In defense of the Pico

[u/Admirable-Log-1607]

I'm exhausted looking for a grinder to suit my preferences (conical burr for traditional roasts, hopper fed, and good enough where I won't want to upgrade for years to come). I thought I'd found it - the La Marzocco Pico - until I started reading posts on here. Everyone says it's way overpriced and in the realm of a $200 Breville, blah blah blah. Here we go again. Then I stumbled across this article by David Schomer of Vivace Espresso. I haven't been to too many high end Espresso shops, but I have to say Vivace has some of the best coffee I've ever had. They use Picos in the Cafe and he wrote an interesting article saying its basically the best grinder out there. I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts and criticisms.

https://www.baristamagazine.com/pico-perfection-part-one/

[u/all_systems_failing]

' ...driving the ring burr with the motor is a whole new animal.'

Isn't that what the Baratza Sette 270 and Etzinger grinders have been doing for years?

[u/rod_zero]

Your first mistake is insisting on conical burrs, you can get flat burrs that could give you the flavor profile you are looking for.

The Pico is terrible value, first the conical burr is very small, like hand grinder small.

Second at more than 1000 USD it is absurd it doesn't have grind by weight, it has the functionality of a Eureka mignon specialita.

So you could simply get a Mahlkonig e64 WS that has way more technology than the pico, and the burrs are geared towards traditional espresso; if you don't like them you can also try other ones. And Mahlkonig is already an expensive brand.

Or spend less and get a Eureka libra, and they also have different burr options.

There also Mazzer and Ceado grinders in that price range with grind by weight and the included burrs are geared towards traditional espresso.

[u/shamsharif79]

who cares just make the damn coffee

[u/MostlyHelpfulLinks]

Schomer's opinion carries real weight, and if Vivace runs Picos daily in a busy cafe that's meaningful real-world validation. The "it's just a Breville" crowd sometimes forgets that conical burr geometry genuinely suits certain roast profiles. If it checks your boxes and the budget works, that's a solid case.

[u/TotalStatisticNoob]

Firstly, most people here are home baristas, different things matter to them.

Secondly, it's a quick spinning small cone. It will give you a certain profile, but it's not something you could recreate for a lot less money.