Mazzer - Super Jolly V Pro

Medium to dark roasts Mazzer 233M is a great cheap option. Once you get into fancier more modern medium roasts SSP HU is the way. Honestly though I really love 233M for classic Italian blends

I have two grinders... A modded Mazzer Super Jolly for espresso and a non-esp Encore for drip. I think the ESP will handle everything you want to do.

I am AuDHD and have this flavour of neurodivergent noise “fun” aka torture. I have a Zerno Z1 and it’s not especially noisy. It’s near silent with AirPods Pro in on noise cancelling mode. I also cannot hear it when I use my custom IEMs. I had the Niche Zero and the Duo. The Zero was pretty quiet. I think flat burr grinders have a higher pitched scream than conical - but the Z1 is fairly quiet to me. I sold the Niche grinders. I also have an “AliExpress copy” of the HG-1 grinder which cost me around £400 a few years back. It is very quiet because you control the speed of the grinding with the wheel. So this is mainly the sound of crunching coffee beans and a low mechanical rumble of intermeshing gears. Do not buy a Mazzer Super Jolly. That thing was loud! I am happy to record the sounds of these machines if you want. Oh and to fully answer your question, the Z1 doesn’t have much in the way of safety features so you can absolutely load the hopper with a measured dose of beans (I use 17.5 or 18g) and leave it switched on…. via a smart switch like a Kasa Smart Plug. I use these for some of my home lights. The smart switch can be operated from your phone or you can ask a home assistant like google home / Alexa or whatever to turn it on/off.

A little tip for the OP, a good grinder can make a world of difference. I'm not recommending you spend a fortune that you don't have. But my progression went from a Rocky Rancilio to a Mazzer Super Jolly Electronic, to a Compak E10 conical, and now I have my end game, Mahlkonig E80S. Whilst I noticed increases in quality in the cup with each grinder change, I was not prepared for the jump in quality when I got the Mahlkonig. It was the second biggest single improvement to home coffee, behind home roasting. The key is consistency in particle size. A lesser grinder will have a wide bell curve between the smallest and largest particle size, with a good grinder having a much narrower variance. There is a lot more to good coffee at home, so enjoy the journey and congrats on the machine, have fun!

I was lucky and found a mazzer super jolly that was broken so I got it for free. $150cad worth of parts and it runs beautifully.

An old school Mazzer Super Jolly. Commercial grade, easy to fix n maintain, and will last a lifetime. Bought four from a company that was going out of business. Sold three of them and recouped my investment in such a manner that I essentially got the fourth one for free.

It is the internet, with a global reach. Many of the subs and forums get dominated by people who need to tell why they are right and you are wrong. Having owned a DF64 and found it to be one of the loudest, most unreliable grinders backed with no customer service, I have had in 40 years, I would say well done you dodged a bullet. Anything by Option O gets my vote (I have a P64 now, owned a Mini and tested a Casa and P100). The cheaper Eurekas I like as hopper fed grinders, but not single dose (the adjustment is not consistent). Niche Zero (I have one) is bombproof, quiet and lovely adjustment. However, more of a traditional darker to medium roast grinder. A used Mazzer SJ or Mini would be bombproof and a good find.

You could get something like a used Mazzer Super Jolly or Mini, they are a lot more robust and inexpensive to repair, including replacing burrs. They are basically bombproof. You should get a used one for under your budget (but I don't know your used coffee appliance market, although I have had great coffee in Chang Mai when visiting as a tourist).

In the last 10 years I've spent maybe $12K on grinders and tools. I got mine for just over $900 with tax. It's a fine machine. It has its nuances. Is it something I consider durable? Sure. Reliable? Definitely reliable in that it'll work, not so reliable when you consider its strange nuances. Sometimes the dose doesn't come out in full, and that's one of the issues with it. I like my trusted Mini more. My old Super Jolly is in storage/seldom sees use. I like Mazzer as you can see. But if I was to buy another high end grinder I'd probably go with a high end Mahlkonig (do have a lower model) or a Fiorenzato. The beauty of this.... sometimes expensive hobby, is that you really learn a lot just from your own experiences and not solely from others' experiences. Making mistakes or coming up with unique solutions is all a part of the journey.

K6, super jolly and robur

I got a Super Jolly Electronic for $800 with only 900 shots. 2 years later, no regrets. Love it and totally worth it. Only thing else I will buy is new burrs when I wear these out.