Same coffee, different grinders, varied tastes

#1: Post by **bongani** » June 23rd, 2014, 6:48 am

I have four grinders I use actively and get my coffee from one roaster. I even prefer one type of bean from said same roaster.

What makes the same bean taste so different when ground from various grinders? I have 58, 64, 83 and 71mm conical burr grinders. I could swear I was having four different coffees, just from the grinders and one coffee type.

#2: Post by **endlesscycles** » June 23rd, 2014, 12:16 pm

varied extraction distribution.

June 23rd, 2014, 5:12 pm

There's gotta be more to it than that. If indeed it is that, you have to explain what that means.

#4: Post by **Nate42** » June 23rd, 2014, 5:28 pm

That really is all it is though. Different grinders produce different particle distribution. Different particle distributions extract at different rates. Different flavor components extract at different rates. In the case of espresso, fines control flow rate, so dialing in the same espresso flow rate, you can end up with different overall extraction with two different grinders. Very uniform grinds require finer grind and you end up with higher overall extraction, which depending on the coffee and your personal preference is either good or bad. Too uneven a grind and you have a wide range of over and under extracted components and flavors end up "muddy". Many people feel that large conicals produce an ideal balance of uniform but not too uniform.

June 23rd, 2014, 5:33 pm

I just always thought it was b/c different burr sizes and type (conical/flat) will produce different grind "quality" and fines control? If it was just particle distribution, wouldn't that mean if you WDT for example that the coffee on the same grinders would taste the same now since it was "distributed" differently? A 58mm burr is going to grind differently vs a 71mm burr

#6: Post by **mgrayson** » June 23rd, 2014, 5:46 pm

Two different uses of the word "distribution". Here, it means how many particles there are of each size. NOT how are they distributed in the basket.

--Matt

June 23rd, 2014, 5:55 pm

ahh gotcha, I just always called that grind quality lol.

#8: Post by **boar_d_laze** » June 23rd, 2014, 6:39 pm

endlesscycles wrote:varied extraction distribution.

Perhaps there are other factors as well. By way of one example, whether the beans are crushed, cut or shattered.

William Shakespeare wrote:There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamed of in your philosophy.

Rich

June 24th, 2014, 7:29 am

Thanks for explaining distribution. I now think I may understand what may be creating the varied profiles.

I will be heading out to a mate who has a Mazzer Super Jolly and Major. I will take my Mini to just play around. Also, I will be taking the burrs out to look at the patterns. I have a suspicion they all have identical 'grinding teeth' albeit at varied sizes.

#10: Post by **Nate42** » June 24th, 2014, 10:52 am

Yes, sorry about the confusion. I was using the term "distribution" in the statistical sense, ie the the percentage of particles at a particular size.

It is also true that some grinders are more forgiving than others in terms of providing a good physical distribution into the basket, but that's not what I was talking about.

BTW, I would suspect that the meaningful difference between "cutting" and "crushing" once again comes down to particle size distribution, ie crushing is less controlled and gives wider range of particle size. This is idle speculation on my part, I make no claim to have personally verified this. Sounds reasonable though.