jammin wrote:you should try cleaning the grounds out of your grinder or changing beans with a full hopper. that should help answer your question. if you read the whole paragraph, it's self explanatory why Dick prefers single dosing.

I don't see why it's unreasonable for me to call him on the "jump through hoops" comment. He is only changing beans twice as often as me. 6oz is around 9 shots and bump and brush routines for every bean change. That is just as much work as or potentially significantly more than the alternative (though less wasteful).

I have a couple of Cimbali MAX grinders, the big commercial guy not the Jr. hybrid. Single dosing or changing the coffee often is not a viable option in these grinders. Pop-corning is very bad in conicals and the shot suffers. You need to keep 3 or 4 shots worth of coffee in the hopper to provide enough positive pressure to feed the beans into the burrs at a steady rate. The MAX uses the old DRM hybrid burr set with both conical and flat burrs. I think it gives me the best of both worlds with the easy dial in, not many adjustments but a more balanced shot.

Conical burrs tend to bring out the brighter notes and acidity in coffee where as flat burrs tend to highlight the deeper chocolate and spice notes in coffee. Some coffees can be exceedingly bright when run through a conical grinder. At the same time a deep chocolate and spice coffee may pick up some floral and fruit notes when ground on a conical. Inversely, flat burr grinders tend to bring out the deeper notes in coffee. That tends to mute the fruit/floral/acidity of a blend while accentuating the deeper notes in the blend.

I have never used a grinder that did not need the grind path brushed out and/or a short grinder power bump to purge the left over coffee out of the burr set/discharge chute. Some machines are easier or take less purging but they all need some. The only exception I can think of would be the Versalab. My espresso grinders pull singular duty grinding only for espresso. For drip or press pot I have a bulk grinder which gives much better results than the espresso grinders.

cannonfodder wrote:I have never used a grinder that did not need the grind path brushed out and/or a short grinder power bump to purge the left over coffee out of the burr set/discharge chute. Some machines are easier or take less purging but they all need some. The only exception I can think of would be the Versalab. My espresso grinders pull singular duty grinding only for espresso. For drip or press pot I have a bulk grinder which gives much better results than the espresso grinders.

My RR45 was terrible for grind retention; I used to brush the throat, then the chute, pulse, brush, pulse, brush, brush the vanes, then dose.

With my new (to me) Super Jolly, a slap on top is all it takes to blow the grinds out of the chute. Much easier to deal with.

And better grind to boot, not to mention stepless adjustment.

For my ProM (flat burrs): I use one blend at a time, taking 5-7 days to use up a 12 or 16 oz. bag. I keep about 2 days' worth of beans in the hopper at all times to avoid popcorning and to maintain accurate dosing by the built-in timer (How I Avoid Single Dosing).

I like many kinds of (natural) flavors in my blends, including chocolate, earthy flavors, but what pops out as really special to me is a cherry-like fruit flavor. But my flavor preferences had nothing to do with my grinder choice, which was based on - in no particular order (a) minimizing wasted coffee, (b) avoiding single-dose weighing and cleaning rituals and (c) size, style and proportion.

In practice, I find my grind adjustments are minimal, covering a range of 1 to 3 ticks above zero, but I didn't know that when I bought it. I have also found that lifting the machine and dumping out the occasional blend I dislike (or to make way for some special gift) is much easier than with my old Cimbali Max.

I've got a Cimbali Jr. which has 64mm flat burrs and I stay with the same blend through the whole bag, and since I'm the only one that drinks espresso in the house this is no problem. Only have to adjust the grind only as the beans get older

First, I am not a hobbyist at the moment. I post this only for the benefit of those that stumble upon this site and are more casual in the pursuit of good espresso, not those that actively engaged in the all-out, no holds barred pursuit of the ultimate cup.

I use a Mahlkonig K30 Vario (flat burrs) and I generally use the same coffee for a period of time. The K30 uses a built-in timer and it will grind my doubles in 3.9 seconds. Sometimes I will switch coffees, but this is not my norm. I keep enough for two shots in the throat of the machine. I get no popcorning and achieve consistent results. The grinder needs no adjustments as a rule, even when changing coffee. After I place the portafilter in the espresso machine and I am waiting on the extraction, I replace the shots worth of beans just expended into the throat of the grinder so it's ready for the next shot.

I spend about 10 seconds from removing the portafilter from the espresso machine to replacing it after the coffee has been ground, leveled and tamped. To me, convenience is the hallmark of the K30.

When changing coffee, I usually have less than a shots worth of old coffee in the throat, I fill with the new coffee, and I discard the "mixed" shot. I have been know to drink them and I have yet to encounter a sink shot.

joat

joatmon wrote:First, I am not a hobbyist at the moment.

You have a Lambro and a K30, and you don't identify yourself as a hobbyist? Has your gear changed, or have you stepped away from spro for a bit?

I post this only for the benefit of those that stumble upon this site and are more casual in the pursuit of good espresso, not those that actively engaged in the all-out, no holds barred pursuit of the ultimate cup.

I'm not sure of your intention, but this reads an awful lot like a straw man.

I keep enough for two shots in the throat of the machine. I get no popcorning and achieve consistent results.

Neat trick. Kinda what Marshall is doing, just on a smaller scale. You're keeping the bean column consistent - makes sense that, with a near constant load, popcorning would be nonexistent.

The grinder needs no adjustments as a rule, even when changing coffee.

Very interesting, and counter to what others are reporting. Wondering if this is attributable to the forgiveness of the Lambro, consistency in the K30 or other.

Would love to hear about your preferred flavor profile(s).

Sherman wrote:You have a Lambro and a K30, and you don't identify yourself as a hobbyist? Has your gear changed, or have you stepped away from spro for a bit?

Sherman, I still enjoy a good cup. I'm satisfied with what I get without putting a great deal of effort into it. A wife, children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, friends, church duties, homeowner duties and a job leave little extra time for espresso. I still have the Lambro and K30.

Sherman wrote:I'm not sure of your intention, but this reads an awful lot like a straw man.

If that's the worst that said about me, then I'm OK. I like to make full disclosures when something is not obvious. I recognize that my equipment and technique may not satisfy all or even most on this board. I feel it would be fine for 99.9% of the espresso drinking populace.

Sherman wrote:Neat trick. Kinda what Marshall is doing, just on a smaller scale. You're keeping the bean column consistent - makes sense that, with a near constant load, popcorning would be nonexistent.

Yes, it works well. Marshall's post inspired me to chime in.

Sherman wrote:Very interesting, and counter to what others are reporting. Wondering if this is attributable to the forgiveness of the Lambro, consistency in the K30 or other.

Would love to hear about your preferred flavor profile(s).

I believe the Lambro and K30 to be forgiving, but I must say that this is mostly a hunch helped along by reading this board. I had a Mazzer Mini paired with a MCaL and this is so much easier that I don't have the words to explain it.

I rotate among Red Line, Espresso Nuevo, Red Bird, Code Brown and Toscano. Toscano is my "go to" blend as it is available locally. I'll try a PNG or America's grown Single Origin from Counter Culture when my favorite coffee shop recommends. I use one of the above coffees 80% of the time and when I have time, I tend to keep a SO around.

I liken this to my old racing days. When a car had headers, an 800 CFM Holly carb, a little port work and a long duration cam, I was racing good. When I went to multiple carbs and an ultra high lift cam, I was faster. But I spent most of my time messing with the car replacing bent valves, looking for stronger valve springs, etc. I'm satisfied with good by putting forth minimal effort. I do feel I'm well positioned for when I want to step up. Full disclosure: I had a K10 in a shopping cart not too long ago, but came to my senses before the "submit". Submit, that's a good word for it. I'm not ready to submit to the extra demand required to go to the next level.

This is the day the Lord has made, rejoice and be glad in it,

joat