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Permalink Reply by John P on December 17, 2011 at 4:18pm

Ryan,

 

You can get a Compak K10 for under $1500, a Mazzer Major for under $1200, and a Mazzer Super Jolly for about $700. All of these are reasonably priced. I would recommend them in that order as well.

 

You can always look for a used model of a quality grinder, and replace the burrs if necessary. You can find these same grinders for $300 to about $900 if you look enough. Also, many vendors/manufacturers have Trade show demo models, just call them up and ask!

 

If your budget can't wiggle a few thousand or so for proper equipment, I would wait until you have sufficient capital before you open. It's better to wait to open with enough capital and the proper equipment than to rush just to be open. Grinder and espresso machine are not any place to be looking to save money. Look for alternatives to paying full price (demo, used) but don't skimp on quality of equipment in order to save a few dollars. 

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Hoeppner on December 17, 2011 at 9:32pm

Consider also that no matter how awesome your espresso machine is, if your grinder isn't equally as awesome, it will hold you back. Don't be afraid of getting a refurbished or used grinder, as long as it's from a stand up company. My only word of warning, don't get a modified doserless grinder. If it wasn't doserless from factory, don't do it. I did, and it wasn't awesome. I got the same model now, doserless and timer from factory, and it's a totally different grinder. Infinitely better. Anyway, don't cheap out on a grinder. It will cost you more in the long run and you will regret it.

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Permalink Reply by Shadow on December 18, 2011 at 4:08am

My vote goes to the Nuova Simonelli MDX. It's a rock solid workhorse, has 64mm burrs and a fantastic micrometric stepless grind adjustment. The MDX is easily on par with the Super Jolly and usually quite a bit cheaper. It will give you quality and consistency day in/out without breaking the bank!

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Permalink Reply by Brady on December 18, 2011 at 5:37am

I like all of the suggestions so far... and have had the chance to use all of the above on bar.

"Under $500" absolutely means used... probably well-used too, but don't let that scare you. These grinders are durable, long-lasting pieces of equipment. Another benefit of picking one of the previous suggestions as a used grinder is that it will not lose much in the way of value - you can buy a couple-years-old Super Jolly for a couple hundred bucks. If you keep it clean and replace burrs regularly it'll work pretty much like new for years. If you decide to upgrade, you can probably sell it (clean, with new burrs) pretty quickly for as much as you paid initially.

One consideration is drink production rate. If you anticipate long time periods where you will be pulling shots back-to-back, the Super Jolly may disappoint. IIRC, the MDX is just a little faster, the Major and Compak are faster still. If you don't anticipate running across that, this won't be as big of a deal.

Hope that helps.

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Permalink Reply by Brady on December 18, 2011 at 5:45am

Oh, and if you buy a used one... order a new doser arm return spring when you buy your new burrs. These are pretty straightforward to replace if you're handy, and tend to be the only thing (besides the power switches) that break on these things. Only a couple of bucks, and don't add much to shipping when you buy burrs. Either replace when you disassemble and clean the grinder or toss it in a drawer for when it eventually breaks.

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Permalink Reply by ryan moore on December 18, 2011 at 8:29am

Thanks so much!!  I will be buying used and all the suggestions have been very helpful! Defiantly don't want to cheap out, but Just needed some advice from REAL people on the front lines who could give me some non bias advice:)   Everyone just wants to sell you the most high end equipment on the market and scare you about buying anything else.  

Thanks again! 

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Permalink Reply by Dustin DeMers on December 19, 2011 at 1:16pm

Super jollys come up all the time used, on Craigslist and eBay. You will always pay more on eBay. They are often re branded as something else. The re branded ones are generally cheaper. I've purchased a couple espresso grinder off Craigslist for under a hundred. A super jolly and obel bregant. The super jolly needed a good cleaning of course, but I like taking things apart anyway. I've never seen any or the other grinder listed on Craigslist before, so buying a used one might be harder.

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