We’ve taken a First Look at the MHW‑3Bomber F74 Navigator, a grinder that has specialty coffee enthusiasts buzzing. With 74 mm titanium‑coated burrs, a 400 watt brushless motor, variable RPM control, and ultra‑low retention, it promises espresso‑level precision and pour‑over clarity at a surprisingly accessible price. Could this be the prosumer grinder that changes the game?
Visit the front page of CoffeeGeek./com today to read all about it!
Did a lot of photography work today; all about grinders.
For instance, the plethora (a word from "3 Amigos!!!" heh) of top quality flat burr grinders $600 or less are now available to coffee consumers; 5 years ago, that number was basically one or two. This is a big change for consumers. Here's 5 of them, with one at $230, most expensive at $650.
Got a feature on this planned for January.
cc @coffee
I finally got a chance to see and work with the La Marzocco Pico grinder, up close (this was NOT through any connection with La Marzocco).
IMO, it's basically a copy of the Etzinger Light / Baratza Sette 270 design. Especially when you look at the burr group and mount. The timer one is like $1500+ in Canada (price I think is slightly negotiable if you buy a LM home machine). A GBW version is supposedly in the works, for 2x the price.
It reminds me a bit of what Leica does when they rebrand a Panasonic camera with the red dot and sell it for 2x, 3x the price. That said, LM claims they developed this grinder 100% in house, with no involvement (or copying) Etzinger. I have some doubts on the latter. The burr groups and design of such are crazy similar.
My thoughts: buy the Sette 270Wi or Etzinger instead. You can buy four Sette 270Wi grinders for the price of one La Marzocco Pico with grind by weight features.
Your ultimate (and real) guide to the best #coffee #grinders available today in the budget range of $100 to $250, all tested, used, and owned by CoffeeGeek staff.
Posted into CoffeeGeek'ery @coffeegeek-ery-CoffeeGeek
Putting the final touches on our next huge Feature Guide at CoffeeGeek:
Best Budget Coffee Grinders for 2024.
Nine selections... all under $250 (well, almost all... I had to pick one that just jumped $50 in price to $299, but it is definitely worth it). Four of the picks are $150 or less.
All tested / owned / reviewed / used by CoffeeGeek staff.
Coming tomorrow!
Burr seasoning is really somewhat annoying.
But if the numbers that Lance presented recently are to be believed, then it will make an impact on overall extraction quality and grind uniformity, after hitting a certain amount of beans running through the burrs.
Starting at 5kgs for the first big jump.
More will continue to improve, but with diminishing effects.
Especially for flat burr grinders, for conical burrs it doesn't seem to have that much of an effect overall.
So .. aiming at the 5kg mark for my DF64 espresso grinder (which already had a few kg of coffee already, so I am not _that_ far away).
I don't think I will try to season my Fellow Ode, tho. That would require far too much coffee getting more or less wasted (as you really don't want to run your favorite beans through) and the effects aren't as strong compared to an espresso grind.
Burr seasoning is really somewhat annoying.
But if the numbers that Lance presented recently are to be believed, then it will make an impact on overall extraction quality and grind uniformity, after hitting a certain amount of beans running through the burrs.
Starting at 5kgs for the first big jump.
More will continue to improve, but with diminishing effects.
Especially for flat burr grinders, for conical burrs it doesn't seem to have that much of an effect overall.
So .. aiming at the 5kg mark for my DF64 espresso grinder (which already had a few kg of coffee already, so I am not _that_ far away).
I don't think I will try to season my Fellow Ode, tho. That would require far too much coffee getting more or less wasted (as you really don't want to run your favorite beans through) and the effects aren't as strong compared to an espresso grind.
Well.
Three guides it is!
‣ Best Budget Grinders
‣ Best Multipurpose Grinders
‣ Best Espresso-Primary Grinders
In fact, there was a request for a fourth guide: a Best Manual Grinders category. Problem is, we don't have a lot here to test (I have 5 different makers, 8 models total).
PS. I really like having you folks in the #fediverse deciding our editorial course of actions at CoffeeGeek! 😎
CoffeeGeek
Anima 
Gay Curmudgeon
CoffeeGeek Team
Ghosty
Ghostbear