There is definitely a difference
(bleep) feels a little more flavorful
The acidity comes off quite lively
AHNSTAR
Hello everyone
Today I will be reviewing a grinder
And that will be
LAGOM 01 grinder
The LAGOM 01 grinder is the most recent
high end grinder
It is not officially launched in Korea
So not many has this at the moment
To review them as quickly as possible,
I bought it in China and brought it to Korea
I probably may be the first to review this
If you add up all the prices of everything to get it here,
It's about 4 million won
I used this for about two months
So today we are going to start with the pros and cons of the LAGOM 01 grinder
and what I thought about it from my experience
Exterior and functionality
The reason this is the highest-end model of LAGOM
is the most recent grinder
and can use a 102mm burr
The EK43 uses the 98mm burrs
You can say that LAGOM is bigger than the EK43 burr
For colors, you can choose between the two
There's black or silver
And we chose silver
There were no awkward finishes and the overall quality was high
And with the overall design; this is the characteristics of LAGOM
From the hopper on top to the dosing cup, to the dial on the bottom,
Nothing is in angles, it is all designed in curves
(Artistic Curved Design) So at a glance, it looked nice and soft like
a pretty decorative piece
By looking at the exterior
If I think about where I get the idea why this looks
nice and luxurious
It's actually quite similar to a MacBook
Just like the color, it is said that they used technology similar to that of the MacBook for their finish
If you put an EK next to it, it is about the same size as an EK minus the hopper
And when you place an order,
it comes with a dosing cup, portafilter holder, and a dosing ring
The finish of the products that come as standard
was also exceptionally excellent
When it comes to the dosing cup,
there is a magnet at the bottom
The magnet is really strong
Auto centering
You do not have to check the location of the doser chamber
And don't need to place the dosing cup every time
The magnet is pretty strong
that it doesn't fall off even if I move the grinder around
That's how strong the magnet is
So during the grinding with the dosing cup
the height is adjusted to guide
the grounds to fall right into the dosing cup
so it don't scatter everywhere
So when you're using a Portafilter
You can use this portafilter holder
It's also a magnet
so you do not need to position it yourself
The magnet is very precisely in position
So if I place the portafilter here right away
this is perfectly centered from the start
You can mounted the dosing ring on the portafilter
My impression is that it looks
very convenient, sleek, and handy
And for the grind size
You can adjust it up here at the hopper area
The bigger the number shown up front
the coarser the grind gets
And the smaller the number gets
the finer the grind gets
(Adjusting grind size by 0.1 units) And there are around 10 levels between each number
So that you can be more precise with your grind size
And LAGOM 01 is a stepless grinder
when it comes to how it adjusts the grind size
To the right is a dial that adjusts the grinder RPM
What is grinder RPM?
It stands for the revolution per minute, so the speed of the burrs
This will change the particle distribution in the grinder
Which will impact the taste of the coffee
You can adjust between 1 to 9
[Adjustable range for RPM] And you have your option from 200RPM to 1700RPM
And to my knowledge
There is no grinder that uses the 98mm and 102mm burrs interchangeably
And also has an RPM adjustment feature
Let me know in the comments if you know one that does both
And to the left is the power button
There are two power buttons; the upper one
makes a clicking noise to automatically turn on and off
This auto-button feature is
what differentiates this grinder from
other high-end grinders
Once you press this, after grinding
right before it turns off, it sets the RPM to the max
The reason to this max RPM is
to let as much leftover bean in the chamber
out of the chamber
This function was very convenient to use
as it's possible to do other things while grinding
And the bottom button is a manual button
which means it stays on as long as I press it
and turns off when pressed again
You can still use the automatic function while using the manual button
Push the manual button
after grinding is done, push the auto button
Then the RPM goes up to the highest
and knock out the remaining contents inside
But then, when I tried this function
Sometimes the auto button didn’t work
it should automatically turn off after quickly increasing the RPM at the end,
but there are times when it doesn't
(Calibration is necessary for smooth operation) It turns out that calibration is needed due to the sensitivity of the sensor
Calibration must be done on a level surface
to use the automatic feature properly
And there's this round dial here at the front
This is called a ‘knocker’
After grinding, you push this down
then it can dislodge the coffee grounds
left in the doser chamber
So I’ve looked over the exterior and the functions
But now while using the LAGOM 01 model
and also making extractions to compare with the EK,
I will provide some additional explanations
Extraction Test
First, I will let you hear the noise when it's turned on
LAGOM 01 Power-on Noise
EK43 Power-on Noise
I think the decibel level is similar
but the pitch of the sound is different
[Noise tone] The EK has a lower pitch, and the LAGOM has a higher pitch
[Extraction Formula] Dosing 20g of beans, extract 40g for 23 seconds
I will be using a single-origin beans
which is the Costa Rica Villa Sarchi beans from FELT Coffee
They’re yellow-honey type
I will proceed with the dosing in as identical a routine as possible
You can think of it as a comparison of subtle difference
In the case of LAGOM, it's possible to adjust the RPM
so I've matched it with the EK
[RPM Setting] EK 1450 / LAGOM 7.5
I will test with the RPMs matched as closely as possible
Grinding extraction with EK
Will do a single dose of 20g
[Grind setting] 0.8 for both
We have calibrated and matched the numbers after finding the zero point
The numbers are similar
I’m using the dosing ring and a distribution tool as well
Time to extract
(Extraction time) About 26 seconds, (Extraction amount) 40g
Grinding with LAGOM 01
Using the distribution tool
Almost identical, about 27 seconds
LAGOM 01/ EK43
The extraction patterns are quite similar
Tasting the EK extraction
Tasting the LAGOM 01 extraction
[Tone Comparison] EK has a slightly better sweetness and is closer to an orange tone
LAGOM has a bit more distinct character
Expresses a tone similar to grapefruit
I'll also measure the TDS in a bit
[TDS Comparison] EK 9.26 / LAGOM 10.19
LAGOM's a little higher
So, I tested the espresso
Let's see how much difference in nuances the two grinders have in cupping
And we'll see if the flavor we tested in the espressos
be similar in the cupping too
Cupping
We prepared for cupping
For accurate testing
We used the Unspecialty Grinding Guide for calibration
Set to 850μ
Since I set it up to 850 microns
[Calibration Grind Size] EK 10 / LAGOM 4.8
Cupping the LAGOM 01
Cupping the EK43
There's a clear difference
It's the same as I felt with espresso
LAGOM feels like it has a more distinct flavor
The acidity comes off more lively
To put it the other way around,
It might become a coffee that's too focused on acidity
In the case of EK,
There are more sweetness-centered flavors compared to LAGOM
However, its acidity doesn't come of lively and fresh
When considering character
Should I say that LAGOM clearly expresses fruit and flower notes?
EK expresses it with a slightly toned down manner
What's interesting is that the nuances felt in espresso
Seem to be felt exactly the same in cupping
(EK43 / LAGOM 01) The difference in taste due to the design of the burrs
This is the burr of the LAGOM grinder
We chose a 102mm proprietary manufactured burr
So it's much larger than the EK grinder
But not only is this grinder burr large
but as you can see, it has no screw threads
Having screw threads mean
that the ratio of crushing surface to cutting surface is somewhat less
[LAGOM grinder burr] So compare to EK since there are no screw threads on the burr,
There is a larger crushing area and cutting area
Therefore, the results from the grinder are bound to be different
To further explain about the crushing and the cutting area,
The crushing area is where the coffee beans are first entered into the grinder,
and it primarily serves to break the beans
And the cutting area determines the final size of the coffee beans
which is the outer edges of the burrs
Regardless of the ratio of crushing area to cutting area between EK and LAGOM
due to the effect of the screw threads, the burr of the LAGOM grinder
compared to the burr of the EK grinder,
can have a higher proportion of crushing and cutting areas
That's why when we look at the final size of the ground coffee
they are bound to be different
We grounded it after we calibrated it to the same mid-900 microns
as per the Unspecialty grinding guide
But looking at the grounded coffee
I could see that the grind was different even with the naked eye
EK - Coarse particles / LAGOM - Fine particles
So when we looked at the grind size distribution,
EK fines 319.86㎛ / LAGOM fines 285.80㎛ LAGOM has less coffee fines than EK
(EK Particles / LAGOM Particles) You might wonder how they could have the same micron size
even though the particle sizes are different
Let's assume there are two people, A and B,
When they both have 10,000 won each,
The average amount they have will be 10,000 won
But if A has 2,000 won
and B has 18,000 won
the average amount of money they have will also be 10,000 won
Even if the EK particle size is the same mid-900 μ
it will have fine grinds and relatively coarse grinds as well
And if a mixture of that makes 950μ
(Smaller particle size range) In the case of LAGOM, the grind size distribution is narrower
(uniformly close to 950μ particle size) It produces more grinds that are closer to 950μ
That's why when we look at the graph
The LAGOM grinder had fewer coffee fines than the EK grinder
And the EK grinder had more coffee fines than the LAGOM
(Taste difference due to the burr's screw threads) So perhaps that's why it caused
difference in taste
Finally measuring the TDS of the cupping..
We measured the TDS
[Cupping TDS comparison] EK 1.14-1.15 / LAGOM 1.29-1.3
First of all, when I first encountered this LAGOM grinder,
I was actually surprised
how slippery it was when I was trying to move the grinder
[Downside of LAGOM 01] Be careful of slipping when moving it
Inconvenience of calibration
When we first did the grind calibration,
we struggled because we couldn't find instructions
We inquired with the local company and went through such a cumbersome process,
Disappointed by the lack of detailed instructions
But to me personally
this knocker
(EK43 knocker) You know when you use EK, there's this satisfying feeling of knocking it out like this
(The joy of getting it all done...!) There is this feeling of getting the last of what is left in there
But LAGOM's knocker is a bit bland
Almost without using the knocker
when you dose 20g,
most of the coffee grounds come out
But the flick is a bit bland
[Downside of LAGOM 01] The voltage is different, so it requires a converter
And most of all,
we can't overlook the price
It has a great design and the grinding speed is fast,
and there are several advantages, but
the price...
Once you include the cost of purchase, customs, and shipping,
it really comes out to be about 4 million won
[Downside of LAGOM 01] Only available from abroad
With long shipping and the risk of damage, you help but be worried about it
Despite all of these drawbacks
[Pros of LAGOM 01] Aesthetically pleasing
The convenience of the automatic off feature
After mounting the espresso and grinding it
I can go on with my other routines
This is of course a very important commercially, but
I think it has become very important at home too
Once I have used it, it's was so convenient that
when I used a grinder that I had to turn off manually,
(Not...auto) It felt a bit inconvenient
And personally, I was really impressed with
[Pros of LAGOM 01] the design of the hopper
We call this Pop-corning
Where you grind, the beans spring up
and sometimes escape out of the hopper
This design prevents pop-corning from happening
As soon as you put in the beans, the angle of the hopper is good,
so the beans go into the grinder burr nicely
and there's a fixed cover in the shape of a mushroom that can prevent pop-corning
It really functions well, and I had no pop-corning problems
Another design point!
With other grinders, once you go through the grinding routine
the ground coffee will inevitably scatter everywhere
and that's something we likely have experienced
AI but the height of the dosing cup is so detailed and
the height of the portafilter holder is perfect,
so the ground coffee doesn't scatter much
There are some who consider that important
So if cleanliness is important, this one is for you!
(I will show you) I would like to show you a little bit of what it is like
By placing the portafilter holder
Place the dosing ring on top of it
Then when you place it in the holder
It really almost fits perfectly
There's no space for the coffee grounds to scatter
It seems like there's about 2-3mm (empty space) left
So, in conclusion, is this grinder worth buying?
My experience with this grinder was,
that I felt like this was a better grinder to use at home than in a store
Typically, grinders at this price range
is used when you need to grind a lot of coffee in a row
With their nice big burrs
and with their good specifications
But now home cafes are going high-end
One of the most common things people consider for their home cafe is
[Important elements of a home cafe] design
It's aesthetically pleasing to have it at home
and because it practically has all the functions needed for a grinder
I think LAGOM 01 might be the ultimate grinder
in terms of both specs and design among the grinders that currently exist
Conversely, if used for commercial purposes
I have some points of concern
With commercial uses, rather than worrying about cleanliness
You need to grind a lot quickly and
the routine should also be very comfortable
First, the hopper is small so when you need to grind a large amount,
For example, say a customer at the cafe
is asking if they can get their 1kg beans grounded
To do this, Ditting and EK grinders
are designed to accommodate large coffee bags at the bottom
But LAGOM 01 is more closer to a home use
For such retail grinding, the capacity of the lower part is also small
and the size of the hopper is small
So I think it's a grinder that is more suitable for
single dosing at home or
when extracting a small number of cups of coffee
And one more thing
For the EK, the routines are more efficient
With the grinding still on,
you can add 20g of beans through the top and get a cup
and simply remove the stopper and your beans are good to be grounded
With the grinding continuously on
you can proceed to the next routine
But with LAGOM 01, that routine is not possible
After dosing the beans
you have to place the dosing cup back underneath
Then you have to turn it on
and then you need to remove it again
LAGOM 01 is not well-suited for continuous extraction routines
So I would say that if you are looking at it as a commercial grinder
I hope you will take this into consideration when making your purchase
In my opinion
It is a little bit more for a home cafe than commercial use
Maybe it is a little more suited at a lab or a studio
That is just my personal thought
Of course, if I want to start a cafe
and need a grinder with a bit of this vibe
(the design alone is appealing) I would have considered it
So just like that
I was the first person to purchase the LAGOM 01 in Korea
and shared with you all my thoughts on its design, its pros and cons
and my personal experience after using it
I will be back next time with another product review
Have a great day
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