Doserless Grinders-Which one would you recommend.

Lwowiak

I am looking to upgrade to a doserless grinder, and am hoping for some feedback and advice. Current setup involves a Gino Rossi 65 (modded), with no hopper. I just tip in enough beans for 1 or 2 coffees at a time. It is a large grinder, and frowned upon by the wife. Having moved into a relatively new house with a bright new kitchen, looks are important to the boss. To keep the peace, I am looking for a change and was considering the following:
Macap M4D
Vario
Mazzer Super Jolly Electronic.
Others??

For home use, so its only for a few coffees a day. Points of interest are:
Ease of use
Grind retention
Quality of grind
Clumping issues if any.

I keep my beans in a sealed bag and only put in enough for whatever coffees are being made. I never store beans in the hopper, unless entertaining.

Any feedback (pros and cons) on these and any other grinders is very welcome.
Thanks in advance to all who comment.

Rider

We have had the Macap M4D (stepless) for around 16 months now and still absolutely love it. Retention, minimal. Mess, minimal. Timed dosing, brilliant. Looks, outstanding. Rider ...who will probably never change grinder.

Koffee_Kosmo

I have owned and used both - doser & doserless grinders I like both but I have a preference to doser models now One of the doserless grinders I owned was the Macap M4D and found it to be equal to the Mazzer Mini if not a little better in ease of use & clean operation KK

Lacehim

I went though the same process but a k6 doser to my vario. I haven't looked back. It's quiet, easy to use and dial in. Takes up less space on the bench and I like the look. There is some stainless steel there to detract from the plastic. Also it's pretty clean too even out the box, minimal grind retention and after 6 months use mine was spotless inside where as the k6 was always clogged.

Seeya_Latte

I went for doserless because as my first grinder I felt it would mean one or two steps less for me to get my head around. A poorly designed doserless can be more messier than a dosered grinder so it was important to me to eliminate clumpers and the Mazza Mini-E fit that bill well. If the super jolly-e was around at the time I would imagine I would have had an even more harder decision to make. Don't be too headstrong either way and always consider any great sponsor deals on offer (never look a gift horse...) With experience comes confidence in abilty and if I had to buy a grinder now, I'd be confident enough to give a doser a go Looking back now I should have listened to my own advice because at the time I was looking, a retailer was prepared to sell me the Anfim Best doser grinder new for $380! I'm sure if I had gone for it I'd stiill be happy with it today because it is a capable grinder AND I would have saved some coin And at the end of the day if you get a grinder that doesn't quite do it for ya, you can sell it, isn't the journey part of the fun?

Rider

Seeya Latte wrote:

I went for doserless because as my first grinder I felt it would mean one or two steps less for me to get my head around. With experience comes confidence in abilty and if I had to buy a grinder now, I'd be confident enough to give a doser a go

I am not looking to start a war here, but, I don't see the correlation in the argument. If I had a cafe, or a stupidly busy household, dosered would make sense. What the OP presents in volume, similar to us, means that a doserless makes more sense. Personally for the amount of coffees we make or the OP for that matter, I couldn't be arsed having another chamber or receptacle to clean... Rider

Seeya_Latte

Most would agree that at home , grinding on demand is the aim and some (like LWOWIAK) can manage that using a dosered grinder. My preference is doserless even more so now it seems nearly all the big players are coming out with better digital controlled dosing grinders. They're a bit pricey though so as always budget is the great leveller. Seeya

Brett_H

Great thread Lowiak! Your journey is not dissimlar to mine except that mine has stopped... and the pool of money for new toys is now a baby bath!!!! I use a dosered grinder for regular and a doserless for decaf both on my bench. They are both messy, they are both idiosyncratic and they both work very well (as is shown by some of my videos... no not those videos :stir). If I had my time again I would have asked Atillio to throw an M4D onto the crate with my Diadema Junior Extra PID and saved bench space, but most importantly... and I can't stress this enough: TO HAVE A COOL NEW TOY DAMN IT!!! Any grinder $500+ will do a great job (not sure about K3 and their presto chango collars (only seen 4 or five of these and all had this issue but might be a batch thing (lots of happy users (and happy Rocky bashers ( 😛 ))))😉 Most important is to get the coolest and the bestest you can afford so when you upgrade you get a great price :stir Seriously, the internet is great except for being able to touch stuff. Is there somewhere down there you can go have a play? Post pics and ball-park prices so we can live vicariously through your fun times!! Imagine if we could touch things on the internet.... virus protection would take on a whole new meaning... :coffee:

Lwowiak

I would like to say thank you to all that have contributed. Your input helped me with my decision. I managed to buy a 2nd hand Macap M4D at a reasonable price. Thanks again.

Brett_H

Great option and congratulations. Your photos of your coffee station will be something to behold.

Koffee_Kosmo

Lwowiak wrote:

I would like to say thank you to all that have contributed. Your input helped me with my decision. I managed to buy a 2nd hand Macap M4D at a reasonable price. Thanks again.

A great choice As I noted on my earlier post it was a great grinder when I owned it Quiet, fast, and clean to use A user review may be in order as you get used to it KK

BLrdFX

If I use my Kony-E I find it clumps and I need to break up those clumps. If I take out its screen then static AND the electronic dosing accuracy become an issue. The Kony hold about 20 grams in the chute/chamber in retention. My versalab is zero clumping, .4 grams retention and with a bean popper cap on it there is zero mess using an OE dosing funnel. If you weigh your doses and dump them into the slot in the bean popper cap, tamp and you are good!