which doserless grinder?

krady

So I find myself with cash to buy a grinder to replace my Gaggia MDF. I'm tired of the mess and want a doserless model. Ideally it would be an automatic/timed one too. Since I will only use this grinder for one or two types of beans (I have a separate grinder for cafetiere coffee and we never drink decaf) I'm not worried about the time it takes to dial it in.

As I see it my options are (all doserless):

Iberital MC2: excellent price, timed, reasonable size on counter, stepless.
Rancilio Rocky: expensive, excellent build, no timing option (I think).
Ascaso i2: reasonable price, timed, don't know much about it.
Mazzer Electronic: damned expensive, good size, timed, excellent build.

I've used a friend's Rocky and wasn't hugely impressed by it though that's largely because I cannot for the life of me estimate when I have enough coffee ground so I end up just grinding too much, again causing wastage and mess. I don't really see why people are so enthusiastic about it.

I like the idea of the Mazzer since I have used their commercial grinders and love them but it is a ton of money and I'm not even sure where I can get it here (can't find it on the various recommended sites).

I see that the board's opinion of the Iberital is very positive. How have you found its timing consistency? Is it easy to set the timing?

Anybody tried any of the Ascaso ones?

rockbeer

I have the Ascaso I2 (mine's the untimed version) and I'm very happy with it. Grind quality is fantastic - it has an excellent burr set. Build quality also seems good - I've been working it hard for eighteen months now without a glitch... but now I've gone and said that, you see if it doesn't break down on me this afternoon

Apparently with the early models in this range some people had issues with the hopper build quality, but I've had no problems with mine. Other than that, it's hard to come up with any down-sides. It just works and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another if I ever needed to. In short I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a stepless doserless.

Having said that, if you want the absolute best go for the Mazzer!

Mr Magnolia

I've then Iberital here and couldn't really fault it. Great value for money. The stepless grind is great for accuracy but forget about adjusting it for say a french-press etc.

krady

I ran the numbers and decided to buy the Mazzer. I figure it'll last forever and I really like the professional ones I've used in work. It's from Bella Barista in the UK. I'll let the board know how I get on with them and it.

Mr Magnolia

Good stuff. Best of luck with it.

Looking forward to the feedback