Bezzera BB004
Well after pulling the trigger on the Andreja, the slightly used MACAP M4 fell through. Grrrrrr! I was over budget with the Andreja - so I had to skimp a bit on the grinder (I know, I know. . . the WRONG place to skimp). Instead of the MACAP, I was back to the Rocky or a lesser grinder. I did a bit of reading and thought Rocky Doser or a Bezzera BB004. I liked the looks of the Bezzera quite a bit more than the Rocky (next to the Andreja, the polished steel/chrome look would be a better match). It is a light commercial machine (I thought it would be similar to MACAP or Mazzer), 50mm burrs with a 250 watt motor. All for about $50 less than the Rocky. The kicker is there are hardly ANY reviews on it at all. I KNEW Rocky was solid, but I took a chance. The Bezzera looked eerily similar to the Pasquini machines and knowing that the Livia 90 and Bezzera BZ02 are the same machine internally - I thought the BB004 might be the same as the Moka or K2 from Pasquini.
I logged onto 1st Line and made the purchase. 3 days after the order, FedEx dropped her off. I was giddy with excitement. This machine beat the Andreja home, but I decided I'd use the BB004 with the Gaggia until Andreja showed up.
Here she is in the shipping carton.
Double boxed with peanuts.
Inner box.
In the box, notice no extra padding/packaging?
On the counter.
So, it was all unpacked and ready to go. Initial impressions were not THAT positive. I thought the fit and finish would be a little better for a machine in this price range.
There was a little 'ding' at the top, where the metal meets.
One at the bottom as well.
Rough edges around the doser lever.
It was also missing a screw in the bean hopper.
I figured it would soon take a beating, so I was more concerned about it's output. I loaded up some beans and started to dial in.
I turned it on and it (lids and other pieces) rattled rather loudly. MUCH louder than I would have expected. This concerned me too, I wondered how long it would hold together with a 3-5 double a day output load.
Coffee got stuck in the throat (going into the doser). I'd guess it was roughly 2-3 grams worth after grinding for a double. I did some reading and this seems to be a common issue with dosered grinders. I went to Home Depot and got a 6 pack of little acid paint brushes to sweep this coffee out and then pulsing the power switch helps shoot out the remaining grinds. The doser hole was small, but no smaller than any of it's competitors.
Initially I had issues with it grinding too course, but I found out that was user error. I found a grind that would choke my machine and then backed off a little bit. This is a stepped grinder and I found the steps were too far apart. I would go from an 18 second shot to 24, then to a 29. They seemed to be about 4-6 seconds apart. That worried me a bit. The grind was EVEN, much better than the Solis Maestro Plus and it was a bit quicker (much larger, flat burrs). I figured I could mod the underside of the collar and get it to be a stepless grinder, but there were too many other issues with mine.
You can see the steps reflected below the collar. They are the round holes. This could EASILY be modded to be stepless and offer much better control.
The doser felt flimsy to me and I didn't find it to sweep cleanly. This too is an easy modification with electrical or Duct tape (it can be searched at coffeegeek.com).
You can see a 1/8-1/4" gap between the 'sweeper' and the edge. Also, the 'sweepers' didn't rest on the bottom and left behind grounds.
When I pulled shots side by side with the Maestro Plus, I found the Bezzera shots to offer more crema and they were much sweeter tasting. This was a very noticible difference.
So I had a grinder that I felt comfortable enough that it could handle the load, produce a fine enough and consistent enough grind to get along with my Andreja. It had flashy good looks but felt flimsy and was noisy. After sleeping on it for an evening, I decided she had to go back. I was back to Rocky, MACAP M4 or Mazzer Mini - I'll just have to get creative and find a way. . .
You gotta admit, it's ALMSOT a match made in Heaven!
I logged onto 1st Line and made the purchase. 3 days after the order, FedEx dropped her off. I was giddy with excitement. This machine beat the Andreja home, but I decided I'd use the BB004 with the Gaggia until Andreja showed up.
Here she is in the shipping carton.
Double boxed with peanuts.
Inner box.
In the box, notice no extra padding/packaging?
On the counter.
So, it was all unpacked and ready to go. Initial impressions were not THAT positive. I thought the fit and finish would be a little better for a machine in this price range.
There was a little 'ding' at the top, where the metal meets.
One at the bottom as well.
Rough edges around the doser lever.
It was also missing a screw in the bean hopper.
I figured it would soon take a beating, so I was more concerned about it's output. I loaded up some beans and started to dial in.
I turned it on and it (lids and other pieces) rattled rather loudly. MUCH louder than I would have expected. This concerned me too, I wondered how long it would hold together with a 3-5 double a day output load.
Coffee got stuck in the throat (going into the doser). I'd guess it was roughly 2-3 grams worth after grinding for a double. I did some reading and this seems to be a common issue with dosered grinders. I went to Home Depot and got a 6 pack of little acid paint brushes to sweep this coffee out and then pulsing the power switch helps shoot out the remaining grinds. The doser hole was small, but no smaller than any of it's competitors.
Initially I had issues with it grinding too course, but I found out that was user error. I found a grind that would choke my machine and then backed off a little bit. This is a stepped grinder and I found the steps were too far apart. I would go from an 18 second shot to 24, then to a 29. They seemed to be about 4-6 seconds apart. That worried me a bit. The grind was EVEN, much better than the Solis Maestro Plus and it was a bit quicker (much larger, flat burrs). I figured I could mod the underside of the collar and get it to be a stepless grinder, but there were too many other issues with mine.
You can see the steps reflected below the collar. They are the round holes. This could EASILY be modded to be stepless and offer much better control.
The doser felt flimsy to me and I didn't find it to sweep cleanly. This too is an easy modification with electrical or Duct tape (it can be searched at coffeegeek.com).
You can see a 1/8-1/4" gap between the 'sweeper' and the edge. Also, the 'sweepers' didn't rest on the bottom and left behind grounds.
When I pulled shots side by side with the Maestro Plus, I found the Bezzera shots to offer more crema and they were much sweeter tasting. This was a very noticible difference.
So I had a grinder that I felt comfortable enough that it could handle the load, produce a fine enough and consistent enough grind to get along with my Andreja. It had flashy good looks but felt flimsy and was noisy. After sleeping on it for an evening, I decided she had to go back. I was back to Rocky, MACAP M4 or Mazzer Mini - I'll just have to get creative and find a way. . .
You gotta admit, it's ALMSOT a match made in Heaven!
posted by -T at 2:55 PM
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