Congratulations, you have twin turbo now in your house

Just spent an hour pulling shots with a light roasted SOE on the Flat and I am REALLY impressed! This is a Costa Rica SOE, I have been pulling this same bean on the Conical for a week so I am very familiar with it, and today from the flat I got a completely different shot profile. The Conical has been drawing out a bright green apple high note that seems to emerge slowly as the shot is sipped, very delicate and clean, floral notes in the aftertaste. The Flat seems to have more flavor and complexity right from the start, layers of lemon zest, to green apple, fading to a lingering red apple sweetness, with a rich mouth feel.The acidity is more out front from the Flat, but in a very bright and fresh sense, not harsh. A drastic shot difference from the Caffe Lusso Lionshare blend I had yesterday, two different worlds of espresso, but both come out great from the Flat Monolith.

The Conical is definitely more tidy, less grounds on the bar after a series of shots, less retention (but tiny amounts from both), and I seem to get a bit more static from the flat. But, I am happy to do a little sweeping up after the Flat in trade for the great shots. The Conical has had almost 4-5 KG of coffee through it, I did not do any seasoning on the flat, so this may explain some of the static today.

I see you have a Portaspresso system!
Not a typical comparison obviously, but I have found the Rosco hand grinder combined with the PG to produce shots that rival higher end grinders and machines in commercial settings. What have you found comparing it to your Twins? Looking forward to more of your feedback on these awesome grinders and thanks for sharing.

Yes good eye. That is the old original portaspresso that uses the long screw to force down the piston to make the shot, before the gas version. I have actually used the Rosco a lot more than the Rossa as it makes a great office and travel grinder, being that it is nearly indestructible! Back when they were my only espresso machine, I did indeed "screw" (?!?!) out some great shots.

The Conical is definitely more tidy, less grounds on the bar after a series of shots, less retention (but tiny amounts from both), and I seem to get a bit more static from the flat. But, I am happy to do a little sweeping up after the Flat in trade for the great shots. The Conical has had almost 4-5 KG of coffee through it, I did not do any seasoning on the flat, so this may explain some of the static today.

What exactly is the cause of the untidiness? Does the ground coffee spray more upon exit from the "Flat" grinder or is preparation the issue because of static?

I love your lids and handles, but would have guessed they were made from African Blackwood which has a similar contrast between the heart wood and sap wood. Also, great review; it's much appreciated!

Do you notice a difference in mouthfeel or body between the two? Pete (dumpshot) and I were comparing his flat with my K10PB and the Monolith flat had consistently thinner mouthfeel and lighter colored crema. Neither were negative differences, but it was very noticeable and apparent.

WHAAT? Where was the invite?? lol

gophish wrote:Do you notice a difference in mouthfeel or body between the two? Pete (dumpshot) and I were comparing his flat with my K10PB and the Monolith flat had consistently thinner mouthfeel and lighter colored crema. Neither were negative differences, but it was very noticeable and apparent.

Funny, I have been noticing the flat shots are more creamy from this Caffé Lusso Lionshare blend, as compared to the conical. I really suspect this could vary with bean type and roast level. Today I tested shots back to back changing from 600 RPM, then 300 RPM, alternating. Hard to be sure the differences aren't related to prep differences from basket to basket but the slower RPM shots had slower flow, and also tasted better to me.

I was shocked to find today I can slow the RPM's down to 10! It is cool to see the burrs just barely rotate at 10 RPM's

LDT wrote:What exactly is the cause of the untidiness? Does the ground coffee spray more upon exit from the "Flat" grinder or is preparation the issue because of static?

I love your lids and handles, but would have guessed they were made from African Blackwood which has a similar contrast between the heart wood and sap wood. Also, great review; it's much appreciated!

Yes, that is it, the flat burrs seem to spray the grounds a bit more outwardly. I guess this is why the flat burr version needs the tilted mount, to get the grounds moving out of the grind chamber. You can see in the pics I posted of the baskets how the flat basket is filled evenly until the grinds get above the basket edge. But the conical piles from the center up into a tall volcano, dropping the grinds straight down. This just seems to be the difference in the output from the burr types.

I have to say that still, after another session of back to back comparison shots, the flat version is giving me a slightly more interesting shots than the conical on both light SOE roasted beans and on the darker Lionshare blend. And now I'm hooked on messing with the variable RPM setting, it will be another day of caffeine OD.

Bak Ta Lo wrote:Funny, I have been noticing the flat shots are more creamy from this Caffé Lusso Lionshare blend, as compared to the conical. I really suspect this could vary with bean type and roast level. Today I tested shots back to back changing from 600 RPM, then 300 RPM, alternating. Hard to be sure the differences aren't related to prep differences from basket to basket but the slower RPM shots had slower flow, and also tasted better to me.

I was shocked to find today I can slow the RPM's down to 10! It is cool to see the burrs just barely rotate at 10 RPM's

Wait, we had the opposite effect. When we slowed down the RPMs from 600 to 300 (Heart Stereo Blend), shots flowed much faster. I think we were dialed into 18gr/36gr/30 sec at 600. It then went to something like 18gr/43gr/22 sec. Tasted great, though!

Just checking to see if you had a typo or if there is some other phenomenon going on. I think speed studies are going to be fun with these new variable speed grinders.

Pete