Built for switching coffees

The Philos is designed around single dosing. The burrs sit vertically, and a long auger (pre-breaker) feeds beans into the chamber at a steady rate, which controls popcorning and avoids regrinding. To clear the last grounds, you pull the chute knocker a few times, then slide the included dose finisher into the chute with the motor running and turn it. Mazzer describes the remaining retention as negligible when you follow that routine, which makes it easy to go from an espresso in the morning to a pour-over in the afternoon.

The stainless steel hopper is removable. Without it, the inlet takes up to 24 g and still closes, which lowers the grinder if space under the cabinets is tight. The burrs and the whole bean path are stainless steel, bearings included, so a few drops of water on the beans (RDT) to reduce static will not cause rust. Grinding into the supplied canister also helps keep static down.

Grind adjustment and cleaning

One turn of the dial covers espresso to batch brew. In stepped mode each notch moves the burrs 6 microns, which makes recipes easy to repeat, and a simple procedure converts it to stepless if you prefer. The adjustment sits on the rear burr, so you can lift off the magnetic front plate, unscrew the front burr carrier by hand and clean the chamber without losing your setting. Every Philos is checked for burr parallelism during assembly and again at the end of the line, and the burrs are surface finished at the factory, so only the first 50 g of coffee needs to be thrown away.

At 12.5 kg the Philos is considerably heavier than most single dose grinders at this price. The weight comes from machined stainless steel, brass and anodised aluminium parts and a vibration-damping system, which keeps it stable and relatively quiet during long grinding sessions.

The I200D burr set

This listing is the Philos with Mazzer’s standard I200D burrs. They have long, continuous cutting teeth that refine the particles gradually, and Mazzer designed them for clarity: separated fruit and floral notes, pleasant acidity and a medium body. They suit light and medium roasts for both filter and espresso.

Philos vs Lagom P64

The Option-O Lagom P64 is the other 64 mm single doser people most often compare it with. The P64 has variable motor speed and a choice of burr sets, so it suits people who like to experiment. The Philos runs at a fixed 1,400 rpm with one well-matched burr set, has stepped adjustment that can be made stepless, and is built heavier. If you want a grinder you set up once and use every day for years, the Philos is the more straightforward choice.

Specifications

What’s in the box

• Mazzer Philos grinder with 64 mm I200D burrs
• Stainless steel hopper
• 58 mm canister
• Dose finisher
• Brush

Mazzer’s introduction to the Philos