The Mazzer Mini Electronic A has been on the market as an espresso grinder for many years. And one thing's for sure: it will continue to deliver solid performance for many years to come. With a purchase price of around €750/CHF 860, it's one of the more expensive espresso grinders in our comparison test . Find out how the espresso grinder performs, its craftsmanship, and the taste of the espresso in our espresso grinder test.
Robust, heavy and cumbersome
The Mazzer Mini Electronic A weighs 10.2 kg. This weight is distributed across a height of 440 mm, a width of 150 mm, and a depth of 340 mm. This makes the Mazzer Mini one of the heavyweights in our test. While the grinder's robustness is an advantage in terms of stability, it is a disadvantage when it comes to adjusting the grinding level. Despite the metal rod, the adjustment dial is difficult to turn, even with considerable force. If the dial comes loose, it often rotates beyond the desired target position.
This is annoying. The normally stepless grind adjustment becomes a somewhat tedious process of forward and backward adjustment. Greasing the thread improves the process, but that's not exactly perfect. And adjusting the grind during grinding also allows for finer adjustments. So, solutions are in sight, but none of this contributes to the grinder's ease of use.
The package includes a metal tray to catch the grounds that fall to the grounds. However, in our tests, the Mazzer Mini hardly scattered any grounds and didn't clump much either. The centering funnel worked well here. The espresso grinder's portafilter mount is exemplary—some manufacturers could learn something from it. The grinder holds portafilters with spouts in both directions. Only a slight vibration of the grinder, and the resulting slippage of the portafilter, spoils the overall performance.
Usability of the mill
The Mazzer Mini Electronic A has two programmable volume buttons, which can be programmed using a second setting. This is fairly intuitive. The grind setting, on the other hand, is significantly more difficult to control. This is due to the difficulty of adjusting the grinder described above. It's almost impossible to return to the exact same point after adjusting it. Noting or marking reference points becomes a gamble.
The curve shows the grinding curves of the Mazzer Mini Electronic after moving it forward and backward to the same grinding position as possible.
Many of the feedback we received during our video review also points in this direction. Many users set the grinder once and then don't change the beans or grind size. This can, of course, be solved, but it limits the ability to try different coffees. Many experienced home baristas also want to further adjust the grind size by gently adjusting it. This isn't easily possible with the Mazzer Mini Electronic A.
This leads us to rate the grinder as "rather poor" in terms of usability .
We really like the portafilter mount. Most conventional portafilters fit into the Mazzer Mini. Portafilters with reversed spouts, such as those from Rocket, can also be placed on the mount.
Grinding creates a vibration that moves the portafilter. However, it should be held in place anyway to ensure the ground coffee is evenly distributed.
Speed and volume
The Mazzer Mini Electronic A's noise level was in the mid-range for us. There were grinders that were significantly louder, and others that were significantly quieter. We measured a noise level of 82.8 decibels .
In terms of speed, the Mazzer Mini was one of the slowest grinders in the test. It reached a grinding capacity of 16 grams in 10 seconds. The desired amount of coffee, 18 grams, took 11.3 seconds.
Temperature and consistency during grinding
In terms of consistency, the Mazzer Mini was among the lower-middle-of-the-pack grinders. We measured a standard deviation of 0.74 grams over 10 grinds. We added 18 grams to the grinder and checked the dispensed coffee weight. While many samples yielded results of around 18 grams, a few outliers were +1 gram off the desired amount.
| 17.0 | 17.3 | 17.9 | 17.8 | 18.4 | 18.6 | 18.3 | 17.7 | 18.8 | 19.5 |
With many smaller burrs, the coffee grounds heat up during grinding, especially when several extractions are made in succession. In our test, a extraction was made every 30 seconds. The first and last samples were also used for particle distribution measurements. The Mazzer Mini showed only a minimal temperature increase, remaining at an overall low temperature of 30.4 degrees Celsius. This made the Mazzer one of the coolest and best grinders in the field. Therefore, no flavor changes are to be expected due to the temperature of the ground coffee. The particle distribution did vary, but within the standard variance of the grinder.
Is the Mazzer Mini suitable as a single-serve grinder?
Single servings are in. The single-serving principle is particularly practical when home baristas like to switch between beans. To do this, the desired amount of coffee is weighed by hand in a measuring cup and poured into the grinder. The grinder should then grind these beans back to their original size, as close to the original as possible. This is called "single dosing."
The most important factors to be assessed here are the dead space , the ease of adjusting the grinding level and, depending on the viewing angle, the amount of coffee between the bean container closure and the grinding discs.
The Mazzer Mini, with its 5.3 grams of dead space, is too large to be a viable single-serve grinder. The approximately 5 grams must always be ground first—this is simply not practical. The difficulty of switching between grinds also makes it difficult to precisely select the grind size for a different bean.
The coffee beans under the carriage are another factor that makes changing the beans in the bean hopper difficult, at least. 40.9 grams of coffee are located under the lid. So, if we remove the bean hopper, we'll see a lot of beans underneath. These beans must be removed before all the coffee can be changed. All of this speaks against the Mazzer Mini as a flexible espresso grinder for single servings and against changing the coffee.
Espresso and taste
We mostly drank decent espressos with the Mazzer Mini Electronic A. It often impressed us more with darker espresso roasts. The ground coffee was smooth and lump-free. However, we frequently encountered espressos that weren't brewed to perfection.
This may also be due to the fact that the Mazzer Mini generally produces a relatively high amount of fines, but on some curves, it produced significantly more tiny particles. These tend to overextract and contribute to a dry, bitter cup.
This diagram shows four extractions at the same grinding level. The curves fluctuate, and in some cases, relatively fine particles are produced. The proportion of particles below 100 microns was over 23%. In some cases, it was lower, but the particles were always out of range.
At the same time, the Mazzer Mini has a relatively narrow coarse peak of 214. The highest point of the curve is used to determine this value, and then the peak is cut. The particles are taken into account 30% on either side of the cut. In other words, the Mazzer Mini's narrow peak makes it relatively precise at the desired grind setting, but it varies more significantly at the fine peak.
But again: the Mazzer Mini Electronic A performs solidly as an espresso grinder. However, some fluctuations in consistency and the large dead space limit its reliability.
The graph shows how the Mazzer Mini performs in comparison to other grinders.
About the test procedure – what was examined?
The diagram above shows all the particle distribution curves we recorded. The Mazzer Mini Electric A was listed as grinder 19 in our test.
- T1 is a measurement of the particle distribution in the factory setting. This can vary from grinder to grinder. In this case, the Mazzer Mini was factory set to the Ristretto range.
- T2 is a measurement of the first setting of a standard recipe of 18g coffee in, 45g espresso out in 25 seconds. The grinder was previously ground through 500g of coffee to remove any residue from the manufacturing process, etc.
- T3 is a particle distribution test after six consecutive espressos were drawn every 30 seconds. The heat of the ground coffee was recorded each time.
- T4 was taken after the original prescription was reinstated.
- T5 shows the setting for a strong, 1:1 brewed espresso/ristretto with 18g of coffee in and 18g of espresso out in 25 seconds.
- T6 shows the setting for a long coffee. 18 grams of coffee were used, and an extraction of 120g was achieved in 25 seconds.
- T7 shows a curve that occurs when attempting to achieve the same setting as in curve 4 based solely on the marking. For curve 4, the grind setting was photographed, and with curve 7, the setting was reset to the image shown.
More about the protocol here.
The detailed test report will be published during the course of Wednesday, December 8, 2021.
How do Mazzer Mini A and Mazzer Mini B differ from each other?
Internally, the Mazzer Mini A and Mazzer Mini B don't differ significantly. It's primarily the exterior that distinguishes them. The Mazzer Mini Electronic A's control unit is located on the grinder's centering bowl. The Mazzer Mini B's control unit is located below the dosing bowl. The grinding discs and other components are identical. The Mazzer Mini B has a plastic lid over the centering bowl.
Conclusion on Mazzer Mini Electronic A
Let's start with the potential. A second metal pin for adjusting the grind level would be a useful addition. If you don't have one, you can also use a threaded screw. It doesn't look as nice, but it works.
And this brings us to one of the grinder's problem areas: adjustability, and the associated flexibility and usability. The Mazzer Mini is a long-established grinder and accordingly robust and solid. Its performance doesn't recommend it for the top spots in our test.
While we consistently produced some decent and even good espressos, we also tasted some less than ideal espressos. Therefore, it's difficult to recommend the Mazzer Mini Electronic to the experienced and experimental home barista these days. The high price is another counterargument. The biggest advantage is probably the grinder's proven longevity, something that modern, more affordable grinders have yet to match.
