Sage - Smart Grinder Pro (BCG820)

I sold my smart grinder pro recently and have a k6. The k6 is way better, less retention etc. A manual grinder can be annoying but I use an electric screwdriver if I dont feel like cranking.

Agree, the sage grinder will make you want to go to the next one quickly.

The K6 will be considerably better for both espresso and filter coffee, but a lot less convenient and more physical work. I owned a SGP and replaced it with a Niche Zero which was a big upgrade. The Niche produces too many fines for my liking with v60s so I bought a K6 which was another big upgrade for filter. I tried the K6 for espresso and found I preferred it for light roasts to my Niche Zero as it's more acid forward! The Niche is my preference for darker roasts but the K6 is really impressive.

This was exactly why I replaced mine. It was so massively inconsistent. The Niche was such a massive upgrade in both taste and stability. But so is the K6...

I have the SGP and if I upgrade it will be to the DF54

The grinder is the most important part. I went through the same thing as you looking at the Encore et al. I eventually settled on a Sage Smart Grinder Pro, which are alright for espresso but they have limitations. I've since changed to a pro grinder, a Macap M5D that I got for £100 secondhand.

I could make coffee with a smart grinder pro. I never made a coffee that i really enjoyed with it though. Someone else may be able to comment on whether newer models use a baratza burr set like the barista pro built in grinder, as that would change things a lot. Either way the build quality was pretty shitty The K6 is absurdly high quality (build and grind) for the price and i love mine but i wouldn't want to hand grind every shot of espresso... Personally I would probably look elsewhere. No experience with the DF 54 or 64 personally but people rave about them for a reason, provided you're happy with newer disruptor Chinese brand rather than tried and tested brands with history (i own a timemore sculptor atm. No judgement for challenger brands) Baratza and mahlkonig have also recently released cheaper smaller grinders for the home which are worth a look, albeit probably also a slightlyhigher price point than you were thinking of

I know we just had Halloween, but I'm trying to make sense of Frankenstein's grinder here? Single dose, but hopper with lots of beans in Bellows ON TOP of hopper, you blast air through the hopper of beans *and* through burrs/chute each shot It's certainly an, uh, interesting concept EDIT: Sorry OP - just to actually answer the question - it's not the greatest grinder (I have one) but you could easily pick up something like a Sage SGP second hand on ebay for £50-100. That's probably your best bet.

I have Sage Smart Grinder Pro and have it set to deliver well-ground coffee in the right dosage into the right volume of coffee (18g:36g). However the shot only takes 5 seconds, and it seems to make no difference if I change my grind to super fine. There's no crema at all unless I grind much coarser, which tastes nice but there's no complexity to the flavour at all. What's going on?! I also use a wedge distributor and tamp set to the recommended level (I know wedge distribution is not the best but surely I should get better results than this without WDT?)

My experience with the Smart Grinder Pro was terrible. Inconsistent, huge retention issues and terrible build quality. I would avoid and get a decent hand grinder.

Right. I have ESP and I upgraded from sage smart grinder pro and I like it more.