Initial thoughts on Kafatek Monolith

Adrianmsmith

BrendaninBrooklyn i will order a set. I hear japanese porcelain ones are great 🥰

Im glad you picked up the important bit of my message 🤭😘

Pompeyexile

Would you like to adopt me? There is this really nice chrome beauty of an espresso machine I have my eyes on but I am as poor as a church mouse… Dad :)

dfk41

Pompeyexile Unfortunately, I already have two!

Adrianmsmith

dfk41 i will be number 4 then!! @Pompeyexile

HarveyMushman

Fair dos for giving it a go! It’s the only way to find out if it’s right for you. I’m also no stranger to splashing out on something nice for reasons other than ‘it’s night/day better in then cup’.

Must admit the lack of refinement comment surprised me, I got the impression they were faultless but again I’ve never seen one in person so it’s good to hear an honest review!

I think so far if the first thoughts indicate anything, it’s again how good the Niche is.

Adrianmsmith

HarveyMushman Must admit the lack of refinement comment surprised me,

I hope you are reading this comment skewed, perhaps David will clarify…..

To me he is saying bells, whistles and extra bits that maybe are added but not really functional are not there or provided.

But the machining, finish, tolerance and dimensional accuracy are spot on to a degree you could argue is over the top, but necessary, to be true to the project and company mission.

You need to pick one up and inspect it to appreciate what ive been trying to say!!

HarveyMushman

Ah ok I see, that makes sense. I did initially read it as ‘rough round the edges’.

Adrianmsmith to be true to the project and company mission.

To be clear, what is the project? Is the aim of the engineering to reduce retention, to improve flavour etc? I’m not trying to be critical as again, I’m clearly no stranger to spending large sums on coffee gear.

Just trying to understand what the goal of all this engineering is.

Adrianmsmith

HarveyMushman To be clear, what is the project? Is

Thats just me!!

I call it a project as it is ever evolving.

No 3 batches will be absolutely identical!!

mykm

HarveyMushman from their website.

“KafaTek grew out of passion for coffee and obsession over precision.”

That is the aim of the engineering. To make the most precise hyper-aligned grinders possible. As most will agree, alignment is key to long term consistency and getting the most out of whatever bean you enjoy. You won’t have to ever shim these grinders to attain alignment.

And Kafatek is fully transparent with these “claims” with a number of videos showing their work. The last story they posted on IG showed a 98mm burr (which if you’re not familiar, they make a variety of their own burrs in house out of surgical stainless steel) that was fractions of a micron within dimension which is in the realm of aerospace prescion..for a coffee grinder folks..totally insane but true to their ethos.

It does come with a price, but it’s the type of product that is built so well as to be handed down to the next generation while maintaining it’s prescion.

As such I will close by saying the burrs get better and better with time “seasoning” and expect your grind setting to require going finer over several pounds of beans. That is when I would do a flavor comparison

profesor_historia

HarveyMushman somehow that was my question too but you express it much better

dfk41

@HarveyMushman @Adrianmsmith Yep, Adrian has my intention correct. There is absolutely nothing rough about the Monolith. It is superbly engineered and Denis is without a shadow of a doubt a true engineer and craftsmen. There is no but. I did not really research the differences on the V2 to the V3 that I bought. I like the silicon or rubber exit tube for the grinds. It does look a little unsightly and not in fitting with the Zen of the grinder, but on a scale of 1 to 10, does it even register as a niggle? Not for me. So if there is a V4 that might improve.
Today I am going to stop adding water. It is just a personal idea but I think moisture in the air and dryness of central heating systems is more to cause. I have never had an issue with static, apart from the odd time I use a bean like Monsoon Malabar. If I can cut out that stage successfully then the difference in workflow between my 2 grinders will be negligible.
Over the next week I want to start checking retention, effectiveness of the thwacker and other things before I start doing shoot outs. But, if anyone wants a try you are welcome to visit NE23

HarveyMushman

I’m pleased to see the inclusion of the thwacker.

I know they’re contentious but I still stand by my comment that trying to create a multipurpose, zero retention grinder that functions in all atmospheric environments without a thwacker is asking to negate the laws of physics.

Cuprajake

profesor_historia

people buy porsche, ferrari and the likes, usually cant drive for shit, whats it matter

BrendaninBrooklyn

Cuprajake

A Volkswagen Golf and A Ferrari GT are driving down the Long Island Expressway at 3pm Friday. Which is going faster? Neither, both are moving at about 2 MPH.

What’s the difference between an audiophile and the Ferrari driver?

The driver knows she is going at the same speed as everyone else on the LIE

Happens with coffee too ;-)

JimmyP

BrendaninBrooklyn I don’t buy this. Sounds like the stuff you say when you have a poor palate and an inferior grinder 🫤

Cuprajake

my point is who cares, its his money can do what he pleases - without justification.

profesor_historia

Cuprajake of course Jake, I didn’t ask Dave to justify it, it’s his matter, of course, not my problem, I was talking about what one it’s supposed to expect from an expensive grinder.

They are only thoughts, for God sake, don’t take so personally:) it’s something called “ the right to a free speech”…..

Cuprajake

profesor_historia we dont have that here in the uk .. ps sounded like you were asking him to, dfk will be the first to tell you that stuff can be lost on him taste wise, but fair play to him getting what he want, if i could afford one i would to they are the pinnacle of grinders imo - taste or not the way they are made is what you pay for

dfk41

mykm As such I will close by saying the burrs get better and better with time “seasoning” a

Which is exactly why I am steering well clear of talking or comparing at this point. I have had dozens of grinders, many new. In the old days I often religiously stood and ground 3 or 4 kilos to season…..nowadays I do not bother. But, I have a couple of kilos of rubbish and over the weekend will run them through in a couple of sessions, so that perhaps next week we can have some fun! I realise now that I have made a mistake by only having coffee that is new to me but I will manage.
Today I have been very tired and only made two espressos. No RDT. First one ground into the silicon type cup supplied…..loads of static…….second shot into my Niche cup, not a grain of static so thats pleasing.

profesor_historia

Cuprajake what you don’t have in the UK?:) didn’t get that

Raja123

I haven’t seen some of these user names posting frequently here, but I do wonder if some of the questions being posed are fueled by the threads and responses DFK has posted during his colored forum career. At times, we are all guilty of inciting discord.

I’m airing my own issues here, too. I’m trying hard to be more positive about things overall, and have to try hard not to tell people they are wrong and somehow making myself feel good about doing it (meaningless ego trips).

dfk41

Raja123 I haven’t seen some of these user names posting frequently here, but I do wonder if some of the questions being posed are fuelled by the threads and responses DFK has posted during his coloured forum career.

Moi……LOL. I used to be a stroppy twat, now I am just grumpy! For the record, I have never been the things that I was accused of by a certain group. This all stemmed from the battle to take over the running on CFUK. One side lost who all exited to their own forum. One side won, and here we are! Unfortunately, this group persuaded a certain individual to try and cancel me, based on lies and hatred. I bear absolutely no ills and am still here, although older but not sure about the wise bit!

profesor_historia

Raja123 I don’t have so much time to post here several times a day like some folks :) and no, don’t have anything against Dave, on contrary, I like his comments and he seems a very fine guy. I apologise if I said something wrong.

Cuprajake

sadly opinions are like a**holes we all have um, i say fair play to dave,

fwiw there was one point when id never of bought a decent, didnt think much of them or the way they get round the vat selling, but here i am smitten with it till the next lever comes along,

think the good thing with coffee is its so subjective and personal that everyone can enjoy it at a level,

there will be people who dont get on with dfk as he’s an expert at rubbing people up the wrong way, ive just come to learn thats him, tiswas

Raja123

Yes, people will hopefully see that he means well. It’s just that we tend to attract what we put out. Comes with the territory.

« Previous Page Next Page »