Mazzer Mini (Manual) - Grinder Review

My thoughts: The Mazzer Mini (flat burr) gives a much better result compared to the Sunbeam EM0480. (conical burr). The grind size is very consistent and allows me to extract thick espresso which was something that was very hard to do on the Sunbeam.

It takes about 30 seconds to grind enough for a double basket (approx 19g). It then takes a bit more time to dose and tamp, so it could up to 1 minute before the portafilter is ready to be locked onto the group head.

Positives: Solid build, weighs 10kg, no burr movement, no static, minimal clumping, stepless adjustments

Negatives: Doser gets a bit messy but the following mods make this grinder perfect:

• Sweeper mod using cloth tape
• Schectermatic mod (pictured below) to allow the grinds to drop into the basket straight
• Removed finger guard to allow me to brush out grinds in the chute
• Upside down shot glass to keep the doser adjustment clean

Sunbeam EM0480 - Grinder Review

My thoughts - budget grinder and does an okay job. It's has an acceptable speed for home usage (I dont have exact times; I think it's slightly ahead of the mazzer mini) but it is also VERY messy. It's full of static so you end up with 1/2 your grind on the kitchen bench. It also retains a fair bit of coffee within the chute which causes a bit of clumping (you really need to clean this grinder every 2 weeks).

Positives:

• Came free with the EM6910
• Metal body
• Conical burrs
• Cool flick switch
• Rubber mat
• Easy to disassemble for cleaning

Negatives:

• Grind quality and consistency is pretty average. The grinder will grind fine enough to choke the machine, but it is very hard to get a good extraction. Results in the cup is pretty good compared with the Solis Maestro, but very average when compared with the Mazzer Mini.
• Plastic internals
• The conical burrs are housed in a plastic burr carrier and the axle has lots of lateral movement
• Stepped grind adjustment
• Ground beans build up within the grinder
• Noisy
• Heat builds up quite quickly when grinding 100g of beans

Solis Maestro - Grinder Review

Solis Maestro (Also rebadged as a Baratza Maestro)

This was my first grinder. It was great to start of with, but I found this grinder to be quite crap as I understood more about espresso. Here are a few things I didnt like about this grinder:

• Didnt grind fine enough - I had to take it apart to make some modifications
• Plastic burr carriers - There was a little bit of free play

Sunbeam EM6910 - Coffee Machine Review

What I like about this machine:

• Twin thermoblock & pumps; one for brew & one for steam. This simply means I can extract coffee and texture milk at the same time. In contrast, a single thermoblock machine means that you go through the lenghty wait for the thermoblock to heat up, and having to purge the steam wand to remove water that is trapped inside
• Well designed - large drip tray, large water tank, generous clearance, low water reminder (light and alarm)
• Commercial sized portafilter - 59mm basket holds more coffee. It appears to be made out of a brass (or a brass bassed alloy).
• Single wall baskets - allows you to use fresh coffee for real crema. Most department store machines use dual wall baskets which creates bubbles that looks like crema. 
• It has a 3 way solenoid that allows the machine to relieve any built up pressure post extraction. This leaves you with a dry puck. It is important that you backflush this machine with proper chemicals once a fortnight to prevent the 3 way valve to clog up.
• Programmable brew and steam temperature (limited) - great that they provide this feature - but is virtually useless. I suspect feature was added to allow the user to make compensations for poor quality control and inconsistencies between each machine.

Custom Made Naked Portafilter (bottomless)

What I dont like about this machine:

• Build quality - the machine is pretty good compared to the offerings at the department store, but is quite cheap compared to the italian machines found in speciality coffee shops
• Brew Temperature - out of the box, the machine's brew temperature was quite low. This could be a flaw of the thermoblock and the lack of thermal stability. The sunbeam gave me the option to increase the default temperature by 4 degrees (maximum adjustment). Even with this adjustment, I found the water to be below 92 deg. The temperature continued to drop while the machine was extracting.
• Steam Temperature - same as above, I set the machine to the hottest setting (I think this is supposed to add another 15 deg to the default temperature). Even on the hottest setting, I found it was quite slow to heat up a jug of milk to 65deg. This is quite subjective, and someone with little experience may argue that it heats the too quickly.
• Steam Wetness - a lot of people reckon the 'driest' setting is the best. I disagree and found that the 'wettest' setting worked best for me. A dry steam is ideal however, for this machine, I found that a 'wetter' steam meant more water was being pumped through the steamer - which meant more steam pressure.
• Steam Pressure - I feel this machine lacks steam pressure and does not have a consistent delivery. This is probably to do with the fact it is a thermoblock machine with a vibrating pump.
• Noise - vibrating pump sounds like a jack hammer.

Summary - this machine will give you good results (provided you know what you're doing) and is ideal for a beginner. An experienced user may find that this machine is not up to par in terms of steamming ability, and extraction performance.

Maintenance Tip: Use filtered water. Make sure you do a water backflush after each session, and do a chemical backflush every 2~4 weeks (depends on usage). Shower screen and seals should be taken apart and cleaned prior to chemical backflush (shower screen screw does not have to be tight). Do a descale every 6 months. Do not overdose and do not choke the machine - this machine has cheap parts, so you want to do your best to reduce the amount of pressure within the internal pipes and collar.