For sure. We have the Mazzer for Jonathan’s espresso. My drip benefits, but probably doesn’t need it.
It does need it! Quality of grinder matters just as much for filter as it does for espresso, what matters more for espresso is the ability to make very small adjustments to the grind size, and often cheaper grinders have less steps as it’s cheaper to produce than stepless or extremely small increments, but the burrs matter just as much regardless of your brewing method
Sure drip needs a really good burr grinder. But does it need the Mazzer Mini?
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Need is a funny word. The MM is an espresso grinder by definition, but there’s no reason you can’t use it for other methods. So you don’t really need the small steps, the timed grinding to the 10th, etc. But the actual grinding mechanism is what matters. So yes, you could get a way cheaper grinder that will do just as good of a job, but it’s not like the grinder you have is complete overkill. My grinder at home is an 84mm burr (Weber Workshops hg1), and I use it for both filter and espresso, but I drink way more filter coffee.
I’m pretty sure we’re on the same page here - a bunch of what you’re paying for with the MM is applicable mostly to espresso. If we didn’t make espresso, we probably wouldn’t have this machine, because then we truly wouldn’t need those features (need not so funny there, just correct) I obviously know I can use the MM for other methods because I do everyday.
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My point is just that there’s nothing wrong with using it for it for other methods. A lot of advancements have been made in grinders in the last 15 or so years, but the grinder you have was the only game in town for a while. So while you guys got it because Johnathan makes espresso, at the time there really weren’t grinders in the market that were more filter focused. Nowadays there are hundreds of options, but if you were looking for a home grinder in say, 2013, espresso focused things we’re all you could get, it wasn’t uncommon for a coffee nerd at that time to have a Malkhoenig ek43 (a commercial shop grinder worth like 3k) at their house because there wasn’t much that was smaller that could produce similar results
if you’re already brewing coffee you like, upgrading the grinder is probably the most significant investment you can make to increase the quality in your cup. It takes practice, but assuming you have the equipment for your preferred brew method, you should be able to get similar results at home compared to your favorite coffee shop. If you’re thinking that making an investment in a grinder will suddenly take your coffee to the next level, you should probably dial in what you’re doing first.
There are also a lot of new low power electric or hand grinders on the market that are much more focused on the at home barista for cheaper than the philos, but if you can wrap your head around the price for the philos I would recommend the option o lagom p80 which is a little bit more expensive but much nicer imo.
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I meant to get back to this a long time ago.
Is your suggestion to essentially do a bloom with a lot more water and time, then just regular pour over the rest of the way after the first drop? If so, can you throw out some multiples for the immersion at the beginning as well as times even if they are just educated guesses? Right now for my bloom, I do about 3X water/grinds for 30 seconds. Then, the final immersion is about 1.5-2 minutes.
Reading back, what I was suggesting is to eliminate your final immersion stage. So, bloom (same amount of water as you are already using) with the valve closed, and then open the valve and slowly pour the rest of your water. This is the recipe I use with my pulsar and it produces very sweet and round coffee, less acid forward than my v60.
One thing to experiment with is your bloom times. Longer contact time during the bloom can often translate to more sweetness in the cup. See. If you notice a difference in using a longer bloom (try 1:30) vs what you’re using now
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My Mochamaster is making a “clunk” sound when it starts up. Is it on its last legs?
I know there are plenty of Moccamaster owners here.
Just finding this thread and enjoyed reading the history of different folks at various levels of coffee related obsession. We have evolved over the years, tried (cheap) espresso machines, various drip systems, all in one, separate grinder, etc…, french press per our daughters preference, and currently equipped solely with Bodum burr grinder, Cuisnart gooseneck kettle, and Chemex.
We sample various beans, Costco, Starbucks occasionally, but lately have been buying pretty exclusively from a local roaster, Lincoln Ave, Yakima, WA that does a half dozen or so single origin beans, medium to dark roast, and a few house blends at different roast levels. Our favorites are these…
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This shouldn’t even be a question anymore. The largest jump in quality I’ve experienced in my coffee journey bar none. I urge all people to at a BARE minimum buy a baratza encore. $150 investment seems like a lot at first but this is a product you will use every morning of your life moving forward. I just spent $200 on a 1Zspresso K-Ultra hand grinder and the grid quality has blown me away. I almost like it more than my $500 Timemore 064S. Drink the grinder cool-aid people
This and buy quality beans. Doesn’t have to be crazy specialty at $30/bag, but it’s just like wine; the grower matters, as does the roaster. There can be big quality increases for a relatively small increase in price.
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Whew. I made the cut. Managed to avoid the obsession, though. I have enough of those
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Agreed. At a minimum the beans shouldn’t be roasted so dark they are oily
hahah i feel it. I purposely have never let myself get into high end audio and watches…..to expensive and i know I would love the hobby.
Keep your judgements to yourself, mister! Dark oily beans are the ones I like best. 
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No hate here! A month two ago I commented on this thread that I still enjoy the occasional cup of burnt, breakfast diner style coffee. My statements were for someone who is trying to treat coffee like wine and taste a sense of place or varietal expression
I’m mostly joking with you. I don’t like “burnt breakfast diner style coffee” at all. I’m actually quite picky, and can absolutely tell the difference between what I brew at home with excellent beans, the Mazzer Mini, and my Techivorm and what passes as coffee most places. My beans come from a small company near Albany called Chris’s Coffee, the same place that services our espresso machine (La Spaziale S1 Vivaldi II). I just really like dark roast. The one I buy is called Voodoo and is a blend of Brazil, Ethiopean and Sumatra. Jonathan uses their Black Pearl for espresso. Though he doesn’t personally care for it, I think even @Zachgoldstein would say the espresso is good of type.
I know I don’t really belong on this thread, the way it has developed, as I usually don’t like the kind of coffee most of you geeks worship. I like reading about it, though, and occassionally chime in for diversity sake.
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I can confirm that the espresso at Sarah’s house is indeed acceptable . It’s actually better than probably 90% of the cafes I try as well. Also espresso is the only method where I can enjoy a dark roast, so it works out great.
@Sarah_Kirschbaum you belong in any thread you want! Read this one long enough and I’ll have you drinking double anaerobic thermal shock geishas from the highest mountains of Panama lol.
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