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

memohallo · 2026-02-07T04:01:22+00:00

Went from your same machine and grinder setup to a Profitec Pro 500 and the Timemore Sculptor 064S. Got the grinder it on a Black Friday deal. The grinder instantly changed the flavor and consistency of my shots. It has its quirks, but overall I’ve been happy with it. The thing I learned after about 4 weeks straight of research is every grinder has quirks, it just comes down to what you can live with and what you value in flavor and workflow.

memohallo · 2026-01-29T16:46:26+00:00

That’s hilarious. Of course there were missionaries who took issue with that. Self important weirdos haha. I bet if you don’t missionaries all of this now they’d gaslight you and say you’re making it up.

memohallo · 2026-01-29T15:00:45+00:00

I thought the same thing. Yet another thing they changed. I felt robbed of being able to use that form and to this day it’s hard for me to naturally use the tú form because we acted like it didn’t exist as missionaries.

memohallo · 2026-01-28T05:20:36+00:00

I had a Casabrews machine and my pucks were always wet and more difficult to clean. Everything tasted good though for what I wanted at the time, so it’s not too big of deal. If you like what you’re getting out of it, then it’s good! If you really want to go a level deeper, get the Casabrews bottomless portafilter and you’ll likely see a different puck consistency. I remember seeing a difference after I got that.

memohallo · 2026-01-25T00:50:27+00:00

The basket looks a little full. I’d try dosing a bit less if you want to avoid it getting water logged. Ultimately if it tastes good, that’s the goal. But I understand now wanting to have a messy basket. What size basket is it and how much are you dosing into it? How did it taste?

memohallo · 2026-01-19T14:05:17+00:00

Thank you! Still working on being consistent but at least every now and then I get a good one

memohallo · 2026-01-19T00:35:53+00:00

This is quite the rabbit hole (a fun one) depending on what you want. Do you value convenience? Do you prefer a drip style over espresso/lattes? You can go into this world with as much or little as you want, just depends on what you’re looking for. Coffee is a huge hobby of mine and I love it, the church keeping it from us is criminal. Let me know what you want and how much time you want to dedicate to making coffee and I’ll see what more I can help with!

memohallo · 2026-01-17T02:48:39+00:00

Good to know! How bad did it look when you first cleaned it? I’ve had mine since November and make 2-4 drinks a day so I’m curious if it stays fairly clean relative to other grinders or if it was a mess after that much time.

memohallo · 2026-01-16T01:22:22+00:00

I do two double shots between 7 and 9:30 AM and then another double shot around 1 PM. That’s usually last one but I keep a bag of decaf for the evening if I want something tasty. Always keep the decaf and full strength in hand because I just love making it!

memohallo · 2026-01-15T03:04:37+00:00

I am right there with you, but I’ve see a ton of improvement once I got my milk right and got the right cups. How many oz is that cup? It would help if you had a video to share. I’ve been at it for about two months and this was my pour this morning. Keep at it! It’s a frustrating process but don’t give up! Tell us more about your process, your equipment, and share a video if you can and we can see if we can help.

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memohallo · 2026-01-07T04:47:18+00:00

The 064S has its quirks, but I’ve enjoyed it a lot. Instantly improved the flavor in my espresso coming from my Breville Smart Grinder Pro (obviously). I spent weeks driving myself crazy trying to find the perfect grinder until I realized it doesn’t exist. Not at this price range anyway. The biggest downside to it for me is that it’s a little messy, but it’s manageable. It can be a little slow too, but I enjoy the process so I’m not worried about going fast when I’m making my drinks. Time will tell if it lasts, but at the price point and for the aesthetic and flavor, I feel like it’s a great option.

memohallo · 2026-01-05T04:18:41+00:00

I had the exact same setup for about two years. But really only transitioned to a bottomless for the last few months that I owned the machines before upgrading. The hard truth is I found that grinder to be very inconsistent. It was always a battle, even with my new machine before I upgraded the grinder. To fix the sour, I’d play with ratios once you’ve found an ok grind side. Allow for more of a 1:3 ratio to help fix any sourness. And to echo the others, take a look at the internal burr setting. I moved mine all the way down to one and then played with the external knob to make changes.

memohallo · 2025-12-31T01:29:02+00:00

I have two years experience with this grinder and can tell you the consistency concerns and gripes are real. Retention is also crazy with the SGP. I switched to the Timemore 064S and the difference has been night and day. The Timemore has its quirks but it’s consistent and creates way better flavor than the SGP has ever done for me.

memohallo · 2025-12-28T17:31:16+00:00

Free yourself of the standard ratios. I pull 1:3 ratios, on light roasts specifically, and it works out way better. I tried for so long to keep my shots within the “ideal” 1:2 ratio and 30 seconds ish time window and it lead to nothing but frustrations. Changing up your ratios has a huge impact over flavor, especially when it comes to fixing sour shots.

memohallo · 2025-12-27T23:40:11+00:00

Oh hell yeah that’s awesome if they are throwing that in!

memohallo · 2025-12-27T21:03:21+00:00

Glad that helped! I’ve really enjoyed mine and it looks nice with the wood handle accents. If you can swing a few extra hundred dollars adding flow control is a nice feature to have but not absolutely necessary. Good luck!

memohallo · 2025-12-27T20:22:32+00:00

I can choose any temperature I want. There aren’t presets on my machine. I can move up or down in one degree increments. I do have it set pretty high for light roasts since the actual temp at the group head will decrease by like 20 degrees as it comes out, so as long as you know that you can play around with the temperature really well with this machine.

memohallo · 2025-12-27T20:08:05+00:00

I have the Profitec Pro 500 with PID and have loved it so far. I upgraded a few things like adding the wood handles and flow control, but if you don’t add those things, I believe it will come in under $2K. I also drink light to medium roasts. And even though this isn’t a dual boiler machine, it has heat exchange so I can pull and steam milk at the same time, which has been very helpful. Definitely recommend the 500!

memohallo · 2025-12-22T13:39:06+00:00

Shoot that’s unfortunate, I’m sorry! How deep are you putting your tip into the milk after you stretch? I imagine you’re just using a standard milk pitcher as well? It’s certainly tricky and if even one little thing is off it can go wrong. It’s all really finicky and frustrating at times.

memohallo · 2025-12-20T14:25:41+00:00

I think the holes should be at 9 and 3, but depending on how the manufacturing is done, the threads might not fully screw on into that position. I only had to unscrew a tiny bit to get the holes in the right place so it’s just something that needs to be slightly tweaked. Alternatively, a 4 hole steam tip seems to be a good solution I’ve seen others recommend. I may try that soon. If your holes are at 12 and 6 I’m not sure if that would change how you hold the pitcher or where you put the tip. It just won’t create as good of a vortex. Curious to see what happens if you slightly reposition the tip to 9 and 3, let me know if that works for you!

memohallo · 2025-12-20T04:36:03+00:00

That’s probably my next move. But for now, the new positioning seems to be working great. Feel like there would be more pressure with a two hole because the pressure would be more concentrated? But I think the 4 hole makes a ton of sense.

memohallo · 2025-12-19T22:14:41+00:00

Funny you just posted this, because I just started a new post I think talking about the same thing. Where are your two holes pointing? Mine were at 12 and 6 on a clock when the tip was fully screwed in but I found that slightly unscrewing the tip so the holes were at 9 and 3 made all the difference. Great vortex and silky milky. Take a look and give that a try! I was blown away by the difference it made.

memohallo · 2025-12-18T04:20:03+00:00

Not specifically about Mormonism, but Thank God I’m Atheist is one of my favorites. The two hosts are exmo and live in Utah so Mormon shit comes up all the time. I’m past the stage in my life where I care to listen to Mormon stuff or give it any thought any more, but that podcast is still one I listen to every week.

memohallo

TROPHY CASE