The Quamar comes in various versions and with different names, but inside the Quamar M80E, the Quamar M80 Touch and the Quamar M80 Touch Plus are the same. The grinders differ mainly in their controls. Burrs, particle distribution and other performance characteristics do not differ significantly. In our test we took a look at the Quamar M80 E Touch Plus. We bought it from Pro Kaffeemaschinen in Basel.
In Germany and Austria we saw the Quamar M80 Touch Plus for around 700 euros. In Switzerland the top model is available from 800 francs. The cheaper model is already available for 100 euros or 150 francs less. That's already interesting!
This grinder test is part of our test series of over 24 espresso grinders for home use. However, the Quamar M80 Touch Plus is more suitable as a good entry-level grinder for the catering industry. We work out the reasons in this test.
Weight and power - gastro power
The Quamar M80 E has much of what a commercial grinder needs. It grinds 33.6 grams in 10 seconds and is therefore one of the fast espresso grinders. Even under load, the burrs hardly heat up and remain at an average of 30.5 degrees Celsius. The consistency of the grinder does not suffer - which is often the case with fast espresso grinders. The Quamar fluctuates within a good tolerance range from shot to shot. The 63 mm burrs do a good job.
The noise level of the grinder is equally powerful. 88.8 decibels are quite a statement! However, this is again one of those noise levels that is rather pleasant. Cheaper grinders reach similar noise levels, but they sound like the final battle. The Quamar is loud, but doesn't sound cheap in the process. The burrs work powerfully and reliably.
The espresso grinder weighs in at 11 kilograms and is 56 cm high, 29 cm deep and 17.5 cm wide. If the height doesn't suit you, you can also find smaller bean hoppers for this hefty grinder. But again, this shows - this grinder really wants to make small cafés happy. Accordingly, the Quamar is also designed for up to 3.5 kilograms of coffee per day.
Retention and single dosing
At the end of the table is the Quamar M80 with its retention volume. 10.9 grams remain in the absolute retention space during normal use of the grinder. We describe this as the sum of permanent and temporary retention. This shortcoming can be smoothed out when the grinder's strengths are put to use. In a busy café, the retention is regularly emptied through grinding and doesn't matter as much. Those who only pull an espresso once a day should use the Quamar in single dosing mode.
In fact, the performance as a single dosing grinder is good. Despite the large retention volume, the grinder is almost completely emptied down to 0.2 grams when it runs for 30 seconds. The grinder is used without loading the bean hopper. Instead, the coffee beans are weighed and poured into the grinder in the desired amount. For a double espresso, for example, 18 grams of coffee beans are added. A good single dosing grinder returns the 18 grams entered. It delivers good performance here.
However, a really good single dosing grinder needs to deliver on a second level as well. What's interesting about single dosing is also the switching from coffee to coffee, from recipe to recipe. In this discipline, the Quamar M80 loses points. It's not easy to switch precisely from one grind setting to another. For example, if we pull an espresso with grind setting 8, adjust the grinder to 7.6 for an espresso and then want to go back to grind setting 8, the result dispensed is not identical to the particle distribution of the first shot.
How does the espresso taste?
The Quamar M80 Touch Plus delivered really good espresso to us. We were almost a little surprised. Let us back up briefly. We tested the grinder, tasted some espressos, which were also good. Then, however, the machine suddenly clogged at every shot immediately before the flapper.
It takes the support of a technician, replacing the flapper, to get the grinder working again. This took several days and so the test dragged on. We are unclear how the flapper defect occurred. Therefore, we do not want to give it further attention. If you also have the Quamar M80 in one model and have experienced something similar, please write it in the comments.
With a fresh start and a new flapper, we were able to set the grind setting without further ado and brew good espresso.
A look at the particle distribution shows a medium main peak and a medium fine portion. Not too many fines and no excessively wide main peak. In fact, however, the curves did vary somewhat and deviated from each other from shot to shot, as already mentioned in the single dosing section.
Differences of the Quamar M80 models
The Quamar M80 models differ mainly in operation. The Quamar M80 E, instead of the angled coffee outlet, features a centering chute. In this model, the controls with buttons are located on the lid of the centering chute.
The Quamar M80 Touch has a digital display with buttons below it. Like all other Quamar versions, two quantities are programmable. The Quamar M80 Touch Plus has a color touch display and no external buttons. The quantities can be programmed well with it, although the display seems a bit sluggish compared to super fast smartphone displays. The coffee quality of the grinders does not differ. So the question of whether the added value of the color display justifies the additional investment must be considered individually.
Conclusion Quamar M80 Touch Plus and co.
The Quamar M80 is more suitable as a grinder for commercial use than for home use. Only then can the grinder play out its strengths like speed and low temperature under load. This is also how it compensates for the weakness of the large retention space.
Meanwhile, the grinder can be had for relatively little money and is thus a real insider tip for the catering industry. In particular, going for the Quamar M80 Touch at a price starting from 529 euros (seen at Espresso Perfetto) is very attractive.
If you use the grinder at home, you can compensate for the problems of the large retention volume with single dosing. For optimal use as a single dosing grinder, the Quamar M80 is not precise enough when it comes to grind setting adjustment.
