Cimbali Max Hybrid

[floydpink]

Does anyone have experience with this grinder?

I have been seriously considering a Mazzer Mini as a big step up from my Gaggia MDF grinder and feel it might be more suited for my increased grinding after getting the new machine and sudden approval of my barrista skills.

I was reading in one of those "coffee snob" forums where someone was claiming the jump from the Mazzer to the Cimbali would be equivilant to the jump from a MDF to a Mazzer, which seems like a bold statement as I have always considered the Mazzer to be of the highest quality. The guy also said the "upgrade" to the Cimbali was his "single greatest achievement in cofee making".

I can't help but wonder if he isn't possibly a shill for Cimbali>???

The price for the Cimbali is only about $100 or so more than the Mazzer and I am taking this all with a dose of skepticism and really was hoping to find someone who has used both.

[germantown rob]

:

A grinder is the most important piece of equipment for coffee. I know I have heard that before just can't remember where.:

Just make sure it is really shiny.

The Mazzer SJ seems to be the cats meow but the Vario test side by side in some blind taste tests. A mazzer is built to last a very long time in comercial settings, the Vario is built for home use and is not proven but is backed by Baratza who are great great.

What was your question? Naw I can't help you on those choices.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by germantown rob

:
What was your question? Naw I can't help you on those choices.

Grinder schminder. It's all in the measuring spoon.

Seriously - how can we know? It takes a half-generation for these things to work themselves out.

[germantown rob]

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

Grinder schminder. It's all in the measuring spoon.

Somewhere out in the WWW I have a test of 6 different spoons and a variety of beans I weighted after scooping. Not only did the same scoop with the same bean vary greatly in weight it only got worse when bean varieties changed.

I will stick with my fancy Vario and it's very accurate timed dosing that has replaced a scoop and is making the scale worried it may end up in the cabinet.

[floydpink]

My dosing involves filling the pf, levelling it off and tamping. Never tried the spoon.

My next grinder won't have a doser. I find them to be perfect at trapping old grinds.

WLL did throw in a fancy scale and for kicks, I emptied the full pf and weighed it and came up with around 16 grams, which I think is about right for a double, right?

[germantown rob]

Originally Posted by floydpink

My dosing involves filling the pf, levelling it off and tamping. Never tried the spoon.

My next grinder won't have a doser. I find them to be perfect at trapping old grinds.

WLL did throw in a fancy scale and for kicks, I emptied the full pf and weighed it and came up with around 16 grams, which I think is about right for a double, right?

You don't have a coffee scoop, what a newb .

Not having a doser I wonder if I would like one. Each grinder will have it's pros and cons that don't have anything to do with how well it grinds. Grind retention seems to be a problem with many grinders both with doser and doserless. The Vario excels in 14g in 14g out but it loves to shoot grinds across the counter when the PF starts to crown however I no longer distribute the grinds anymore, grind and tamp.

14-18g per double is the way to go .

[floydpink]

No Cimbali after all.

Macap Stepless won my heart and should be here on Wednesday.

Came sooner than later as I opened up my Gaggia MDF to clean, dropped it on the tiles and shattered it into a million pieces. Destiny I guess and now there is nothing named Gaggia in my house.

500 bucks on my credit card was the last thing on my mind when I decided to perform an internal cleaning.

Should I do a pictorial of it arriving???

[novasurf]

Originally Posted by floydpink

I opened up my Gaggia MDF to clean, dropped it on the tiles and shattered it into a million pieces

Wow. That hurts. Is the tile ok?

[floydpink]

Originally Posted by novasurf

Wow. That hurts. Is the tile ok?

Yeah, thanks.

Never realized how many springs and small parts were inside the MDF grinder until taking it apart.

I was also shocked at how gunked up the burrs and grinding chamber were before breaking it.

I won't wait 2 years to open the Macap up and will be darned sure to be prepared and patient before performing further operations.

In the end, I think it will match up better with the new machine anyway, so it will be easier to explain to the wife why a shiny new grinder arrives this week after telling her I was all set on coffee stuff for a "long time".

She was out when I broke the Gaggia and I came up with a brilliant story that I saved the house as the grinder caught fire and I tackled it before it burned down the house. These are rare occurances with grinders, I explained, and our number was just up for our grinder to self destruct.

Oh and by the way... is stepless easy to figure out or should I buy extra beans?

[germantown rob]

I would just run some beans in your old grinder to get a sample to judge against for the stepless to get a rough dial in....
Oh yeah, you can't .

I like how you deal with upgradetitus, some may try to sell their old equipment, not you.

Play with some stale beans and get unto the ballpark, from that you should be 2-3 shots from dialing in the stepless with fresh beans.