I have had this setup for a few months now. I can safely say that La Marzocco was the best decision for my home. I have seen a lot of posts lately asking whether to go with Mini or Micra. Honestly, if you have the space and budget, definitely Mini (reasons: BBW, timer, ability to pull multiple milk shots in a row when hosting). I have low cabinet clearance and Mini would be too big. Micra’s build quality is great, it can easily pull 6-8 espresso shots in succession without quality drop (I’ve tried that when making multiple espresso martinis lol) and, well, it looks beautiful. If you love light roasts though I would not even think of it unless you can easily plumb in for pre-infusion. Even then I’d pick something with flow control. I will definitely plumb-in if at one point I decide to renovate the kitchen but I love my medium and dark roasts, and the machine does beautiful with those. Who knows, maybe I’ll master lighter roasts eventually too on it but I suspect it would be easier to dial those in with flow control and pre-infusion.
Zerno Z1 is growing on me but I am not as happy with it as I expected to be. The static is insane, you HAVE to RDT otherwise grounds spray everywhere. There’s definitely a degree of retention and I have to tap the top of the grinder pretty strongly to make sure all grounds have been ground and all the coffee ends where it’s supposed to. The clearance under the chute is too low for grinding directly into the portafilter. I got their PF holder and it sucks lol. ESP since with the amount of static you need to put the funnel on and it becomes extremely annoying to get the PF out. I switched to the Weber blind shaker (I hate to say it but it is better than the MHW bomber one) and it works well though the magnetic base really argues with the magnetic base of the shaker. Putting a silicone mat under has helped but it’s not perfect.
Obviously the quality is great, the coffee is delicious (Mazzer burrs for dark roasts, SSP HU for medium), and it is small which is one of the main reason I picked it over the new Lagom grinder. Sometimes I even wonder if I should have gone with a GBW grinder like Eureka or Fiorenzato but I’m going to give this a full year before making any changes to my finally mastered workflow haha.
by kcneuro
13 Comments
Wait till you find out that they are putting shot timers on espresso machines now. It’s life changing.
How the hell is this a first setup?
What was your first car a Bugatti?
Just curious
Famous last words..
If you are in Winter in a cold place, your home humidity may be too low. If so, I wouldn’t blame the Zerno too much as static is only natural in these settings.
Sweet summer child…
Medium and dark roast, bro needs a conical
Having the machine plumbed in is life changing, and having the drip tray plumbed in is even more life changing. Letting the water run and never having to drain the tray is the #1 thing I wouldn’t give up.
And yeah no shot timer on machine is WILD.
I’m in New England and get static. My house is 20% humidity right now. Summer it’s a whole different situation with minimal static which is great. I’m using my Kafatek without RDT right now and it works well. The Fiorenzato almost never has static which is nice.
If this is indeed your first foray into espresso and you like medium to dark roast you should try a conical grinder and see what you think. A 1zpresso J-Ultra would be good for you to try and fairly affordable.
Will last for years
I just looked up this machine… it costs a few thousands. Jesus I am jealous of the fuck you money you have left for a hobby. Every day more I realise how broke I am, this sub isn’t good for my mental health
https://preview.redd.it/a17azecomjbg1.jpeg?width=2041&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4d29b44d8c56743ad9ad00c5401237f5aaef0b38
Consider swapping the grinder for a Titus hybrid. No RDT, no WDT, no static. Then you’re done.
Nice setup! This setup used to be my dream but once I learned Micra unable to do pre-infusion without plumbing in, I dropped Micra and looking for something else. I like the concept of zerno and I think I will get it someday. I definitely hope Zerno fix the static issue in v3. Enjoy your new toy!
I have the Z1 and I am overall happy with the grinder but I get annoyed with the amount of retention in the magnetic chute
What knock box do you have? The size is exactly what I’m looking for. I’ve found a couple on Amazon that look just like that one but have terrible reviews. Based on the rest of your setup, I assume you like yours?