We’re keeping the first-look gravy train running for you nerds with another peek at the new equipment debuting here at Host Milan. This time around we’ve got pics and deets on the newest grinder offering from Mazzer.
The new grinder is called the “Kold”, (ed: a previous version of this story incorrectly identified the grinder as the “Cold”) and the focus of the design is, unsurprisingly, on keeping the temperature of the burr-set and ground coffee low. The grinder uses the same beefy burr-set as the Mazzer Robur, but mounts them offset on a belt-drive system so that heat from the motor does not radiate up into the burrs or coffee. Because the motor is mounted offset, they were also able to put it in a completely enclosed chamber separate from the burrs, so the fan on the back of the grinder is just cooling, further decreasing temperature throughout the grinding process.
Why does cooled down grinding matter? Stability, y’all – a stable temperature means a more stable and even set of particle sizes, which putting things really simply quite likely makes for tastier espresso. The grinder incorporates a few other interesting features in addition to the cooling systems. One is the side-mounted grind-size knob with locking micro-stepped adjustment, which they claim provides as much or more accuracy than their previous collar based adjustment systems.
What’s really exciting about the side-mounted adjustment dial is the fact that it let Mazzer re-design the collar system, so that now when you want to clean the grinder, all you have to do is remove the three screws on the collar (under the grey rubber stoppers in the picture below). Do that, and boom, the collar lifts right off for easy cleaning, with no loss of grind position. This barista-friendly functionality has been available on the Nuova Simonelli Mythos grinder for awhile, so it’s nice to see it make its way into the Mazzer product line.
The claims being made are that the cooler grounds means radically less need to re-adjust the grinder as the temperature fluctuates due to service volume, and the ability to express more of the higher floral notes of a coffee. I didn’t have a chance to actually go hands on with the grinder yet and verify, but it’s definitely exciting to see innovation starting to happen in the grinder world. Watch for more developments on the grinder front as things get more fully underway here in Milan – cos uh, early warning, there are more grinders being launched at Host. Stay tuned.
Alex Bernson (@AlexBernson) is the assistant editor at Sprudge.com, and will be covering La Marzocco’s Out Of The Box event all weekend long from Milan. You can read more of his work here.
