SHARDOR - Coffee Grinder CG618B

$30 bucks Shardor on Amazon prime sales. Easily modded to grind finer. Didn't know if I'd stick to this hobby, and I did. During the time my (replaced and twice fixed) old machined died, so upgraded to a Delonghi Dedica. So was trying out a cheapo. Thought of upgrading but no need to. Challenges of cheap machines are... never consistent. Espresso is actually VERY easy if you have the right machines, beans, etc. Usually expensive equipments will cover for little variables and mistakes. Kitchen appliance cheap machine is the hardest to make a good cup, IMHO. So don't go too cheap. 😁

I just bought a shardor and it works great with a bottomless at setting 3. I was going to return it on day 1 if it didn’t and thankfully it’s all good. I’m starting to think that a lot of these “rules” about grinders people have held for years now are starting to fall apart as new products hit the market. I recall a few years ago being told you can’t make espresso in any machine under $300 (used) and a friend of mine recently got one of those cheap $130 CasaBrews with a bottomless portafilter and it makes great espresso. Yeah, it’s cheap and probably won’t last many years, but it completely defies everything I had read on this sub a few years ago.

How do i fix this? I bought an OEM version of this machine with a different brand logo, but it's exactly the same factory machine as the Shaedor. It cost me only around $83 at my local store. It works pretty well, but this is my first time using a grinder machine, so I’m not sure what might not be working well or how to improve it.

As much as I dislike the DFs for their teething issues so far, I will concede that they have a decent grinder in the DF54, for the price point. However, not a lot of choices in 54mm space, so you're a little bit stuck unless you perform [some surgery](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADnoqcns4dc). The other contender is the Encore ESP. So much plastic. But a respectable burr for a broad range of espresso and filter roast levels. I would avoid the Breville Smart Grinder for its jankiness. It makes passable cups for dark roast only, and has poor prospects for repairs/upgrades. Similarly, I think Eurekas in general are quite overpriced and hard to use because of their antediluvian grind chamber design (lots of retention) and what might possibly be the industry's most user-unfriendly grind adjustment knob (tiny diameter, unable to calibrate/zero, small adjustments all but impossible due to thread lash, easy to lose track of revolutions). Also, Eureka seems insistent on undersized, under populated, (and underperforming) burrs of proprietary specs, so upgrading/exploring other burrs is not possible. Kidding-not-kidding recommendation: amzn has a $170 grinder from Shardor that can host standard 64mm flat burrs. The grinder itself is a plastic copy of a Mazzer Super Jolly, down to the aggressively sprung but huge grind adjustment dial. However, the grind chamber and carrier are well machined, with a properly sized exit path/chute. Save a few bucks, invest in a pair of SSP MPs or Ditting Cast LS, and call it a day. Hope that helps, let us know how you get on

I can confirm that in my early espresso days I tried to reduce the cost by buying Shardor grinders. I bought one. It failed. Their aftersales service was excellent, I must admit. They sent me a replacement without needing a return. The replacement failed. I got a refund after returning the second. Because of the after sales I thought "3rd time lucky" and gambled on a more expensive Shardor. It failed.... Total months from 3 machines that failed. Only 15 months in total for 3 machines. To me, that is not good enough.

I’ve been using the shardor for a week now and love it. 160$ on amazon

Its not the bestx but its does the job well, i wouldnt recommend it unles you are on a budget or starting, when i travel to US i Will definitily buy a D54

I had this grinder for a bit before I realized it just isn’t right for espresso. I ended up going with a SHARDOR off Amazon and then sprang for the j-ultra. I hate saying “you need to spend money to get a good quality shot,” but in this case, spending $150-$200 on a good grinder is well worth it. Best of luck!

The shardor works fine for medium/dark roasts. Honestly. Had one for two years, got the job done.

You are going to be frustrated by either of those options...I've had a version of those that looks very similar to the Shardor ones (there are many companies basically selling the same thing). It's fine for drip coffee or even something like a MokaPot, but if you're trying to get espresso, they're just too variable to get any consistency and that will drive you mad, especially if you use different beans all the time. In my opinion, you're better off spending the same amount of money on a good hand grinder, or saving up for something a bit more expensive, like a Baratza Encore, a Breville (Sage) Smart Grinder Pro, or one of the entry level Eureka Mignons. They all are around $200 USD and will be perfectly fine; not amazing but they'll get the job done. If you want better than fine, you're going to have to get closer to $500: [https://www.reddit.com/r/espresso/comments/18ohtf4/the\_best\_espresso\_grinder\_under\_500\_james\_hoffmann/](https://www.reddit.com/r/espresso/comments/18ohtf4/the_best_espresso_grinder_under_500_james_hoffmann/) I was in your shoes once and ended up spending far more trying to find a good cheap alternative. If I was starting my journey all over again, I'd get myself a hand grinder, The one I use at work is a 1Zpresso, but Timemore and Kin Grinder also make great options for less than $100.