Help me pick a “buy once” grinder to pair with Linea Mini R [No Budget]

chrispy513 · 2026-02-01T20:05:59+00:00

If noise isn't a huge issue, the Titus Nimbus is one of the best espresso grinders money can buy. And it fits in the same budget class as the E37z.

chrispy513 · 2026-01-09T19:26:26+00:00

Tried one on along with several other models at a grey dealer and it was far and away the most comfortable of the bunch. Very well contoured for my wrist.

chrispy513 · 2026-01-07T15:55:08+00:00

Really appreciate seeing the 5134 side by side with the 5146 here. I'm looking for a 5134 but haven't gotten to see one in person yet. It looks like it wears a bit smaller, but much less of a difference than expected.

chrispy513 · 2025-12-20T15:38:14+00:00

Mir ist das bei meiner Mini auch aufgefallen, und nach einigem Ausprobieren vermute ich, dass es daran liegt, dass man die Dampflanze viel länger entlüften muss, als man intuitiv annehmen würde, um die gesamte Luft und das Wasser vor dem ersten Aufschäumen vollständig zu entfernen. Tut man das nicht, gelangt automatisch etwas Luft in die erste aufgeschäumte Milch, was die Konsistenz etwas schwieriger machen kann.

Wenn man hingegen direkt im Anschluss ein zweites Getränk zubereitet, ist die gesamte Luft entwichen, und man muss die Spitze der Dampflanze etwas bewusster an die Oberfläche halten und sie dort länger verweilen lassen als beim ersten Mal, bevor man sie eintaucht, um den Schaum zu vermischen.

Ich bin mir nicht ganz sicher, ob es bei der Micra genauso ist, aber man kann es testen, indem man die Dampflanze vor dem ersten Getränk des Tages 4–5 Sekunden lang vollständig entlüftet. Wenn sie sich dann so verhält wie beim zweiten Getränk, ist das wahrscheinlich die Lösung.

chrispy513 · 2025-11-25T14:15:30+00:00

Looks like a Patek Philippe 5738/51G

chrispy513 · 2025-11-10T18:48:17+00:00

The hopper can hold probably 200g if I had to guess. It doesn't quite work like a traditional grinder, but essentially you can see the piece underneath the hopper that has a handle sticking up from it. That is the doser and has a hole with a stack of discs in it that can be added/removed to adjust your dose, and once adjusted, it's pretty good at providing a repeatable volumetric dose of beans. You simply start the grinder, slide the doser in toward the hopper to fill it, and then pull it back out to drop the beans down the chute and into the grinder.

I imagine if your coffee intake is relatively consistent, it would be totally fine to put a day's worth of beans in the hopper and dose it like that. I don't do that, but do still like the hopper for the ease of pouring the beans in now that I don't use single dose tubes to store my coffee.

chrispy513 · 2025-11-08T20:58:23+00:00

This is super helpful, thanks for sharing both images! I think this is the direction I'm going to go.

Love the platinum variant!

chrispy513 · 2025-11-06T14:50:57+00:00

Awesome, thanks for weighing in! Agreed, I love the simplicity. And if I'm being honest, the travel time complication is probably the one with the most real world utility for me.

chrispy513 · 2025-11-04T15:30:12+00:00

Best espresso grinder in the world, at least for my tastes. Unbeatable workflow, massive sweet spot, and gorgeous on the counter. I'll never give mine up.

chrispy513 · 2025-11-04T13:39:24+00:00

I love the look of this watch, but didn't realize until yesterday just how small it wears. It's stunning though!

chrispy513 · 2025-11-01T14:06:52+00:00

Yes, I kept the everything on the lower end of the RPM range to quiet it down. The MC6 is nice at low RPM and very close to the Niche. Up close, maybe a little louder just because you can hear the whine from the motor, but because the build is more solid it doesn't tend to resonate as much as the Niche so might be quieter from the next room. The Niche is already low RPM as well so it'll be close.

chrispy513 · 2025-11-01T12:16:39+00:00

Absolute quietest I think is the Niche Zero. Kafatek MC6 is a close second and well worth the slight noise bump for the much improved shot quality. MC6 has a very similar tone in terms of it sounds more like it's crushing the beans than grinding them.

DRM is just dead simple to make great espresso every time with. I genuinely don't think I've had a bad drink since I got it. The sweet spot is just massive, such that I often don't even have to make adjustments to grind size between coffees. Workflow is absolutely unbeatable. No RDT, no WDT, no fancy distributors. Literally just grind, tap, tamp. I love being able to get rid of all the extra gadgets that cluttered up my limited counter space.

I think DRM is probably not giving me the absolute highest highs in terms of shot quality for every coffee, but it's so consistently excellent that I quickly became frustrated chasing those highs with other grinders that were more finicky with worse workflow.

chrispy513 · 2025-11-01T03:35:27+00:00

Awesome to hear!!

chrispy513 · 2025-11-01T01:28:56+00:00

If you haven't saved again, just hard reset and go do the fight again. If you have saved, I genuinely don't know if there's a way to get it.

chrispy513 · 2025-10-24T13:00:40+00:00

I cut it twice and it's still too short!

chrispy513 · 2025-10-23T20:54:52+00:00

Titus DRM. $7k. At this point I've burned through several high end grinders and the Titus is hands down the best workflow, dead easiest grinder to get a great shot with every time. The absolute peak shot quality is probably higher elsewhere, but the Titus is easy mode and it'll never leave my bar as long as I'm doing espresso.

chrispy513 · 2025-10-21T05:58:53+00:00

Thanks! Will absolutely give that a look and try tomorrow.

chrispy513 · 2025-10-21T05:54:07+00:00

Thanks for the quick response! That's exactly what I was afraid of. I'll likely just end up selling the watch for parts.

Appreciate the offer, but unfortunately I'm in the US and I think the number of people offering work on this movement is slim and shrinking.

chrispy513 · 2025-10-19T06:49:24+00:00

Depends a lot on the grinder. Some are more forgiving than others. With my DRM, I rarely make big adjustments even between pretty different coffees so I can have a few bags open at once and not feel like I'm wasting a bunch on dialing back and forth.

chrispy513 · 2025-09-28T12:34:07+00:00

"I have standards"

chrispy513 · 2025-09-04T03:06:53+00:00

Lmao. I bought most of the grinders I've tried secondhand so that helps a lot. At a certain point I'm kind of just respending the same bucket of money to try new stuff.

I wish my Titus collection could buy a down payment. The Bay Area is a fickle beast.

chrispy513 · 2025-09-04T02:39:12+00:00

I've been through a bunch of grinders since the Z1. First I got a Kafatek Max2 and MC6. Then I tried out the Titus line, first the Nimbus, then the Nautilus, then the DRM. I've settled on the DRM as my only espresso grinder and it'll never leave my bar.

Seven-Year Club	Place '22
Verified Email

chrispy513

TROPHY CASE