Review of the new Compak K10

Compak often plays 2nd fiddle to the big dominator in the market, Mazzer (and to some extent recently, Anfim). From what I understand, Compaks weren’t available in the states until a few years ago and therefore, haven’t built up the long-term credibility that Mazzer has. However, as I was looking for a new grinder, Compak kept popping up. Reviews were constantly positive and mentioned the  great customer service and constant improvements to their products. Around this time, Compak announced a new model, a doserless and timer-modded K10, the top-of-the-line conical grinder. Most often compared to the Mazzer Robur, the K10 comes at a significantly better price and smaller size. Now doserless and with a timer, it sweetened the deal all the more. I had to try it out.

Switching from a Mazzer Major, the two big things I noticed right away was how quiet the grinder was and low amount of waste. After the grinder and timer are set, most shots have under .25 grams of waste. With no dosing chamber, there’s very few stray grounds from the grinder. The biggest waste comes at the end of the dose, with some grinds bouncing off the grounds already in the basket. However, this is a very minimal amount. Also, I’d like to see some way to mitigate clumping. While not a major issue, there’s some clumping, as with any doserless grinder. I’m hoping to find a way to add an anti-static shield to the dosing chute in hopes of breaking this up. While the lack of a dosing chamber helps mitigate waste, I’d have to say that the biggest change for me was the timer.

Suddenly, with the timer I was able to calibrate how many grams I wanted to dose on a consistent basis. If I wanted to pull a 17 gram shot every time, I’d weigh out my basket and set the timer and grind till I had it where I wanted it, and would double-check that the calibration stayed the same every hour or so. Even during a rush of customers, my dosing would stay the same. Compare this to what I was using before, the Mazzer Major, where I would try to count in my head the seconds the grinder was on. At best, I’d have accuracy of about half a second. While some say they can stay consistent without a timer, the precision of the timer allows for a new level of confidence and ability. Is the timer a ‘crutch’ that takes away from the role of the barista? I would say by no means, rather it allows for a new level of accuracy that is demanded in specialty coffee. If I find the espresso is best served at 17 grams, I want to serve it at 17 grams. I can’t guarantee this accuracy without a dialed in timer.

Okay, so there’s some new technical features, but in the end, how does it taste? I’d say it’s AMAZING. With the conical burrs rotating at a slooooooow 300RPMs, the shots come out looking and tasting beautiful. It’s opened up a whole new realm with our coffee, with more clarity than I’ve tasted before. On the market for a new grinder? I’d highly recommend this new Compak K10.

Compak K10 from Spronomy on Vimeo.