I wondered if any member had owned or does own the Kafatek Monolith Conical? I have nearly pulled the trigger on one several times now. I have a friend who has one of the flat versions and he really does enjoy it, especially praising the burrs. Is it an itch….most definitely. Will I scratch it……I hope so. They are taking $1000. deposits (non-refundable) for June delivery. Does anyone have any suggestions of a similar grinder that maybe worth thinking about? I think one of the things putting me off is that I had really wanted 83mm and not 71mm burrs. But I keep on hearing about their in house designed burrs!

@"Amberale"#p62004 Well summed up sir!

Kafatek Conical

HarveyMushman

I’ve considered one of the Monolith flats but yeah, serious money and probably enormous costs in getting them to the UK.

The Weber Key uses 83mm although that’s not a proprietary burr, rather a Mazzer Robur burr that I think they do something to in-house.

chlorox

I had a deposit for the monolith flat max before financial sanity intervened and I sold it to someone else. I understand the pull as the reputation of the shurikone burrs seems uniformly positive just as it is for the shuriken flat burrs, but it is a lot of money…one thing good is that if u change your mind you should be able to sell the deposit and your place on the waiting list to someone else (presuming if the demand for them is still as robust as it was when I had a deposit)

dfk41

chlorox I think the conical may not be as popular as the flats. I would be quite happy ordering now and waiting a few months. The burning question for me, is will I notice a difference or am I just being daft!

Amberale

dfk41

I think you are being daft.
You have claimed multiple times to not have a very discerning palate.
You have also poo poohed various puck prep/dosing techniques ad nauseam.
You have at least one very good conical.

That said, life is short if you can afford it treat yourself.
You can always sell it on for a minor loss. 🥳

chlorox

dfk41
The fact that we r spending thousands on coffee instead kf guzzling instant coffee like most other people is already proof to the rest of the world all of us on this forum are quite daft! So if your finances are in the happy situation of being able to afford it responsibly, then there’s no reason why u shouldn’t buy one. Worse cometo worse u can sell it if it is unsatisfactory and a kafatek grinder tends to be more in demand than most other grinders.

Cuprajake

ive lusted after one for years, and never had chance to buy,

you have to jump through hoops to get them new, bit charlie and the chocolate factory….

dfk41

Cuprajake The ordering system is easy and open…..just deposit a non-returnable $1000!

dfk41

Amberale Well summed up sir!

cyclezib

If you change your mind after placing the deposit, your purchase is actually transferable. Meaning, if you change your mind, prior to shipping and your paying the 2nd payment, Denis allows you to transfer the reservation to another person.

Cuprajake

dont you have to get in quick though to even pay the deposit?

dfk41

Cuprajake The conical deposit page has been open and still is. I will be making my mind up today on what to do!

MediumRoastSteam

dfk41 - But but but… Don’t you already have a Niche Zero conical? Surely it can’t be that different? I remember at the time Dave compared the Niche Zero to the Ceado E92 conical - and that is a beast of a grinder! - and there wasn’t much perceived difference in his opinion, to the point he adopted the Zero - and the rest is history.

Of course I can’t say much as never had the Zero and the Monolith Conical side by side to compare, but I do wonder whether you’ll get real value in taste terms, specially after Amberale’s summary :-)

dfk41

MediumRoastSteam The real deal for me, is not the grinder but the burrs. Kafatek have developed in house, I will quote them here rather than confuse the issue

Dual-conical burrs, first in the world. 71mm “pancake” burrs for coarse pre-grind stage and 71mm Shurikone™ patent-pending Conical Burrs for fine second grinding stage (both designed and made in house) rated conservatively for ~1700lbs (771kg) of coffee run through.

The burrs are 71mm as opposed to 63mm on the Zero. I agree about my tastebuds being terrible but @Amberale gave me a get out of jail card in pointing out that if I do not get on with it, moving it on ought to be quite easy and not suffering an almighty loss!

JonWoo187

We all have various expectations, intended use, etc. Recently spotted a thread on the Kafatek forum in which a new owner of the MC6 was seriously disappointed with the performance. Based on previous equipment he clearly knows how to dial in for espresso that he likes, but he pretty much got bashed and everything but the grinder was blamed. Denis even offered to send him a set of Mazzer burrs and once he installed them he said the espresso was drastically better than the FOMO touted Shurikones. I personally wouldn’t tolerate that sort of crap when buying into a brand and of course I’m definitely not missing out by avoiding it.
Have noticed that Denis seems a bit defensive at times when people question the form/function of what he builds when issues do arise. His grinders remind me of Decent as in there will never be a true finished product and all customers are basically neverending beta testers. That might be fine for some, just not my thing.

FadedFrontiers

JonWoo187 Denis even offered to send him a set of Mazzer burrs and once he installed them he said the espresso was drastically better than the FOMO touted Shurikones.

Sounds like pretty good customer service

Igm45

I think grinder style/design does make a large difference. I bought a hybrid 64mm conical/flat burr grinder from here. I sold it a short while after to buy a niche duo (83mm flat).

It’s my only coffee sale that I regret, that grinder made a huge difference and the nicest coffee I’ve ever had.

Cuprajake

the honne are 1500E

Cuprajake

currently 2 kafatecs fs in the uk

dfk41

Cuprajake Like to show me where Jake….I have checked the usual two places I look at but know there are others

Cuprajake

dfk41 have emailed you

cyclezib

I very much disagree with the opinion that the KafaTek grinders are beta test versions. The single complaint regarding the burrs on the MC6 made little sense. The significant differences difference between the MC5 and the MC6 involve a variable speed motor, and a flicker shute to better dislodge residual grind.

But the burrs are unchanged. Meaning that we are now in the 2nd model of grinders using the Shurikone burrs. Probably hundreds of MC5s and MC6s are with consumers. People are allowed to complain and I am not questioning the validity of that one users complaint.

I also disagree with the comment that Denis can be testy. He is far from that and is always helpful. Where he does take a strong stand is when people do not follow written instructions and disassemble the grinders for their own personal reasons. When they get into trouble afterwards, there is just so much assistance that can be provided. I’m sure he finds the situation exasperating.

The KafaTek grinder are precision instruments that are well built. For that single complainer, rather than stand in the way, he provided the old style burrs. What more could you ask for?

JonWoo187

cyclezib Really now, lmao? Every time you blink there’s yet another version with marginal ‘improvements’ being mentioned to be released. Ask those that got their panties wadded up when mention of the 2nd version of Shurikones was installed in the MC6 ordered after a certain date. The FOMO retardism really let loose with that discussion.

I find Denis to be a bit much when he practically warns users to not disassemble the grinder(s) as if nobody can match what he can do with his version of ‘proper assembly’!. I could take one of those things apart/piece back together to match anything he can likely do and I will be blindfolded!

Yes it was good that he provided Mazzer burrs in that case, which clearly points out that although Mazzer may be archaic to some, what they produce is still absolute top notch regardless of the FOMO whining.