Hi all,
I just thought I’d share some initial thoughts about the new Feldgrind.
TLDR; I really like using a manual grinder and the new Feldgrind is great!
So about a year ago I bought a MBK Feld 2 second hand from here. It’s been used almost daily (usually twice a day) since then and I really like the experience of hand grinding my espresso. I don’t know why, but the whole process of making a coffee for me helps build the anticipation of the coffee I’m about to drink (maybe that’s a bit sad!).
Anyway I can only get away with one caffeinated drink a day, so I tend to have one normal in the morning and a decaff in the evening.
Therefore I’m changing grind settings every cup, this in turn can lead to inconsistencies from cup to cup, its also harder to detect the change in a batch as it ages over the couple of weeks it takes to get through it.
Using the Feld2 has not been totally plain sailing though. I’ve had occasions where all of a sudden my coffee seems to be flowing too fast. This often means a bit of maintenance is required. I’ve changed the bearings on the shaft twice so far this year, there’s just so much off axis load on them that the bottom bearing seems to develop play quite quickly. Thankfully it’s only a 10 min job to change and I keep bearings in stock.
So why get another grinder? Well, switching beans every cup isn’t ideal, there’s very little retention, but the stepless nature of the grind setting means its always slightly different, I like the stepless adjustment, but this is one of the downsides.
Anyway, this year I had a bit of spending money left after Christmas, so decided to treat myself to a new Feldgrind, I did consider the other manual options, but realised I actually really like my Feld2 and I’ve learnt to cope with the ‘nuances’. As it happened they just knocked £10 off and included a bag of nice beans, so worked out as a pretty good deal (don’t forget they add VAT to the prices if you’re UK based).
They dispatched it quickly and it turned up well packed in a cardboard tube including spare o-rings and a travel bag.
The new Ti coated burrs look smart. I turned it to 0-12, its slightly fiddler than the Feld2 as you have to take the handle and lid off, whereas the Feld2 has the handle and lid as one piece.
The first shot came out great, which is very encouraging, it felt great to grind with, everything is nice and tight is just the right way?!?
The separate lid and hand mean that storage is much nicer as the handle tucks into a custom band on the body, making it more stable on the surface. I regularly knock my Feld2 over as the handle puts it close to a tipping point and there’s no nice way of storing the handle disconnected.
I’ll also update the post after I’ve had a few kilos kilos through it.
