mteahan wrote:It would be interesting to see if there is a difference and if any of that can be attributed to the cutting angle.

Sorry for delay, the last week has been hectic and this weekend did not afford much time for testing.

As you know, I had some difficultly properly seating the bottom burr because the centering ring was a teenie bit too large for the Duranium burrs. After several attempts and some "persuasion," the burrs were installed and in short order, the pours looked reasonable. It may be my imagination, but in addition to being really really fast, the taste profile seems different. A lot more chocolates, almost to the point of tasting like a tight ristretto despite my usual brew ratio.

I have focused on the Mazzer Kony / Super Jolly + Duranium burrs since my time with the Titan's is rapidly coming to a close. After dialing in both grinders this morning, I only had time for two side-by-side blind taste tests using Counter Culture's Aficionado blend. The blend seems lower in acidity, less fruity, and bigger in chocolates than I recall; I'll have to ask Peter if its flavor profile has shifted or my memory is failing (or both!). To the results:

Round 1:

Mazzer Super Jolly:
Crema appearance: 4.0
Crema persistence: 4.0
Tactile balance: 3.5
Taste balance: 4.0
Overall: 4.0 (yum!)

Mazzer Kony:
Crema appearance: 3.0
Crema persistence: 3.0
Tactile balance: 3.5
Taste balance: 3.5
Overall: 3.5

Round 2:

Mazzer Super Jolly:
Crema appearance: 4.0
Crema persistence: 4.0
Tactile balance: 3.5
Taste balance: 3.0
Overall: 3.5

Mazzer Kony:
Crema appearance: 3.0
Crema persistence: 3.0
Tactile balance: 3.0
Taste balance: 3.0
Overall: 3.0

The Super Jolly with Duranium burrs took both rounds by a hair. I cannot say whether the new burrs affected the scores. Although I borrowed Lino's Super Jolly, I've not done any blind side-by-side taste tests using it. My impressions above are from dialing in the two Super Jolly's. My preliminary thoughts on the early extractions with the Duraniums: If you're a latte lover who craves bass notes and chocolates, it may be worth checking into these space age burrs next time you change them. That said, it wasn't a blind taste test and thus my comments should be given appropriate weight (read: near zero ). I will try to squeeze in a couple more Jolly taste tests before shipping the Titans to the HB Grinder Depot, also known as Jim Schulman's apartment.

I look forward to hearing Nick's thoughts on them.

Alf, please see this post.

The Super Jolly with stock and Duranium burrs are on their way to Jim's place. Sorry Michael, because of conflicting summer vacations, I was not able to arrange a group test. The Titans have lingered too long at this stop and must be moving on...

In addition to my impressions posted above, I did notice something odd about the Duraniums - the grinder "stalled" several times on startup after sitting with the grinding chamber full for a few hours. That is, I would run a session in the early morning and then a second session the early afternoon. Turned the On switch to clear the chute and chamber of old grinds and nothing. Backing off the grind two notches then returning it while the burrs spun corrected the stalls for the current session, though it would return later. The grind setting was fine enough for a 15 gram ristretto, but still, I've never seen that happen before. Perhaps the Duranium's more aggressive cutting angle is putting more strain on the motor startup?