voidroid wrote:Are we being a little too precious about clumps from a Robur-E?

Yes. Clumping is far from a problem on the Robur or Robur E. People look at clumps and think, "Bad!" I think that's largely because we associate clumps with smaller grinders that we start out with, which also happen to produce inconsistent results, which is coupled with a finickiness about pouring evenly. Of course, the relationship between those things (clumping, pour unevenness, and taste inconsistency) is not necessarily a causal one, but our minds abstract that. On the Robur E, or my Nino, I get some clumps, but they are generally not tight aggregations (I suppose), as they break up easily enough when I lightly tap the portafilter on the counter. And then I tamp, and I pour a good looking shot. Fairly often the cone isn't perfect at the beginning--both grinders distribute a little heavier in the middle, and if you don't deal with that you'll get a shot that beads in a ring before filling the center, for example.

But the cup... clumping isn't a problem there.

I classify clumps in two categories, dense and light. Light clumps are not a problem. It is more like static cling, the clumps are loose and will powder when you touch them. The dense clumps are the problem. Those come from slower grinding grinders that extrude the grounds out the chute. Those clumps are hard packed like a snowball. That throws the density of the puck off and you get channeling.

I received my Robur-E about two weeks ago. My unit has the new style burrs and so far I have run about 30lbs of coffee through it (I have another 20lbs to go - kindly donated by a local roaster ). So far I have had no problems at all with clumping but I am not yet 100% happy with the taste or the pulls in general. My recollection of the Compak K10 WBC was that it did not require nearly as much to break it in...

Br,
Teme

Teme wrote: So far I have had no problems at all with clumping but I am not yet 100% happy with the taste or the pulls in general.

Ahh... You should not have abandoned your poor K30. It cursed you!


J/K I hope you'll enjoy your Robur.

I'll do my best. I hope things get better once I get another 20lbs of coffee through the Robur.

Br,
Teme

Hi Chris,

3.5 secs for a 18 gram double. And yes, I do purge the stale coffee before use.

Br,
Teme

It has been unexpectedly difficult to get even and consistent pours (i.e. some issues with channeling). With the Compak K10 it was as easy as it could be right from the start. The Mahlkönig K30 did require more care than the conical Compak. Therefore the Robur being finicky and fairly demanding on the distribution was a bit of a surprise.

Having said this, things appear to be getting better now that I have put another 25 lbs through the Robur.

Br,
Teme

I have not pulled the burrs since things continue getting better. In fact we had a session at my place where my old K30 Vario, a Versalab M3 and an Anfim Super Caimano were also present. And the Robur-E held its ground. We also ran samples from the grind and I hope to get the particle distribution analyses in the near future...

Br,
Teme