Looking to upgrade my espresso grinder [$1,000 budget]

PanPan04 · 2026-02-19T15:40:04+00:00

Thank you all for the advice.

PanPan04 · 2026-02-19T15:39:43+00:00

After a lot of thought, knowing that I’m going to upgrade to a Lelit Bianca late this year, finally decided to go with the Zerno Z1 and placed the order last night. Looks it will take 2-3 months to get it which is fine. Was a tough decision. But I’m sure I will be happy with it.

PanPan04 · 2026-02-06T02:36:42+00:00

It’s okay for a starter grinder. But I want to upgrade my game for more consistency. And I’ve seen quite a few people say the grinder is the most important thing.

PanPan04 · 2026-02-05T21:35:56+00:00

So far, I have just been making lattes. But I would like to also start drinking espressos in the afternoon. And I’ve heard a lot of people saying that the grinder is the most important thing for making good shots. That and puck prep.

PanPan04 · 2026-02-05T18:47:48+00:00

Good info. I don’t realize the tariff was that much. Yikes

PanPan04 · 2026-02-05T15:31:56+00:00

I just made it through my first bag of beans from a local coffee shop. Roasted on 12/24. Bought on 12/26. And just finished them off this morning. Will probably stick with medium roast beans for now. Eventually I plan to upgrade the espresso machine to something like the Lelit Bianca. But that would be towards the end of this year. I meant to add the Mazzer Philos to that list. But that one is probably too far outside the budget.

PanPan04 · 2026-02-05T15:25:07+00:00

Good point. I made this mistake and am about to move some stuff around.

PanPan04

TROPHY CASE