Update time - its been a few weeks now since the Micra arrived along with my grinder.. so a few thoughts.
My workflow is now quick and simple - the electric grinder certainly reduces the turnaround for drinks.. the hand grinders now are for special requests and weekends away..
The machine is for my needs perfect.. small in size but not in power - it’s fast to heat up and has plenty of steam to play with.
Some thoughts/suggestions.
skinny scales are a must if you want to get a cup bigger than a espresso one under the portafilter.
I have tried a selection of baskets - e&B nanoquartz, Pullman 841 (number might be wrong :) and the ims comp’s with the curved base.
The IMS are the cheapest at about £15 each and they are the ones I like the most - seem easy to get a good consistent flow - and they empty out nicely into the box.
The Pullman seems more picky in the grind - and gets stuck when getting rid of the puck. The e&B works fine but the nanoquartz coating though nice is not worth the extra over the ims comp.
I do recommend a IMs nonquartz shower screen - they are reasonably priced and so stay very clean..
I did also pickup an extra LM bottomless portafilter - a couple of points here - it seems to fit better than the Micra version - it turns easily in the head to the locking point. However the handle is set at an angle - which can get in the way if you have a large diameter cup on your scales. (Loveramics 8oz work great and are my favs at the moment)
Also the portafilter the Micra comes with when bottomless means it does not fit well on grinder mounts as it does not have a base to rest on (unless you fit one of the removable spouts). I have removed the forks on my allGrind and just use a block with the portafilter resting on it - and a large dosing funnel. This works great - but is slightly annoying,
The dosing funnel was from Amazon - and it’s a very heavy stainless steel one which does not have magnets - but sits nicely on the portafilter. Very happy as I had been eyeing up the SWORKS one ( but now that expense has been avoided).
My steaming has improved - to the point that I can just steam and go. The jug with the machine is a perfect single serving size and seems to spin up the milk very well. Some of the others I have with wider bottoms dont seem quite as easy. If you are using large jugs - its fine for larger servings of milk - but single drinks need a 400ml or less - otherwise you really have to angle the jug to get the steam wand in far enough.
Lastly the all ground grinder - a total 360 from me as I had been looking very much at single dosers. This is a great machine which seems to have flown under the radar. It has a huge range on settings for espresso.. I seem sat about in the middle of the 25 clicks currently.
Build quality is excellent and the burrs (from my limited experience of one) seem to do a great job. Though as of yet I have not tried moka /filter settings..its just been espresso.
It’s a very clean grinder - the chute is always empty - there clearly is some retention in the main chamber which can be shifted by pulsing the motor (noticed of course at the end of the bag - getting out the last few grounds).
During cleaning - it’s a quick and easy no tool process - and in the main chamber there is nothing but a light dusting of coffee - and whatever you brush off the burrs.
You could use this as a single doser if you are happy that you may lose some of the grinds ( we are talking 10ths of a gram ) - I have tried it a couple of times before consigning the whole bag into the hopper. It’s nice and quick to grind and not to my ears that noisy - plus it has quite a pleasant non screechy tone.
The only downside I see if is the forks to rest the portafilter on - the adjustment is not huge so if you had a tall dosing cup on top it may not open enough to fit both. Not an issue if you are just putting in the bare portafilter.
It’s also a shame it does not have the button by the forks to trigger the dose like you see on other grinders. The touch screen has been faultless, and very easy to adjust the timings on the single/double dose as I adjust the grind setting when dialing in the bag.
The grounds produced are very light and fluffy - so need very little wdt to settle them (I usually do it just to even then out in the basket).
All in all I am very happy with both purchases… it certainly has made some great coffees in the last few weeks.
Phew thats enough for now :)
Cheers
Matt
