Grinding 5 different coffees on my Super Jolly with a doser is a hassle. I'd like a second grinder to use when cupping, making drip coffee etc.

- Minimum waste, grind directly into cup.
- Minimum cleaning with a brush in between coffees.
- Preferably not too expensive...
- I don't intend to use it for espresso

The Versalab is one option but quite expensive. The Ditting is another option but of course much more than I need and too expensive.

Suggestions?

This topic records people's experience with bulk grinders.

Thanks!

The Bunn G series seems like the popular option, preferably with the Ditting 804 burrs. Is the difference between the 1/2/3 just the size of the hopper? What does HD mean?

These are sizeable machines though... Any other options to consider?

There is a Japanese grinder by Fuji Royal called R220 which has good reviews. It is used generally for siphon and drip, but not espresso. It weighs about 5kg and costs about USD$350.

Here is a picture from Yahoo Japan:

http://page7.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/g93018694

Notice the burrs. It is commonly referred to as "ghost teeth" on Asian coffee web site. This kind of grinder is commonly used at the siphon competition. I believe Kalita also manufactures something similar.

chang00 wrote:There is a Japanese grinder by Fuji Royal called R220 which has good reviews. It is used generally for siphon and drip, but not espresso. It weighs about 5kg and costs about USD$350.

Here is a picture from Yahoo Japan:

http://page7.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/g93018694

Notice the burrs. It is commonly referred to as "ghost teeth" on Asian coffee web site. This kind of grinder is commonly used at the siphon competition. I believe Kalita also manufactures something similar.

That style of knob burr is used by Grindmaster and some of the grain grinders here. The home espresso grinders that have such burrs are incredibly awful; so the usual judgment has been that it creates too much dust. But I've seen particle distribution diagrams for coarse settings that show very good performance.

Yes, similar grinder made by Feima was criticized for too much dust, but somehow the Fuji and Kalita were said to be different, therefore the common usage at siphon events.

Let me see if I can obtain this grinder from Japan and perhaps send a sample to Kendall....

Kendall, are you willing to run a particle analysis?

As much as the Hario Skerton creates too much dust, I use it for cupping frequently. The grinding unit fits common canning glass, so the samples can be ground to several glasses and water poured directly. It might be psychological, but the dry fragrance from Hario actually is more intense than the grind from Versalab.

I am a bit reluctant to go for the kind of design used in those ghost grinders unless proven wrong by some serious testing. After looking at those Ditting burrs its hard to imagine they can have similar performance

So far i've looked at the Bunn, Ditting and Mahlkoning Tanzania. These are huge machines though! I was hoping to get away with something cheaper that also required less kitchen space... Other alternatives? For now I will go ahead and order the OrphanEspresso modified Kyocera, that should at least take care of my travel grinder needs.

Assumption: The burrs on a good espresso grinder does not have a single-peak particle size distribution. This is necessary to achieve the permeability and other properties desired in a high-pressure brewing method. On the other hand, when using the same grinder for drip, HariV60 etc (at coarser settings) a single peak is desireable but not achievable. Several topics on this, the most recent one I came across was this.

The graph from the Uber Grinder website shows the Vario producing about twice as much fines as a good bulk grinder. This is the only particle distribution plot I have seen using a grinder intended for espresso at a coarse setting. Are there others?

A few other questions...
Will the design of the burs reveal anything to the trained eye? (Ie Grinder A has an identical burr set to Grinder B but the "fines section" is clearly not machined in so this should work better for drip)?
Are there (decent) grinders for the consumer market that are intended for steep-type brewing methods and don't make any claims to also grind for espresso?