Grinder Search

Opened up Mythos
Originally uploaded by King Seven

I'm on a search for a new grinder and the weird looking one on the (King7) photo is one of the possibilities : The Simonelli Mythos.

The last 5 years I've been buying grinders at the same rhythm as i buy pants. And the more i buy, the more i know about them and the more difficult it gets to find the right one (i'm talking grinders of course ;-) ).

I've been reasonably happy with the Mazzers, Macap and Mahkonig, but they all have their weak points.

Mazzer blades do not last very long and only the heavier types do not heat up. And those big ones are very ugly and soo heavy and ... big indeed. And no professional doserless Mazzer, although Henk told me it's coming.

Macap is terrible to click. Clickclickclickclickclick....on and on and very loud and lots of spill. The looks are great yes, so big programmable doserless could be a future possibility...

Mahlkonig's K30 seemed to have it all, but after one and a half year of use i start turning away from them. The burrs only last 600Kg, but the biggest problem is the heating up. For 100 grams an hour it's ok, but once you start pulling shot after shot, the grounds come out hot, the taste gets thin and the under extractions show. Then you start grinding finer and that way you get into a vicious circle. On top of that the grounds are clumping which makes it more difficult to distribute. And the shot mass is too irregular. Yes, a whole of problems for such an expensive machine.

What are the solutions?
This Mythos can be great, but it's still not very known and expensive. And ugly.
Azkoyen Cappricio? Ok price and now it's less static than at the launch it could be a solution, although the looks do not fit with Caffenation. Aw, we're difficult today.
Compak also looks ugly. And their A8 grinder on demand is very high priced.
Big Faema or La Cimbali? I don't really trust, although i'm curiously waiting for the new Faema conical.
Anfim? Yes, this Caimano series look stunning, with titanium burrs lasting 3000 Kg!! Very good price. Cleanest dosing system. Very reliable. All ok, we just miss the ease of the automatic shot by shot grinding that makes the K30 such a winner. Maybe it's coming soon?....

Wait and see.