Conical grinders

dfk41

With flat burrs seemingly so fashionable at the moment, I wanted to start a discussion around conicals. I have been around the coffee scene for many a year and back in the day when I was working, I used to buy, then sell on equipment as if it were going out of fashion. If I bought something for £1000, kept it three months and sold it for £750 I just told myself the loss was rent.
So, without question the nicest tasting concial was the Compak K10 Touch. This was a monster and it used to retain around 20 to 25 gms. This is not a problem in a commercial setting but in the home you used to lose a lot of coffee when making 3 or 4 cups a day. I upgraded it to the E10 which was disappointing for some reason, but had better retention. I also had a modded Ceado E96 which despite having 83mm burrs was unimpressive.
I often think about going back in time and buying another monster. Does anyone till use one of these dinosaurs? As an alternate, does anyone use one of the more fashionable modern single dosing conicals that are available?

Adrianmsmith

dfk41
The bit about rent sounds very familiar.

I have never used any exotic grinders to compare what I’m missing.

Grinders sold: Sage smart grinder poo, niche zero, df83 MK1 plasma mod.

Current grinders
Craig lyn hg-1 prime. My favourite for my latte. I don’t even use the duo any more. Don’t think this will ever be sold even if I do go for a better one in the future.

Niche Duo. My wife’s grinder for Americano. Currently dialled in for her decaf. Decaf was a nightmare with only one grinder as I don’t like it anyway!! Duo consistently does it’s thing . In my opinion much better than the beast that was df83. Guess it’s major issue was it was far too quick to be consistent 🫣

1zpresso j ultra. Surprisingly good even with the Evo. Quite quick to grind as well and very easy. 22g around 45 seconds. (Prime is around half that time). Purchased for my many nights out in premier inns with picopresso. Not actually used on a night out yet…. Getting close.

chlorox

dfk41
I had compak k10 wbc type grinders - the ones with manual dosers and which were state of the art 12 to 13 years ago along with the robur. Back in the day when dark roasts were what everyone used, they were fine in producing balanced and blended taste profiles once adjustments were made to single dose them. However a few years ago I came back on the forums and discovered that the world had shifted to light roasts thanks to the likes of matt perger etc. Unfortunately the k10 couldn’t deliver the kind of flavour notes that the df64 can with ssp flat burrs and so i hardly use the k10 nowadays since I greatly prefer lighter roasts nowadays. I suppose one day the pebdulum may shift back for me to conical burrs and I will keep one of my k10 till then…

JHCCoffee

I haven’t been enjoying espresso long enough to have your perspective. I started with a Bartaza Sette (conical) but lusted after a “titan”. Then bought a Eureka Mignon Specialita (a small flat) followed by the conical that many on this site know and love … the Niche Zero. No need to wax on about it; I still love it. So I’ll just lurk in this thread.

dfk41

The grinder market has become very crowded of recent. Back in the day, the Versalab M3 was one of the few single dosing grinders. I owned one and was very disappointed. Then came the HG One……brilliant concept and I really wanted to love the three I have owned but I was always left wanting. Meanwhile there were plenty of monsters like the Mythos, Compak K range, Ceado E96 and plenty of others. Prices were much more reasonable as well.
Then within a short space of time, someone took the M3 and jazzed it up, strengthening the belt system and using Titanium and other nice metals but boy was it expensive (does anyone remember the German guys name and if he is still running?) Over on CFUK an old pal of mine called David Bondy and I both bought the M3 at the same time. They were on the same shipment and delivered the same day. He sent his off to Germany spending 2k on it, I did not……he kept his a little longer than I did though!
Then one by one, around and after the Zero appeared new single dosers came out. I have so nearly pulled the trigger on a Kafatek so many times. I looked at the conical offering last night and in base form it is $2450 plus taxes and shipping. I might keep my eyes open for a used one but it is an awful lot of money to spend for someone who has kippers for tastebuds! Once these expensive, more exclusive grinders seemed to take control of the market, I said enough is enough. Even in the past 6 years until lockdown, I have had quite a few…..but I settled on the Zero as fulfilling all of my needs now that I am retired. The 63mm burrs are great but I still hanker after a larger set!
Edit: Frank Durra Titus grinders (Germany)
I think the Versalab is no longer available. I found the old website but there is no sales link

chlorox

dfk41
https://versalab.com/GRINDER.html

Does this page not work anymore?

dfk41

chlorox There is nothing to suggest that they are still for sale. I bought mine from the website whilst emailing them. To me, that page just looks like a very old .html The link does not work

Amberale

I get where you are coming from.
I have just got rid of the Bianca and I’m thinking about sending the Argos away on a long term loan to one of my nephews (it is very good but not as good as the Vostok or as easy to use as the CT1).
This will free up space on the bench for the HG1 mk1 that I have.
I bought it hoping to put a motor on it but the early ones aren’t compatible.
Still I want to try those 83?mm conicals.

DavecUK

dfk41 It’s not a link, just a banner?

I have heard nothing about them no longer trading…although I imagine they have come under severe pressure from the influx of other single dose grinders to the market. Especially considering the price point of them.

chlorox

dfk41
It looks like u r meant to also email them if u want to buy one according g to that page. Anyway even if they go out of business, the grinder that tompoland reviewed some time ago appears to be an almost exact homage to the versalab and much cheaper too so the world can still get a similar grinder.

dfk41

chlorox I agree with what you say, other than I doubt this Dinosaur will ever migrate to light roasts!

dfk41

chlorox I explored all the links and I could not find any contact info…….I have googled them and can find no references newer than 2022, but also nothing saying they are gone

cyclezib

My journey with grinders has been limited. I used a Rocky for decades without a clue of how basic a grinder it was. I then moved to a Ceado E37S only to find that it plugged up at the fineness I wanted. I then purchased a KafaTek MC3, then added updated KafaTek burrs, and have now moved to the more recent version of the KafaTek conical.