That foam packaging that came with the Max which you dismissed as non custom is very much custom. That type of foam packaging is as good as it gets in my experience. That is a hot foam that is shot into a custom package and then it forms exactly to its surroundings.
Hi Brian, Merry Xmas. You hit the nail with the aftertaste being unique to the MC4. I have the same grinder combo, MC4 and Max with LMS burrs, and the way you describe the tongue wrapping is genius. By the way, I want to ask about the happy tamper, I got mine 10 days ago an it really impressed me, it get a tight fit and consistency which might rival 2x calibrated tampers
Happy New Year Brian! I received my MC4 in the same batch as your order. I am fairly new to the Higher End Quality of Espresso and Coffee. I currently have the Lelit Bianca paired with the Niche and obviously MC4. Your explanations in this and other videos are 100% Bang on! I totally tasted the difference between these 2 grinders. MC4 AMAZING striking clarity and Niche with the chocoloate, nutty and more body. Love the videos and looking forward to more in the future! All The Best my friend!
Yes!!! I'm glad you are having a great time with the MC4. Time to pick up a 98mm high clarity flat next round to pair with your MC4 hehe. What is surprising to many folks is when I tell them the MC4 is a much clearer grinder than the NZ. There's a lot of traditional thinking with grinders that I think I should talk about in a future video.
@@BrianQuan yes you definitely should. I didn’t quite believe your facts on difference until this morning with my first mc4 shot. Same coffee i been using for over a year on the Niche. You could not explain it any better on how different same coffee with different grinder is.
Wholesome video. It would be cool to see how these beasts do against the niche and the df64. Like in a blind taste test can you and your dad tell a noticeable difference.
Brian, Thank you for the preview. I am waiting for my MC4. Can’t wait to taste 👅 Can you tell me about the beans. Who is roasting them & where can i purchase ? Thanks 🙏🏽
Brian! I love your video my god! Thank you for your really good content! I have a little question, how is the happy tamper if you compare it to the force tamper? Thank you :)
The grinds are so fluffy in the basket, so easy to get consistent results. I'm still kind of salty about the dosing cup it comes with, but hey I'm thankful.
This is new packaging for the MC4. I got the first round, which came with the old WDT, unlabeled box with a Kafatek sticker, and iirc more packing peanuts in the box and less bespoke foam.
it could be. i'm having ton of fun experimenting different "profile" with my picopresso $130 and 1zpresso K plus, as many people are with the $125 Flair NEO and their 1zpresso q2 $100 grinder
Do you happen to have other recommendations for easy or “forgiving” espressos? Most of the time I’m getting sour or bitter and it’s never right. I haven’t got a shot yet where I was like “wow that’s good”. I’m currently using. A BES840XL and a niche. Also question on why you chose the MC4 vs the other versions?
Do you think the MC5 is better than the Weber Key? How about getting the MC5 and a Weber EG1 as an ultimate combo? I think the workflow is better on both Webers and maybe cleaning of the burrs. What do you think? Thank you, I like your channel.
Once you get to this level the harsh acidic tastes become a passing note as one should experience. I recently got the Lagom P100. Very fluffy grounds. The tastes are night and day from even well thought of grinders in the mid price range. I will add Lagom responds extremely fast with any questions or issues. It did take some work to understand how to setup the burrs.
@@davidterlicher1985 The burrs they come with are the 98mm SSP HU burrs. Considered to work with pour overs. I can't confirm that claim. You will have to decide. The large burrs and hu make it very fluffy. For espresso I believe it completely changed the taste. I enjoyed espresso. Had it every morning but didn't run to drink it. With this grinder I am always thinking of the next time I will make a shot. I believe the Option-o website recommends a particular burr for pour overs. I think it is this one. You can also search for pour overs with hu burrs. Sorry if I was not more direct. I have just been making espresso drinks.
Hi Brian. You are the impersonification of every coffee nerd dreams. Pardon me for the invasive question but how do you get the chance to buy all this equipment with a job in the coffee industry? 😅
I'm so curious about the three-way race between KEY, MC4, and MAX. I got a KEY and I'm using it. I'm curious how it'll be different from other types of conical MC4. Oh, and I'm so curious how these three things will be different in filter coffee. Especially light roasting beans!!!
I've found the MC4 to be clearer than the 83mm in the HG1 but it's been a while since I've done the comparison. Would take the Max w/LM over both though!
@@BrianQuan thanks. As expected, most experts recommend MAX for light roasting espresso. Many say that all of the monolith grinders are not good in filter coffee. Compared to EK43s, ditting LS, lagom, egg-1, etc. What do you think about it? Is it a perfect line for espresso? First of all, as an espresso grinder, I feel the greatest satisfaction with Versalab and KEY and settled down. In the end, I want to dispose of either of them and put in a satisfactory grinder in filter coffee, but it's very ambiguous. This is because there is no grinder that situations both espresso and filter coffee(light~light medium roast). burrs will need to be replaced.(maybe Bentwood is a good option, but I don't crave it.)
Can you tell me what self leveling palm tamper you've got? Struggling with picking what to get and very much trust your judgement (I'm on a waiting list for a Lab Sweet 🙃)!
@@BrianQuan sorry silly question. Should of finished the video before asking. You ended up showing a picture of the bag 😂. On the other hand do you happen to have other recommendations for easy or “forgiving” espressos? Most of the time I’m getting sour or bitter and it’s never right. I haven’t got a shot yet where I was like “wow that’s good”. I’m currently using. A BES840XL and a niche. Also question on why you chose the MC4 vs the other versions?
Just an idea , but I would rather trust the palate of a very high end Italian grinder company.Their dosing I prefer as well. 20 g is absurd to me in the U.S. I spent time in Italy and it's really a different experience than the American, New Zealand, Australian scene. I do not mind spending for these grinders and they are really not that expensive compared to other high end companies. I guess it's all in my head to stick with the Italians, but I guess it counts for something!! They are chasing an American taste not an Italian one?
I always wonder what I have to work in, in order to afford all those super expensive coffee toys. With bigger channels like Hoffman I kinda understand, but smaller channels like Here, spro or kyle for empme, and the amount of comments under those saying they own the same grinders, RU-vid alone just can't pay enough for those right ? Happy though they are sharing, guess I one very distant day in the future I'll get a p64 myself ^^
@@BrianQuan have one as well :) but carpentry pays shit were I live. Barley can afford my 1k€ saw and tool. So far the C40 and flair pro 2 serves me well though :) and with every video i see of those luxury machines I continue to dream of having them one day
Any tips on how to roast darker coffee on unimodal burrs? Brew ratio, temperature, profile? I find it heard not to produce too much bitterness and also the mouthfeel isn‘t on the great side
Also interested in this, I mainly drink light roasts and even my espresso tends to be from Nordic roasters or those roasting in a similar style, but I occasionally pick up something dark and find that unimodal burrs tend to make it taste harsh.
Hey Morgan, I'll actually record a super quick video on this because it is something I am currently doing. But try aiming for a low ratio like 1:1, 1:1.5 and go REALLY high temp. I am running a modified version of the Decent Default profile at 96C and I am finding really great results.
Hey Manu, Try pulling short like 1:1 and utilizing a super high temp. It's kinda counterintuitive (well not really) but I've found this style of shot to compensate for the lack of texture/mouthfeel some may experience in high clarity flats. So i'm pulling 1:1, ramp up to 9 bars at a really high temp in 20-30s.
