I am the grateful owner of a new K30, stepping up from a Rocky. I did not use rice or any other break-in ritual. I just poured coffee in the hopper and started pulling shots! I instantly noticed the difference! However, I have always single-dosed for efficiency and because I like beans 4-7 days post-roast. I have only had the K30 a few days, but it seems the timed dose is affected by the quantity of beans in the hopper. As the quantity of beans is reduced, the dose changes by as much as 1.5 - 2 grams. Should I single dose in Barista mode or is there some other way to stabilize the dose?

Congrats on the new grinder. I love mine, but I have to admit that I'm not seeing the variance in dose that you are. Perhaps it settles down with a few lbs of beans run thought it.

No need to single dose. My routine is to seal my beans in mason jars and add them as needed to keep the level topped off so the beans hit the burrs at their virtual peak (5-10 days depending on the blend being enjoyed at the time). For example, I drink 5 doubles per day, more on the weekends. I keep about 2-3 days worth of beans in the hopper at a time and top off each morning with ~100 grams of beans. I haven't seen more than about .4 grams (+/- .2 grams) deviation in dose when following this routine.

Hope this helps.

Cheers!

rnshaw wrote:I am the grateful owner of a new K30, stepping up from a Rocky. I did not use rice or any other break-in ritual. I just poured coffee in the hopper and started pulling shots! I instantly noticed the difference! However, I have always single-dosed for efficiency and because I like beans 4-7 days post-roast. I have only had the K30 a few days, but it seems the timed dose is affected by the quantity of beans in the hopper. As the quantity of beans is reduced, the dose changes by as much as 1.5 - 2 grams. Should I single dose in Barista mode or is there some other way to stabilize the dose?

If the bean load is not kept above a certain level, then a higher variance in doses is unfortunately to be expected, with most on-demand grinders, some on demand grinders are handling a decreasing bean load better then others, but don't expect it to be less then a 0.5g variance.

the Mazzer grinders I have owned needed the bean load higer then the "umbrella" in the hopper to keep an acceptable variance in doses. The same with the k30, if I did not keep the bean load above a certain level then the variance quickly rose above +/- 0,2g (after the break in period), but the variance where no where near the nr. your getting

these grinders are not designed for home use, but for professional use, where the hopper is constantly being refiled with fresh coffee, we need to keep that in mind.

My k30 experience is fairly consistent with Merle's. I'm definitely not seeing 1.5 - 2g variance. I don't single dose either. I am wondering if / how much the variation will change as the burrs break in.

My dosing definitely got more consistent after about 5 pounds of coffee was put through it. Also, single origins are more consistently dosed as well.

Thanks, everyone. I think it is probably a combination of me getting used to the machine, the burrs being unseasoned, etc. The problem with a commercial machine is that I will be 100 years old when it is properly "broken in." I saw a little more consistency today. Loving the grind!

rnshaw wrote:I am the grateful owner of a new K30, stepping up from a Rocky. I did not use rice or any other break-in ritual. I just poured coffee in the hopper and started pulling shots! I instantly noticed the difference! However, I have always single-dosed for efficiency ....

Mahlkonig's burrs are made to extremely high standards. In my experience no break in was required.

As for single-dosing, I think by definition it is the least efficient way to dose, unless you mean avoiding waste. Weighing out each dose clearly adds time to the proceedings.

That being said, a well-known barista trainer I know and respect told me the K30 is an excellent machine for single dosing, and that he highly recommended it for that. Just reset the timer to "barista mode," and it will continue to grind until it is empty. He assured me it was the way to get the most consistent shots. I believe him, but I am too impatient to do it myself!

Marshall wrote:[A] well-known barista trainer ... assured me it was the way to get the most consistent shots. I believe him, but I am too impatient to do it myself!

+1, but in my case it's more laziness than impatience.

Rich

Marshall wrote:Mahlkonig's burrs are made to extremely high standards. In my experience no break in was required.

As for single-dosing, I think by definition it is the least efficient way to dose, unless you mean avoiding waste. Weighing out each dose clearly adds time to the proceedings.

That being said, a well-known barista trainer I know and respect told me the K30 is an excellent machine for single dosing, and that he highly recommended it for that. Just reset the timer to "barista mode," and it will continue to grind until it is empty. He assured me it was the way to get the most consistent shots. I believe him, but I am too impatient to do it myself!

Congrats to the OP on the purchase - no worries mate, once you 'settle in' and learn the new grinder's ways, you should be rocking super cappas in no time! When I lived in Sweden not to0 long ago, a local 'mom & pop' coffee haus was utilizing the K30 (twin version) and they loved it and swore by it! They just wouldn't share with me the coffee they used...

Marshall - silly Monday question, forgive me as I learnt a lot from your recent posts...but while I've read other comment like you, what I don't get is why the H-B community believes some grinders are not suitable for single dosing when they're clearly labeled for both single and double. Could you please elaborate and educate this newbie? I mean, all 'top end' electronic grinders do have the 'single' and 'double' settings/button, so why wouldn't they produce the associated 7g?

No_cureEspresso wrote:what I don't get is why the H-B community believes some grinders are not suitable for single dosing when they're clearly labeled for both single and double. Could you please elaborate and educate this newbie? I mean, all 'top end' electronic grinders do have the 'single' and 'double' settings/button, so why wouldn't they produce the associated 7g?

Single dosing (emphasis on "dosing") does not refer to preparing a single shot or double shot of espresso. It means weighing out exactly enough coffee for whatever dose you want and then running it all through the grinder. This requires leaving the hopper (if you haven't already put it away somewhere) empty between shots, and only filling it with the exact dose for each shot. Is this a PITA? Yes, it is, if you have a timed machine that is reasonably consistent.