Just out of curiosity, I e-mailed tech at WLL (who I purchased the grinder from) and asked if they have any Mazzer mini E's come in for service because of damage from using the SJ burrs in them.

I'll let you know what they say.

Jamie

jamiedolan wrote:What do you think the reason for this would be, less heat due to the faster grind?

Thanks
Jamie

Yes

jamiedolan wrote:Just out of curiosity, I e-mailed tech at WLL (who I purchased the grinder from) and asked if they have any Mazzer mini E's come in for service because of damage from using the SJ burrs in them.

I'll let you know what they say.

Jamie

Can't wait!

jamiedolan wrote:What do you think the reason for this would be, less heat due to the faster grind?

I am skeptical that heat would be responsible for any degradation in flavor. After all, at home use speeds, even the "slow" burrs will finish within 10-15 seconds of the "fast" burrs, not leaving much opportunity to heat up the grounds (on a related note, see an intriguing possibility of impact on grind setting posed by AndyS here, though again it's difficult to imagine it would be measurable at home use speeds).

If there is indeed a difference in taste, I would look for differences attributable to the extraction itself. For example, the "fast" burrs will compress the coffee less, potentially improving the evenness of the distribution. On the other hand, as I noted earlier, substituting Super Jolly burrs in a Mini E will degrade the accuracy of the metered dosing, if that sort of thing matters to you (evidently Mazzer cared because they submitted a patent for it). It's also worth noting that the Mini E already has warnings about damaging the motor due to heavy use; my guess is that the "slow" burrs put less strain on the motor and decrease heat buildup that otherwise could damage the motor / cause a fire.

Back to NelisB's comment, below is the technique some of the reviewers used during the Titan Grinder Project to do A-B testing:

• Remove the basket retainer clip from the portafilter
• Source two identical baskets
• Discreetly mark one basket under the lip
• Prepare both baskets using each method
• Ask an assistant to pick one of the baskets without your knowing which is which (or randomize them yourself by spinning a Lazy Susan)
• Pull the shot, take taste notes. Repeat for the next shot.

Of course you'd need two grinders to do this efficiently, but you get the idea. If you can correctly identify the source of each espresso four times in a row, you're done; otherwise see A note on comparison tests for how many trials are required to prove significance.

jamiedolan wrote:Just out of curiosity, I e-mailed tech at WLL (who I purchased the grinder from) and asked if they have any Mazzer mini E's come in for service because of damage from using the SJ burrs in them.

Maybe I'm paranoid, but I wouldn't e-mail my provider of warranty support for a newly purchased piece of equipment asking about the failure rates associated with actions that void the warranty.

HB wrote:Maybe I'm paranoid, but I wouldn't e-mail my provider of warranty support for a newly purchased piece of equipment asking about the failure rates associated with actions that void the warranty.

I got the Mazzer from them back in June of 08, so the 1 year warranty is long gone. I've had the same burrs in it the whole time, but really have not run that many pounds of coffee through it due to my problematic espresso machine.

HB wrote: It's also worth noting that the Mini E already has warnings about damaging the motor due to heavy use; my guess is that the "slow" burrs put less strain on the motor and decrease heat buildup that otherwise could damage the motor / cause a fire.

It is 100 watts less powerful than the SJ. I wonder if the SJ or other mazzer models carry that same warning or if they are just being extra careful with this lower powered model.

Jamie

Interesting...

How much faster does it make it? takes ~22 sec for my MiniE to grind 14 grams (single-dosed)... the timer strangely can only be set to max of 15 sec.

WLL responded and said that they have never had a Mini come in for service due to using the SJ burrs on it.

So either not many people have tried it, or it isn't causing many problems.

Jamie