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Bunn G2 or Mahlkonig EK43...
Matt in Virginia
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Posted on 12/12/2016 5:26 AM
Hello Everyone,
I know the title is more than a little silly. That said I have actually been looking at a Bunn G2 from one of the Restaurant Supplies since I bought my Bunn CW-15TC. I replaced the plastic funnel with a Bunn Stainless Steel unit... Greatly regret NOT getting the hot water faucet and plumbing the .25" to the countertop with stainless flex tubing...(please forgive the digression)

I have a real problem when it comes to buying "consumer" grade gear if I use it with any regularity OR the pro unit is just that sexy...;-). My question: I've been looking at the Bunn G2 Coffee Grinder for the last few months and the $700ish is not overwhelming. That said I had the chance to see a copper covered Mahlkonig EK43 and it really impressed me to no end... It seems like one of those items from another time.

My question: Would I be making a long range mistake with the Bunn G2? The Mahlkonig is not really a comparison but rather an other end of the spectrum choice... I'm familiar with it's performance, however, I wonder if I am merely buying another expensive toy, OR if I am buying something that I will, knock on wood, enjoy for years and years to come. This question may seem a little disjointed and I apologize for that... This, as you can clearly see, is not my bailiwick...;-) Please feel free to wade in and give your thoughts on the matter...

Thank you, Matt.

Happy Holidays to you and yours...
 
allenb
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Posted on 12/12/2016 8:58 PM
Howdy Matt and welcome to HRO! Definitely an interesting pair of choices to pick from. As I'm sure you've seen, the discussion of more fines versus less fines, consistent versus random fines... is all over the place and get's us nowhere in the end in being able to nail down what to purchase.

From all of my experimentation with commercial gear, the Mahlkonigs (in general) do seem to produce more fines than any of the Bunn G series grinders. I used to believe that the gold standard was to get as close to a single uniform particle size as possible to achieve the perfect brew (non espresso brewing) but after doing numerous cone pourover tests using extra-uniform versus a grind close to what I would expect from an EK43, I much preferred the more complex and detailed flavor profile attained from the latter with it's higher percentage of fines. I'm not sure why this is the case but it proved out every time.

If I had the $ to blow, and had to decide between the two, I'd most likely go for sexy with a little additional fines.

Allen
1/2 lb and 1 lb drum, Siemens Sirocco fluidbed, presspot, chemex, cajun biggin brewer from the backwoods of Louisiana
 
Matt in Virginia
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Posted on 12/13/2016 6:04 AM
Hello Allen,
Thank you for the welcome and also thank you for the kind treatment of a rather daft initial post... It is about typical of me to come up with an apples and oranges comparison question, however, in this instance they are exactly the two machines that were on my mind... Likely not a good sign of cob webs up stairs.. Thank you again and Happy Holidays.

Regards, Matt in Virginia.
 
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