If there’s one thing Mazzer and Eureka excel at, it’s offering customers high-end grinders for all budgets. In this guide, we’ll be critically examining two popular models of theirs: the Mazzer Major vs the Eureka Atom Pro.
Which one should you pick? We’ll answer that question by the end of the article by covering these topics:
- Features the Mazzer Major and Eureka Atom Pro share.
- Differences between these two grinders.
- Information regarding how much either one costs.
- Our advice on how to determine which one is better for you or your business.
Let’s get started…
Quick Summary
Although it is the more affordable grinder in this comparison, don’t mistake the Mazzer Major for anything that could be described as cheap. Its large 2.7-pound capacity hopper and 83 mm steel burrs give it the power it needs to thrive in small to medium businesses and the kitchens of home baristas.
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As one of the more recent models to come from Eureka, the Atom Pro is packed with all kinds of cutting-edge features. It has a blow-up hopper that makes cleaning the inside simple and a fan that keeps it nice and cool during use. We’d recommend this one for at-home espresso experts and small coffee shops or restaurants.
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Similarities
Flat Burrs
Maybe the most important similarity shared by the Major and Atom Pro is the shape of their burrs. Both have flat burrs, which are quite common in commercial-level espresso machines.
Flat burrs are designed to create perfectly uniform coffee particles every time. Many say they can recognize when flat burrs have been used simply by the sweet taste of the coffee produced by them.
Read Also: 5 Best Commercial Espresso Grinders
Burr Material
Aside from shape, the material used in the burrs is also of the utmost importance. Steel burrs are another similarity shared by the Mazzer Major and Eureka Atom Pro.
Metal burrs like these are also popular in commercial espresso grinders. This is because metal grants them greater longevity and sharpness than their ceramic counterparts.
In other words, expect either the Mazzer or Eureka to be capable of crushing coffee beans without breaking a sweat for a long time to come.
Portafilter Holders
If you’re working in a coffee shop, you don’t have much (if any) time to stand around – especially during your rushes. A grinder that requires you to stand in place, holding a portafilter beneath the dispenser, would quickly become inconvenient.
Fortunately, the Major and Atom Pro both have portafilter holders on the front. This means you can just slide the portafilter in place and let the grinders hold it for you while they dispense grounds. You’ll be freed up to focus on things that matter more, such as conversing with customers or moving on to the next step in the drink-making process.
Stepless Grind Adjustment
Controlling the fineness of the grind is vital to all types of coffee, whether it’s espresso, French press, or drip coffee. There are two systems designed to adjust fineness: stepped and stepless.
On a stepped system, baristas will have to select the texture from a range of pre-made settings included on the grinder. This is undoubtedly the easier system, but it leaves gaps in between settings that you may need.
The Major and Atom Pro both have stepless systems. In a nutshell, you’ll need to turn a collar or knob to select your fineness from wherever you’d like on a sliding scale. You have more options this way, ensuring you can grind the perfect texture for any type of coffee.
Differences
Dimensions
There’s one immediately noticeable difference between the Mazzer and Eureka in this comparison: their size.
The Mazzer Major is 24.50 inches high, 12.25 inches deep, and 8 inches wide. On the flipside, the Eureka Atom Pro is 18 inches high, 10.5 inches deep, and 7.2 inches wide.
As you can see, the Atom Pro is much more compact than the Major. It’s the one you should choose if your counters don’t have much room to accommodate larger espresso grinders.
Read Also: Mazzer Major vs Mini
Hopper Capacity
Part of the reason the Atom Pro manages to be so much smaller than the Major is the decreased capacity in its hopper. As the part of the grinder that holds your coffee beans, the size of a hopper is vital.
Since they can naturally hold more beans, larger hoppers tend to work better in businesses. You can grind with them for longer periods of time before needing to add more.
The Atom Pro’s hopper can hold just over a pound of coffee beans while the Major’s can hold almost three pounds. With approximately triple the capacity of the Atom Pro, the Major will make it possible to grind continuously for extended lengths of time.
Wattage
Want a strong grinder that will be able to crush your beans quickly? Then you’ll want to pay attention to the power of a grinder’s motor, which is measured in watts.
This is one aspect in which the Eureka Atom Pro is the obvious winner. Its 920-watt motor is much more powerful than the Mazzer Major’s 650-watt one.
Grinding power like this means the Atom Pro will be able to make short work of your coffee beans. You won’t find it struggling to keep up when you’ve got back-to-back espresso drinks to prepare.
Burr Size
Another aspect of burrs to look at beyond their basic shape is their size. When it comes to burrs, bigger truly is better.
In that regard, the Major edges out its competitor. It has burrs that are 83 millimeters, while the Atom Pro’s are 75 millimeters. That makes the Atom Pro’s burrs almost 10 millimeters smaller.
How does that affect you? It means the Major’s burrs by themselves would be faster because their increased surface area would be able to grind larger amounts of beans.
However, burr size isn’t the only thing that contributes to speed – as we mentioned above, the motor’s power is crucial, as well.
Eureka Atom Pro Cooling System
Do you foresee your baristas having to grind shots of espresso almost constantly? You’ll need a grinder that can deal with this kind of pressure without becoming too hot.
That’s where the Eureka Atom Pro’s integrated cooling fan comes into play. As the name implies, the fan kicks in to stabilize the temperature of the grinder. As a result, your beans will be protected from burning and the grinder will be protected from the dangers of overheating.
Read Also: Mazzer Major vs Ceado E37S
Eureka Atom Pro Magnetic Hooks
The Eureka Atom Pro has a few tricks up its sleeve that it set it apart. One of them is its magnetic hooks.
These magnet-equipped hooks are a nifty way of adjusting the portafilter holder. They essentially make it possible to grind directly into portafilters of any size by allowing you to quickly tweak the height of the holder.
Without having to fuss with screws or annoying fixtures, you can just pull the portafilter holder off the front panel and stick it back on anywhere beneath the dispenser. Making these adjustments is really as easy as just pulling the holder off and placing it wherever the best fit would be.
Eureka Atom Pro Blow-Up Hopper
Another one of the Atom Pro’s unique tricks is the blow-up hopper. Its function is to help clean the inside of the grinder, clearing any leftover grounds away.
Grind retention can be a real issue with espresso grinders, especially ones with flat burrs like the Atom Pro. These lingering coffee grounds can get mixed with future beverages, mixing blends or mixing stale grounds in them.
The Atom Pro’s hopper gives you the tools to deal with retention effectively. Pressing down on the top will cause it to blow retained grounds out.
Pricing Considerations
Majesty Coffee works to offer you cutting-edge espresso and coffee technology at the lowest prices. This applies to our Mazzer Major and Eureka Atom Pro grinders.
We’re offering the Mazzer Major model in our store for $1,195. Our Eureka Atom Pro is available for $1,599.
Which One Should You Pick?
Even after discussing numerous features on the Mazzer and the Eureka, you might still be confused about which one you should pick. We’ll describe situations in which you would choose either one.
We’d like to start by saying either one of these grinders is excellent. There are still reasons why you might choose one or the other.
If you want to provide the cleanest possible flavor by eliminating grind retention from mixing with your drinks, the Eureka Atom Pro should be appealing. Its blow-up hopper will help ensure that your flavors are as pure as possible.
The magnetic portafilter holder also makes the Eureka Atom Pro excellent for small businesses with a wide array of drink sizes. You can effortlessly adjust the height of the holder, allowing you to grind into portafilters of just about any size.
Furthermore, if you’re going to be grinding continuously, the Eureka Atom Pro would likely be the better choice. Thanks to its integrated fan, it’s more capable at keeping itself cool.
So when would the Mazzer Major be a good choice for you? Due to its modest price tag, we’d suggest it for those on a stricter budget. Given its extra-large hopper that can hold almost three pounds of coffee, it also works in small businesses or offices that need to frequently grind beans.
Here is our conclusion, in a nutshell:
Small restaurants and coffee shops will get much more use out of the advanced features on the Eureka Atom Pro, such as its fan and blow-up hopper.
Anyone on a budget who’s looking for a grinder that can keep up with tons of drink orders or demand should find the Mazzer Major perfectly acceptable, as well.
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Tony Barlow, with over a decade of experience in the coffee industry, is the go-to technical sales expert at Majesty Coffee. He's passionate about helping businesses find the right espresso equipment for their needs.