anyone have a recommendation on a budget grinder that can go fine enough and allow fine tuning for espresso around rm500 to rm1k?

went with a 1zpresso "italmill" from taobao.

i recently got the 1zpresso je from taobao for around rm500 shipped. Does it go fine enough for espresso? I would think so as it clogged my pressurized portafilter on my first try.
Grind is consistent, at least for the past month I have been using it.
The build quality is solid with an anodised aluminium enclosure. Really attractive design imo. Grinding feels smooth and quick.

My only gripe is that the grind size tuning isn't intuitive. There are numbered guide but they do not mean anything since the step size is very small. You would need to memorize the number of clicks from fully closed to get reproducible results ( this is likely true for most hand grinders though)

iinm, the difference between the je and js is the dlc coating and the burr design. they recommend je with the "italmill" burr for espresso.

the newly released je plus looks very similar to the je but with a slimmer grip (great for smaller hands) and a high carbon steel burr but the the burr design looks the same to me.


Disclaimer: complete novice here, got tired of instant coffee.

Should be just your regular import duty if total invoice is > rm500.

A common courtesy is to contact them first. Try cancelling your subscription first and see if you can delete your card after that.

Yeah should be fine. Delivery services are still running. I just got a bag via shopee since they have free shipping. As a precaution, just disinfect your parcels.

I love good day fresh milk for anything from cereals to my daily latte fix. Froths very well on my tiny boiler consistently and it has a rich creamy taste. Alternatively, farmfresh is also pretty good but is slightly less milky/lighter.

Quick question, does anyone know where I can get 51mm unpressurized baskets that do not have a level indicator? The one I got from China has a level indicator that makes a 51mm tamper not fit pass the indicator for single shots.. Thanks

thanks for the quick reply, but what I meant is really a level indicator for what purpose they are for I have no idea . Take a look;




The ridge baskets are more common on "real" espresso machines with the standard 58mm portafilter.

I have a sunbeam em3600 / cuisinart em-100 clone which originally uses a pressurized one. It doesnt even have an OPV afaik hence proper tamping is crucial.

Yup kinda sums up my experience except that I cant get the right extraction time coz its blows up 90% of the time due to the seal not being able to hold the pressure. So I have accepted the fact that shorter extraction time is all I can get from this machine.
I still get pretty good shots though.

They are on shopee too. That's another option.

Someone selling their Breville duo temp setup for a really good price. Thought I would share it here in case anyone is interested.
https://carousell.com.my/p/1012165851

Ouch, exactly. I can only do a half decent heart most of the time. 😂

I love mine too and it's been very consistent for the past two years. Very little retention, opened to clean it once so far and was surprised how clean it looked (then again I only grind 16g daily).
Mine has one design flaw though that is the socket handle and the shaft are made from dissimilar metals (aluminium vs stainless steel)I can see some traces of corrosion which I think adding oil will help. Maybe something you can look into if the design has not changed.

in my noob opinion, if you are really going to make lattes, flair + stovetop milk steamer is not a good workflow time wise. If you think about it, your coffee routine will gonna take at the very least half an hour. Imagine doing that every morning coupled with learning to control both the stove heat and steam wand. gemilai is a better bet although the build is somewhat cheap.

Really? That's news to me. What kind of gas burner you have?

a little over budget but the caramel popcorn from JWC is one of my favorites. Pairs really well with milk and has a really nice nutty caramel taste.

interesting, flat burrs with that form factor and at the price point is really tempting. might get one

get those individual drip brew coffee bags. less clean up imo. not sure where to get them though..