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Permalink Reply by Jason Shipley on July 20, 2009 at 5:02pm

The best deal is subjective. How many pounds of espresso a day do you go through?

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Permalink Reply by Alex Chojolan on July 20, 2009 at 5:04pm

About 10 pounds.

Jason Shipley said:

The best deal is subjective. How many pounds of espresso a day do you go through?

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Permalink Reply by Jason Shipley on July 20, 2009 at 5:41pm

A Mazzer Super Jolly will be sufficient as long as you change the burrs every quarter. If your business is really sporadic a line to the door followed by long down times it may be worth going to a Conical Burr grinder like a Royal or Robur. Most shops don't need to go this rout until they are doing upwards of 20lbs a day the nice thing about Mazzer SJ grinders is that you can always sell a used one for $400-500 on ebay and can buy them new between $800-900.

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Permalink Reply by Bryan Wray on July 20, 2009 at 6:24pm

Alex... call me for these things... haha. We painfully need to get together and take over Kazoo's coffee scene.

Anyway, Jason stole my words, a SJ is the way to go, and just Mazzer in general. I'm not against Macaps, but I hate how they adjust.

I'm also a big fan of Nuova Simonelli MDX's. They have 65mm burrs vs. a SJ's 64mm (not a giant difference, but a difference non-the-less) and their adjustment is a dream. We're running an MDX at the Strutt if you want to stop in and work on one before going out and buying one.

-bry

Jason Shipley said:

A Mazzer Super Jolly will be sufficient as long as you change the burrs every quarter. If your business is really sporadic a line to the door followed by long down times it may be worth going to a Conical Burr grinder like a Royal or Robur. Most shops don't need to go this rout until they are doing upwards of 20lbs a day the nice thing about Mazzer SJ grinders is that you can always sell a used one for $400-500 on ebay and can buy them new between $800-900.

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Permalink Reply by Bryan Wray on July 20, 2009 at 6:25pm

Oh... and I don't have your phone number anymore because I decided to see if my phone could swim... Call me whenever.

-bry

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Permalink Reply by Jay Caragay on July 20, 2009 at 6:56pm

I wouldn't use a Mazzer Super Jolly on our espresso bar if you gave me one for free.

However, I've bought four Mazzer Majors.

The Mazzer Kony (if my friends' grinder is any indication) is completely worthless in a production environment where any semblance of speed is of the essence. That damn grinder is the slowest thing I've seen this side of a Zassenhaus.

The Roburs are extremely popular amongst baristas but they're not my first choice. Too heavy, too expensive and the superiority of the grind quality compared to other top-line grinders is arguable.

I use and prefer the Compak K-10. We've been using one since 2006 and I recently bought two more for the new shop.

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Permalink Reply by Chris DeMarse on July 20, 2009 at 7:14pm

Jay is spot on in smelling out the hype. I super jolly runs hot and has a slow output relative to a compak k10. I've used them side by side with Mazzers and they grind with the best that mazzer has to offer. Because they have a conical burr system they run cooler and have a 20+ gram output in under 5 seconds. You will spend a lot less for the compak than a mazzer and get more for your dollar.

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Permalink Reply by Bryan Wray on July 21, 2009 at 9:24am

Chris DeMarse said:

Jay is spot on in smelling out the hype. I super jolly runs hot and has a slow output relative to a compak k10. I've used them side by side with Mazzers and they grind with the best that mazzer has to offer. Because they have a conical burr system they run cooler and have a 20+ gram output in under 5 seconds. You will spend a lot less for the compak than a mazzer and get more for your dollar.

Actually, to be a little bit more clear, you will spend twice as much for a K10 as you would for a SJ, not "a lot less," actually a lot more... If we were saying a Robur then there could be more of a debate, but of course a K10 is a better grinder than a SJ, they are in different classes of grinders. If we were throwing out suggestions for the best grinder on the market I would have put my vote in for a Robur-E, but the question was pertaining to a 10lb/day bar looking for a good deal.

-bry

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Permalink Reply by Chris DeMarse on July 21, 2009 at 10:32am

i understand where bryan is coming from, but a good deal is only a good deal if you get a lot for a little. I would say that the super jolly is getting "adequate" grinding for an "adequate" price. When i think of a good deal, I think of the k10 because, while it might be more than the sj, it is a far greater value to preserving the coffee.

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Permalink Reply by Jay Caragay on July 21, 2009 at 1:24pm

Perhaps the question ought to be about sourcing a great grinder, rather than a "10# per day" grinder.

I'm approaching my responses with quality in mind, and the Super Jolly is less than ideal. The burrs are smaller and prone to greater heat. If one really wants to stay with a flat burr system then the Mazzer Major is an ideal choice, though some people like the Anfim (but the Anfim has the problem of the stepped adjustment - which, to my mind, is an inferior design no matter how passionate the argument).

Taking it further, if one must stay within the flat burr realm, then I think Compak even has an offering or two that will meet the need. Not to mention the Mahlkonig K30, which in it's current and most modern configuration, has eliminated most (if not all) of the problems earlier models suffered.

But as I've said, the question should be one of quality and not merely pound usage per day. Regardless of usage, is your goal not to provide the absolute best quality espresso possible? The conical grinders (in any configuration) beat the Super Jolly hands down, so why settle for less if you're actually going out an investing in a grinder?

If you like these "bigger" grinders and would like to find a deal, ask the companies. Do they have any used (or show) grinders around? Can they be picked up for a good price? Many times, the companies that sponsor competitions or barista jams will want to sell the equipment right after the event. This can be a good time to lock in a great deal.

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