Don't think Delonghi makes any burrs, just blades but I might be wrong
Go with Baratza or Breville and you should be fine. Also, for filter it's alittle more forgiving 

Try to look at mudah for second hand model...who know you might got lucky and struck gold with commercial grinder that will be long lasting usage at that price....  Believe me it happens before

But be wary, should COD if you happen to find one....

Your budget is tricky....I was trying to hit the same price point before, then lust overcame practicality and i ended up with a Mignon2....

Ease of availability : Breville
Long lasting: purely depends on luck at this price point. You might get one that you can hand down to your grandchildren, or it may break in 18 months

Alternatives:
- Gaggia MDF  (RM1289 on Lazada)
- Feima/Xx/yy 600N (RM 300-ish on many online shopping sites)
- Welhome ZD-17 (RM 988 on lelong, but since Welhome is the principal sponsor in the upcoming Malaysia Coffee Fest, you might want to check out their promos during the event)

The XX/YY/ZZ 600N family is all good. Just the support is going to be lacking. Anything breaks, you're on your own. But hey, that's also part of the fun!
Well worth their price

My 600N rip-off lasted a couple of years without issues, until i ground well over 1kg non-stop, and managed to test this tiny rubber bearing cover. Without this cover grounds are too inconsistent for espresso....Maybe less sensitive brew methods might still be ok.

I recently super-glued a regular rubber washer in its place, and now things are better. I tried espresso and it worked, but by now very spoilt by the Mignon2, so cannot go back. i have moved the machine to my office, where it is used for filter coffee.

3g of missing ground, that's a lot.

I used to have missing 1g from Skerton. But ever since I started using Handground, everything seems to be fine. just need to tap it a little.

I think it's not about static, but rather the humidity. I could be wrong though. How about considering a brush?

I also have a Eureka Mignon; to knock out the majority of grounds I usually tip the machine backwards a half inch or so, then let it fall forward. In addition, tilting the machine forward by about 45 degrees while grinding the last bit helps a great deal....makes it closer to a Niche Zero.

For another option, you can try James Hoffman's Coffee Hack: no more static.

I have a Mignon as well. If it's brand new and you are feeding beans in for the first time, 3g retention is common due to the grounds filling in all the gaps. Once you grind through a couple more rounds, your retention should be under 0.5g. I do a thorough cleaning every couple of months and I will get 3-4grams of old grounds.

If you want the freshest grounds coming out each time, just prime the grinder by putting in 2-3g of beans before your normal dosage to clear any grounds from the last grind.

Enjoy!

Not a good idea to store in fridge. Water condensation might spoil the beans faster.

Have you tried hunting for vacuum sealed container instead?

I store my beans in the fridge too, but every so often I'll bring out a small amount and store it in an airtight container at room temperature, just to avoid the humidity from condensation. So far the retention from my mignon is minimal, less than 1g

Previously I wanted Vacuvin, but I couldn't find it. But they'd cost a bomb. Try checking American Test Kitchen video on containers for coffee beans. There's a recommended one, still cost a bomb to import them.

Last time I bought small glass jar with pump sold at Ace hardware.

I pump out and. Next day no more suction. Can just pull off the lid.

Vacuum will at least extract most of the oxygen out of the container so u get less oxidization effect

But don't buy the type that actually depend on the vacuum pressure to keep the lid tightly closed as coffee beans continuously releases CO2 gas and will neutralize the pressure - breaking the seal

Giving the same advice I've been giving for a while haha

Espresso is very much machine dependent so there's kinda a minimum requirement that you want to follow

I would say go espresso ONLY once you're ready to put aside about RM5k minimum (machine + grinder + accessories)
Otherwise, just stick to Aeropress until then

Some (or actually most) so called "beginner" machine doesn't even really let you learn real espresso or milk frothing techniques simply because the hardware is lacking
So you'll end up wasting time & money and wondering why your coffee doesn't taste good.

How to differentiate a machine that's worth your time? (for the more advanced baristas in this forum, I do apologize for over-generalizing but just want to give some good guideline for beginners that's not overly complex to understand)

1. Non-pressurized portafilter
2. Commercial grade brass (chrome coated) portafilter (heavy enough to kill)
3. Proper steam wand - right tip and decent steam strength

As for grinder - anything with burr size 64mm and above is already considered good (the larger the better)

If you can find the 3 above requirements + the grinder at least and the price is within your range, then go for it!

Hi guys. Wanna get an idea of those lavazza beans..they gooding?