so it highlights acidity more.

My suggestion is to stick with a conical. You’re already familiar with the niche. Truly endgame, there is only one option and that’s Kafatek. The burrs are arguably the best, everything else just is the best and it’s not even close. The machining utilizes the lowest tolerances in the industry. Nothing is pressed metal, everything is machined… every single piece of metal is machined. The Japanese made DC motors Dennis uses have a duty life that will greatly exceed your lifetime. The motors are also ambiguous in the industrial automation space… why does that matter? Well, even if Dennis decides to stop making his glorious grinders or maybe the motor goes bad in 30 years, you’ll be able to easily get one. If it’s used in industrial automation, it will be available for 100+ years from the manufacturer. Get the MC6.

Seconded. I have the MC6 and like the OP am a medium- medium dark roast milk drinks guy. MC6 is an incredible grinder.

The Kafatek MC6 is great for medium and dark and really good for light roast. The SDRM may be even better at light roast so you should check that out as well. Both are far more interesting to me than the Key.

I have two - I have a Kafatek MC6 for espresso and a DF83V with SSP MP burrs for soup and filter

I have 2 grinders - a DF83V with SSP MPs and a Kafatek MC6. My Kafatek does all my espressos (from light to dark) and my 83V does all pour over. I initially used the 83V for pour over and espresso but I began to really miss texture. I don't necessarily believe in the flat vs cone debate but I really enjoy having a conical and flat burr grinder

My first real grinder after my Breville was the Specialita. It's a great grinder but is really optimised for darker roasts and traditional espressos. After my Specialita I moved to a DF83V with stock burrs from that I upgraded to SSP MPs and now I have the 83V with MPs and a Kafatek MC6. The grinder is definitely one of the most important aspects of good coffee. There is significant diminishing returns beyond the Single Dose Pro their light roast optimised burrs (I forget their name). I think the SDP is a great next step if you want better build you could go for the Philos. However, the Specialita does not make "bad" light roasts. There are definitely ways to enjoy great light roasts on the Specialita. Generally, more expensive grinders can excel in clarity but that isn't always a good thing. I now seldom use my 83V with MPs unless it's for filter since the MC6 has very similar clarity. More expensive grinders can make light roasts more enjoyable since they will have great clarity and sometimes greater sweetness but don't let that prevent you from making great light roasts. Even when you get to big 80mm and 98mm burrs it isn't always a night and day thousands of dollars differences

LM Micra with Kafatek MC6, had a Mazzer Philos before that. Use a Fellow Ode Gen 2 with Creamaloop Slow Feeder for brewing with a Moccamaster.

The Philos was built like a tank but had a few annoying plastic parts, (the lid, the power switch, the lower cowl / cover) and the stainless steel plate under the chute gets scratched easily by the supplied catch cup, this plate doesn’t appear to be available separately as a spare part for replacement… I would have liked the option to grind direct to portafilter, I would have thought Mazzer could have developed a kit, maybe they will in future… My Philos was an early example, produced before they added the two bolts to the cover plate, following complaints of plates falling off as they were stuck on with double sided tape, the bolt heads do look like an afterthought and spoil the original design, IMHO… Dialling between espresso and filter ranges would lead to inconsistencies when returning to espresso, the first few shot times would vary a lot before settling back down again. I tried purging with a few grams of beans after dialling back down, this would help but not eliminate the problem. I eventually purchased a Fellow Ode 2 as a second grinder, just for filter, to avoid the issue…. But still had my eye on the MC6 so took the plunge and couldn’t be happier. The MC6 has a far wider band in which the shots taste great, I mean when dialling in the shot time can be anywhere between 20 and 40 seconds and still good, whereas the with the Philos I would need to be a couple of seconds either side of target otherwise it would be either sour or bitter. Also, when making adjustments to the grind size, the steps just seem to work in a more predicable way, eg one click is two seconds, two clicks four seconds etc, but with the Philos it was more like one click one second then two clicks five seconds… When I initially tried the Philos and MC6 side by side with medium/dark beans the shots from the MC6 just tasted thicker, more chocolatey and sweet, and so much earlier to dial in..

I have an LM Micra and a Kafatek MC6, in the UK the MC6 is nearly the same cost as the Micra, once you take shipping and import taxes into account, so about 50-50 split for me…I do mainly make milk drinks, why anyone would say why the grinder is not important when you make milk drinks is beyond me, I had a Philos before and tried the two grinders side by side with straight espresso, with cortado and cappuccino drinks, the difference was remarkable, milk or no milk…

Yes, absolutely! Also, the MC6 has a far wider band in which the shots taste great, I mean when dialling in the shot time can be anywhere between 20 and 40 seconds and still good, whereas the with the Philos I would need to be a couple of seconds either side of target otherwise it would be either sour or bitter. Also, when making adjustments to the grind size, the steps just seem to work in a more predicable way, eg one click is two seconds, two clicks four seconds etc, but with the Philos it was more like one click one second then two clicks five seconds…MC6 is truly end game…

MC6, I have it.