Well I tried to find the topic, and probably there is one, but could not find it although it surely has been discussed.

I just repaired an older Super Jolly and put in new Burrs. I put my good old standard Mocha Harrara beans and the first shots coming out of the machine are on the bitter side.

Is there a break in period for burrs, and how many grounds should you run through to get to the taste I have with the other super jolly and Macap m4d that was more chocolate/fruity.

I was afraid the "older metal" maybe played in the mixture, but it could be the newer burrs need time to break in to get the right taste.

Any "practices" to follow like running a few lbs of inferior coffee just to make the burrs more taste friendly?

Yes, they take time to break in. Try a search for burr seasoning. You will find several threads discussing it.

I looked but no convincing theory behind the posts I read,

I would imagine that the very sharp new edges wear their most at the very start and then the rest over time and this wearing has an effect on grinding and therefore taste.

I have run about 1 1/2 lbs to see if there is a difference.

Any ever establish how much you need for break in ?

misterdoggy wrote:I looked but no convincing theory behind the posts I read,

I would imagine that the very sharp new edges wear their most at the very start and then the rest over time and this wearing has an effect on grinding and therefore taste.

This is one of the more common theories on the board (slight dulling of the edges alter the way the blades cut). So, should I understand that you didn't read that theory, or that you're not convinced by your own imagination?

There's not a lot of work done on seasoning, what causes it, how bad it is from grinder to grinder, or how long it takes to go away. I don't think it's more than a few kilos, but there's no way to know right now. It's still got the rubber stamp--YMMV.

Nicholas,

I do believe that there has to be an effect. Just think of a brand new knife that cuts thru the Turkey on the first day, then how soon you have to re-sharpen to have the same effect. The "very" edges of the new burr "have" to be effected, and therefore taste.

The only thing I don't know, is "how" sharper affects taste.

Sharper = what and why

Duller = what and why

There's a point where duller isn't doing its job and has to be changed, this is obvious.

My own report for the moment is sharper = more bitterness out of some mocha harrara

I just ordered a brand new Major E in black from the factory. So I will have to season all over again.

Probably bigger the burrs more time to season.

Update:

I ran about 1 1/2 lbs of coffee thru the machine and went back a pulled a mocha harara (french way of spelling) and it was absolutely delightful, chocolate flavors fantastic.

So Seasoning is for real and recommended

After my dramas with the Robur-E, I think there are two issues at play here.

'Seasoning' being the lesser of the two, ie getting rid of the metallic taste as the burrs are coated with coffee oils etc, as a frypan would be seasoned.

The second, and more prolonged (I think anyway) is burr 'wear-in' where the manufacturing imperfections are worn down so that everything is working equally, instead of perhaps a few cutting edges working harder than others (slowing things down and creating inconsistencies). We are talking very small scale here, but it makes a big difference. My Robur-E has moved down from 8.5 secs for an updosed double to 4.75 secs after about 6 or 7 lbs of coffee.

The only explanation I can come up with for this is the latter, burr 'wear-in'.

Gyro,

Hmmm Interesting points. Certainly, when I re-built the SJ, an older model that was sitting around, and I cleaned everything spotless, but still the metal in the doser, actually everywhere did not look new or spic n span and it concerned me that my coffee would be affected by the contact with the metal surfaces

So the Burrs get coated and the metallic taste or (bitter taste) that I was getting went away after running a couple of pounds thru.

The Burrs then probably dull ever so slightly like a knife that needs a sharpen, and stays at that sharpness for quite some time.

Seems to make sense