Tisha Senior Member Joined: 9 Sep 2004 Posts: 5 Location: Texas Expertise: Just starting
Posted Wed Dec 7, 2005, 6:51pm Subject: Grinder suggestions (please help, I don't drink coffee!)
About a year ago, I (a non-coffee drinker) was contempating buying a coffee machine for my husband (a coffee lover) as a surprise. I posted some questions here, and after receiving some very helpful advice, put the whole idea on the backburner.
This time around I am heading in with a different approach, and would like to surprise him with a grinder. I've read the reviews and studied the forum posts, but they don't tell me something I'd like to know. This is selfish on my part, but I'd like to buy something that doesn't leave grounds all over the counter. However, the unselfish part of me would like to buy my husband a nice machine that he'll love waking up to each day. Can any of you suggest something that might fit the bill for under $400?
Posted Wed Dec 7, 2005, 7:14pm Subject: Re: Grinder suggestions (please help, I don't drink coffee!)
Hi Tisha,
You have a lucky hubby!
Will he be making espresso? (Sorry, but that's a messy process) Anyway - since it's a gift and you have such a large budget - you might consider a Doserless Rancilio Rocky. It's very attractive, and by most accounts it's well built and does a great job grinding for all types of brewing (drip coffee, espresso, French Press). The Rocky lists at $285 but you can get a better deal than that by calling the vendor and asking for the best price.
The Rocky is not the best espresso-only grinder because of the way the grind is adjusted but that is the same feature that makes it more versatile if your guy will want to use it for more than espresso.
Does that help? There are MANY grinders out there and some are on sale for the Holidays.
Right now he just has a plain old automatic drip coffeemaker, but I hope someday to buy him a nice machine for espresso, which is what he would prefer. He is picky about coffee. He's chooosy about beans, and I have seen him throw out more than a few cups from coffee shops. He works at home, and definitely has the time in the morning it takes to make a good cup of coffee. From previous conversations with him, I know he wouldn't mind putting some effort toward the process, but some automation is probably right for him. He doesn't drink coffee all day, but the giant cup he has every morning is pretty important to him. Does that help?
mls64 Senior Member Joined: 23 Nov 2005 Posts: 20 Location: TX USA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: La Spaziale S1, Estro Profi Grinder: Versalab M3 soon.. Drip: Technivorm
Posted Wed Dec 7, 2005, 7:34pm Subject: Re: Grinder suggestions (please help, I don't drink coffee!)
Since he isn't making espresso right now, the best choice might be a doserless grinder. The Rocky doserless, just under $300, is a great choice. The Macap would be the next step up, and it comes in a doserless version as well, but is obviously more expensive. Both would accomodate drip, French press, etc., right now and then espresso in the future if he would go down that (addictive) wonderful path.
Posted Wed Dec 7, 2005, 8:22pm Subject: Re: Grinder suggestions (please help, I don't drink coffee!)
Tisha Said:
Right now he just has a plain old automatic drip coffeemaker, but I hope someday to buy him a nice machine for espresso, which is what he would prefer. He is picky about coffee. He's chooosy about beans, and I have seen him throw out more than a few cups from coffee shops. He works at home, and definitely has the time in the morning it takes to make a good cup of coffee. From previous conversations with him, I know he wouldn't mind putting some effort toward the process, but some automation is probably right for him. He doesn't drink coffee all day, but the giant cup he has every morning is pretty important to him. Does that help?
$400 would certainly get you a great grinder... but since your husband is currently into coffee rather than espresso.. might I suggest spending half of that amount on a great drip grinder and the rest on other coffee goodies that he would be sure to enjoy? For example:
$200 Grinder $20 French Press $40 Vacuum Pot (Santos) $45 Presto Scandanavian Autodrip $30 Nissan Carafe/Thermos $65 (plus a little extra) Coffee Roaster
For a grinder in that category, I would look at the Kitchen Aid grinder mentioned here.
If your goal is to get him one step closer to making espresso at home.. then the other recommendations would be better. Though fyi- most espresso grinders aren't necessarily the best choice for a 'coffee' grinder. They can certainly grind the coffee properly.. they just have features geared toward espresso that aren't useful for drip/FP/Vac Pot... such as having a doser and being 'stepless'. It is also common for people to not want to change the settings on their espresso grinder once they get it the way they want it (dialed-in)... therefore many have a separate grinder for regular coffee.
Posted Wed Dec 7, 2005, 8:32pm Subject: Re: Grinder suggestions (please help, I don't drink coffee!)
Hi Tisha,
What a great post :) So I can definitely vouch for the Rocky Doserless as a great grinder as that's the one I use, but I'd like to try and steer you toward something that I think makes a little more sense at this point in your husbands coffee obsessions. This Link http://www.wholelattelove.com/grinder.cfm will take you to wholelattelove's webpage with their grinders. The Rocky, Macap and others are listed there mostly by price. As with the Rocky, I can also vouch for the Solis Maestro Plus, which will grind for a full range of coffees from french press, espresso, done to turkish. It's good on keeping static to a minimum, has a container to catch the ground coffee and a time dial on the side so you can walk away while grinding for say a full pot of drip. The Rocky on the other hand has no container designed for this purpose (one can be place underneath, and you'll probably want to take the portafilter fork out) and it also needs to be hands on, by that I mean he'll have to hold a button down while he's grinding. The Maestro plus sounds like a better fit for him and you. Also, and I am assuming this is an upgrade to the Maestro Plus, there is the Baratza Virtuoso for another $50, but it's only available for pre-order right now, plus, I personally don't know what the advantages are. The Meastro is $150 and has remained at that price since it's introduction. Now, I don't know what how your husband makes his drip, but if you're looking to burn up the other $250, I can hands down, no questions asked, one hundred percent defendable, recommend the Technivorm Coffee Brewer. I finally convinced my parents to get one after serveral disappointments they had with their target/walmart brewers, they either broke or just didn't brew a hot enough cup of coffee, actually, none of them did. That was until they got the Technivorm, they love it. I all so got my sister one for Christmas last year, the thermos model, she loves it too. They run up to $200.
But seriously, I think an espresso level grinder at this stage is a bit overkill. My Rocky is dedicated to Espresso, my Maestro is my second and I use that for everything else, ie drip, vac, press, and even espresso when I want to try a different blend without emptying my Rocky, so even if you husband decides to start trying espresso, this will still have a prominent place. It's a great all around grinder. I've also used a Capresso Infinity, and it's OK, but there is more dust, a bit loader, the grinds aren't quite as fine and it's a little rickety. Also, don't get sucked into a Bunn just b/c of it's name, I'm sure its a solid drip coffee grinder, but that's it. There is also the Kitchen Aid Proline, now there is a rift here, Mark Prince the guy who runs this site likes it, but the reviews are 50/50. Anything beyond that is really an espresso grinder. So my recommend is the Maestro, but the Rocky is great too. Good luck :)
Everman Senior Member Joined: 25 Nov 2004 Posts: 1,043 Location: Coffee Land Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Valentina Levetta, Elektra... Grinder: Mazzer Mini Roaster: Hottop
Posted Wed Dec 7, 2005, 10:31pm Subject: Re: Grinder suggestions (please help, I don't drink coffee!)
You should get him a french press and a moka pot, just so he can play around with different styles of making cofee. Add to that some good beans and my plan of getting him on the path to espresso is in place... :)
Jasonian Senior Member Joined: 8 Aug 2005 Posts: 3,856 Location: Lubbock, TX Expertise: Professional
Posted Wed Dec 7, 2005, 10:38pm Subject: Re: Grinder suggestions (please help, I don't drink coffee!)
Tisha Said:
About a year ago, I (a non-coffee drinker) was contempating buying a coffee machine for my husband (a coffee lover) as a surprise. I posted some questions here, and after receiving some very helpful advice, put the whole idea on the backburner.
This time around I am heading in with a different approach, and would like to surprise him with a grinder. I've read the reviews and studied the forum posts, but they don't tell me something I'd like to know. This is selfish on my part, but I'd like to buy something that doesn't leave grounds all over the counter. However, the unselfish part of me would like to buy my husband a nice machine that he'll love waking up to each day. Can any of you suggest something that might fit the bill for under $400?
I don't know where in TX you two live, but if you are anywhere near Ft. Worth, you should have him come to our coffee jam on the 18th at Panther City Coffee. It should be a great time. http://coffeegeek.com/forums/worldregional/uscentral/187067
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