ECM S-64

Not a bad grinder - but there must be better – Purchased 4 weeks ago and have had a bit of a mixed experience. On setup, great grind and operation. however, a couple more weeks in and I can report: - machine tends to choke on beans 2-3 times a week - needs a bit of a gentle shake and you can hear the beans fall down onto the burs. - the grind GO button is tempermental. Sometimes its a no go and requires another press which can interfere with Barrista Mode.

Café Quality 64mm Burrs at Good Price – I have owned the ECM S-64 Automatik for a couple of years now and have come to understand it quite well. This grinder replaced a Lelit conical burr grinder that simply failed to provide the grind uniformity needed for cafe-quality espresso from a new Isomac Zafirro single boiler. I chose the ECM because the solid German build, the 64mm burrs and smooth powerful motor which together deliver an excellent shot. In fact, a recent trip to the cafe that inspired my journey into quality homemade coffee showed my extractions to be smoother and fuller bodied than they were producing on a Slayer (at $5 a cup.) Looked carefully at the Titan but felt it was more than a home user requires, and both grinders provide the same grind path. Single and double shot timers are accurate to about .2g or less, and sometimes spot-on (I grind into a dosing cup and weigh every dose). Rarely, an extra gram comes through-likely trapped in the grind chamber, no big deal. The timer setting took a bit of practice to master, so read the manual. I start at 7 seconds for an 18g basket. The single shot timer set to 2 seconds is great for purging between changes in grind setting, which I usually start at around 2.5 for dialling in espresso, and tend to remain between 2.45 and 2.55. The degree of grind accuracy is superb-very small turn of the worm gear changes duration of shot time easily and consistently. Stainless steel is easy to clean and unit looks great next to my Isomac Zaffiro. Overall, it is a professional unit.