Mahlkonig K30 Vario not grinding fine enough

Grinders are one of the keys to exceptional espresso. Discuss them here.
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jcw5002
Posts: 51
Joined: 9 years ago

#1: Post by jcw5002 »

Hey All,

I bought a new K30 Vario about 2 months ago and have pulled a few hundred shots so far. I just got into a new bean (that I roasted - Sumatra Toba PB from Sweet Marias) and I'm having a really hard time getting it dialed in. The best I can do is about 30g in 17 seconds from a 18g VST double. It's REALLY coming out fast. The shots are not terrible, but something is wrong.

I have my K30 set all the way to zero and I'm still not getting a fine enough grind to get a decent shot. I'm certain that the problem is this particular roast (roasted to the start of 2nd crack, but still looks pretty light and smells grassy). However, I feel that my grinder should be able to compensate.

Should I try to zero-adjust my K30 so that I can grind finer? Almost all of my coffee has been in the 1/2 to 1 range on the K30. This includes many bags of fresh Black Cat and Counter Culture beans. I found some instructions on how to do it, but I want to make sure that something else isn't going on.

Thanks!

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TomC
Team HB
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Joined: 13 years ago

#2: Post by TomC »

Yes, adjust it till you can choke it at 1. You'll never use the whole range for espresso anyway.
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jcw5002 (original poster)
Posts: 51
Joined: 9 years ago

#3: Post by jcw5002 (original poster) »

Thanks, Tom. I was able to adjust it by taking off the lid and moving the top burr 1 notch from where it was set (marked with a red line). With this adjustment, I hear a slight burr-on-burr grinding noise when I am in the 1/2-1 range. Now at 1-1.5 I am able to grind fine enough to pull a good shot with this coffee. :D