Mazzer Kony and Robur owners: What's your grind setting range?

[Randy G.]

You may remember that I asked a few months ago about seemingly sudden change in grind setting with my Kony. I am now back at a finer change, and maybe a bit finer from where I started before that happened, but this change seemed to take place slowly. The need to change grind settings to match various parameters is not at all surprising. My question is how many "notches" ("steps") do Kony owners (or even Robur owners since they have similar, albeit larger, burrs) usually experience in general when the coffee, roast, environmental, or other factors change that dictate an adjustment of grind, from the coarsest that you have used to the finest?

As a data point: What was working fairly well a week or two ago began to offer under-extracted and bitter espresso, so after a day or three of adjusting the grind, I am now at about 7 notches finer than I was previously, and about two notches finer than I was when things were working earlier on.

[HB]

Funny you should ask, I've been thinking the same thing.

Recently I have been switching between extremes, the Ponte Vecchio Lusso (spring lever) and Elektra Semiautomatica (pump without OPV). With the same coffee and same machine, I move the grind setting maybe 1/2 notch every two days as the coffee ages. With the same machine, same dosage, and the extreme settings for two coffees, the adjustment is about 4 notches, maybe 6 if you include ristrettos. The double extraction setting for the Elektra is approximately the same as the ristretto extraction setting for the Lusso (15 grams of coffee versus 12 grams). As yet another data point, I took the Lusso to Counter Culture for a comparison to their La Marzocco FB-80. Using the same Robur grinder, the setting was almost the same (the La Marzocco poured a tad too fast, but was acceptable for this comparison).

The Robur seems to demand less frequent adjustments than the Super Jolly or Mini, but the "espresso zone" of all three is in the same span of 4-6 notches.