Which of these two Features is the BIGGEST Grinder Advantage?

[dittos]

I'm trying to locate a professional grinder to sit next to our 2-group La Marzocco Linea here in our home. The LM and my desire to perfect every cup better than before deserves a high quality grinder, and yet of course funds aren't unlimited.

I look at pro grinders and get so confused on what are most important, which brands are reliable, etc. My question first and foremost, however, is my effort to determine the overall TYPE I want. So...

Which of these two are considered the best at producing the most consistent and low-clump coffee?

1. The ones that grind into a circular dispenser that I pull the lever to disperse?
2. The ones that grind directly into the portafiler?

It SEEMS to me that #2 has less chance to clump because it doesn't sit inside an in-between area before going in the portafilter. But I've learned in the past that what seems obvious to me isn't always factual.

Thanks for any advice!

Greg

 

[Musicphan]

If your going to use this exclusively for espresso go the doserless route (directly into portafilter)... Mazzer, Compak or MACAP. I use a Mazzer doser version and there is always a bit of 'left over' coffee in the dispensor.

 

[peterjschmidt]

I've never owned a doserless, but have found clumping to be reduced by the doser. I grind per shot, so the coffee doesn't sit very long in the doser, and believe that the vanes in the doser help to reduce clumping. Either way, clumping can be ignored after a couple stirs with a thin piece of wire like a paper clip. I don't much if any clumping happening, but I still give it a quick stir with a little tool I made.

Where I think a dosered grinder helps is that I can be doing something else while the beans are grinding rather than standing at the grinder, PF in hand. Granted, a grinder of the caliber we're talking about here will grind 20g in under 10sec. but I'd still rather be freed up to pour some milk or wipe out the basket, etc.Also, I believe that grinder retention in high-end models is a non-issue. If I put 20g in my K10, I get 20g out plus or minus .1g. Anybody that tells you they can detect a difference in the shot because a tenth of a gram is delusional. No doubt there is some difference in brand to brand as to how effective the sweeping vanes in the dosers clean out the coffee, and of course nobody wants stale coffee in their next shot, but again... is it a concern that's based in actuality - can you taste it if you didn't know it? - or is it more that you know there's some old coffee there?

 

[dittos]

Thanks, both offer reasons for the opposite machine, but I do understand that's the nature of such things.

I will be using it exclusively for espresso. Also, I don't care that I can do other things with a dosing model because it's just me and my wife most of the time, sometimes with other visitors but that's more rare.

Given that, it *seems* as though the doserless seems best. But again, my primary goal is clumpless, not ease of use such as doing other things during the grind. I'd rather not do the Weiss paperclip stirring method, I'd rather my grinder do the best job possible.

BOTh yous answers are appreciated.

Greg