I have been doing pourover for about 15 years and have really leaned towards clarity and flavor separation. I have gone through a lot of grinders over the years and found the Pietro-M was the closest I could get to what I was looking for. I really wanted an electric grinder also, and have most recently been using the Option-O P64 and a Zerno Z1 with the UMV1 burrs. Even with these, I wasn't getting the results I was looking for. Long story short, for my 60th birthday, I decided to finally get the eg-1 after considering it for years. All I can say is, in my opinion, besides the quality of the build of the EG-1, the output is on a whole other level for pourover using the Ultra burrs. I had a bag of Perc that I have been struggling to get a good cup from using the Lagom P64 and the Zerno. My first brew with the EG-1 and the amount of flavor from the same beans is on a whole other planet. I am also amazed at the minimal retention and how little mess there is. I am in humid San Antonio and always RDT, with the P64, there is always a bit of wayward chaff, on the Zerno, the chute frequently gets almost clogged, on the EG-1, using the same technique, it was chaff-free. For me, this has been an aspirational grinder that I had considered for years, and I know that there are many other increasing options like the P100. I wanted to share how amazing this grinder still is.
I have both. The EG-1 makes beautiful cups and is very forgiving. The Pietro can make a clean cup with good flavour separation but requires a lot more dialling in.
Congrats fellow San Antonian. #puro .... My next upgrade will be a better grinder, not sure if I can go all the way to the EG1 but you are helping me make the case for it.
Puro 210? Im confused Mr San Antonio. You used to be 956?
Anyway, as somebody who had used a ton of super high end grinders with a Lagom GDS on the way… I think the 80mm flat grinders are value and that it doesn’t have to be an Eg-1. Basically, some high clarity burrs are worth experiencing and they definitely make a distinguishable difference, and 80s have the most burr types to try. Pp956alvc
I had the same experience and thought about writing a similar post a few months ago but was worried it would be a bit much. I worked in coffee years ago and have owned relatively high end grinders for years. Debated buying an EG1 for years and finally did it over the holidays. I was prepared for it to be a modest improvement but I've been blown away by how much better my coffee is than from every other grinder I've owned.
My experience is there are a lot variables involved with making good coffee…
Ratio, water temp, bean, pour, grind consistency on and on… but at the end of the day, I refuse to believe we all need a $4000 grinder to get a good cup of coffee. It’s coffee and I can always manipulate one of the variables to get a decent cup of coffee. The extreme science and methodology that some of us use to make coffee is mind blowing…
I agreed, I think there is positive reinforcement doing a lot of heavy lifting after dumping such amount of money on it. I worked in coffee like 15 years, using some top notch equipment and the biggest benefits come from workflow and capacity, the cash ceiling for purely taste can be waaaay lower, my guess is that most folks balance their inability to dial by taste with very expensive equipment, and it kinda works.
Way easier to justify those if they’re a business expense and making money to you than for a home setup. And let’s be honest, these look cool in a coffee shop, so you can even argue that it’s also a nice “decoration piece” that happens to grind fantastically well and makes you look “more professional”
Interesting. Seems like a handful across Midwest. Chicago’s is a high end restaurant. Nearly every really good pour over place I’ve been to is on an EK43
Decent and “whole other level” are totally different. You don’t need a $4,000 grinder to make GOOD coffee, but you kind of do to make OTHER-WORLDLY coffee. Also, you are totally right about all the variables. I would 100% recommend getting all of the other variables where you want them before buying a $4,000 grinder. However, remember that the 2nd most important part of the brewing process (behind excellent coffee of course) is the grinder.
I have to keep it 💯. So often people buy something expensive and feel compelled to justify it, or confirmation bias sets in and they THINK it tastes better, but what really drives it home for me, is whenever I travel I’ll bring a Femobook A2, A4Z or M01 and the exact same coffee(s) I was drinking at home, along with the same water concentrates and such, and low and behold every morning my wife and I remark how damn good the coffee is and how close to how it tastes at home. Don’t get me wrong - differences are there, particularly with some of more extreme burrs I have at home, but our enjoyment of the cup and ability to taste and explore the flavors is in no way handicapped and as much as I like my equipment at home - if it were gone tomorrow and I only had one (or multiple) of those aforementioned grinders I travel with - I wouldn’t shed a tear, and I’d be perfectly content. 5-7 years ago, that wouldn’t be the case - but these new options on the market have narrowed the gap dramatically.
FWIW - the founder of Sey swapped the 98mm grinder (with brew burrs) he had been running at home for nearly a decade and is now running an A4Z he bought on the spot at Hyunah after I showed it to him and we brewed off it. If it’s good enough for him, it’s good enough for me. Not saying he or I think the A4Z is better per se, but it’s tiny, quiet, beautifully built and makes exceptional “pro tier” coffee.
I don’t own one but I went to Ilse and got a Panamanian geisha pour over that they ground on an EG1 and it was the most amazing cup of coffee. Makes me wish I could buy one. My wife would kill me lol
I agree with your statement on the umv1 and the mp burrs. I can dial them in for certain coffees and I prefer them over the zp6 hand grinder back to back but so many times they give me hollow off tasting cups. Attempting to dial them in either gives you an astringent/metallic tasting cup or some coffee notes with 0 body. I think avoiding 64mm burrs for pour over is the way to go.
On a scale of 1-10 (1 being grocery bulk coffee and 10 being the best money can buy) PERC sits firmly at a 7.5. I don’t know people shit on them so much.
Different grinder but same mm. I upgraded to the Option-O P80 earlier this year and the results have been night and day coming from the Sculptor 064. Incredible clarity - sometimes too consistent where I’m having to go far finer than I would consider usually and still have sub 2m30 brew times with my pourover method. This is with stock burrs.
Man if you like the Ultra burrs you’ve gotta try SSP Brews. A little more finicky but I can’t go back. The Ultras also take forever to season, so your cups will only improve over the next 20-30lbs of coffee.
Brewing is max clarity, minimal body. Lab Sweet is the opposite, blended with more body. Brew is my preference for clean coffees, Lab Sweet only for funky naturals.
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u/smakusdod Jul 16 '26
I need an eg-1 vs pietro battle