Welcome to the world of weirdos who look at the grinder first and espresso machine second.

Steve - what burrs did you end up getting? Are they standard Le Cimbali or the like or A special version like TiN coated version (or duranium).

There is no choice (as far as I know) at this point with Frank - it is like my 98 year old mother sometimes says, "you get what you get and you don't throw a fit".

Seriously, I know they are the hybrid burr set and there are various coatings on the conical and on the flat burr components - Frank has written me these details but I don't know if I am at liberty to share - some details might be patent pending etc. I also know that some Titus grinders have different coating configurations as Frank is working to make things better and better with regards to retention and a host of other factors. If you ever talk to him you will know what I mean - his engineering explanations go well beyond my comprehension.

Titus Grinder photo showing the PF Holder inserted below the tongs.

You need to press the tongs down with moderate force (the tongs are sprung from inside the Titus' tower) and then slide the PF holder in, just above the tongs and just below the Titus funnel. When the PF holder has been inserted I make a quick visual scan to be sure the top of the PF holder is snug against the bottom of the funnel. When I was 1st learning to use the Titus a couple of times I didn't pay attention and there was a tiny gap between PF holder and Titus funnel allowing a very small amount of coffee to sift through. Now it is habit to make certain it is snug before I start the Titus' motor.

After it is done grinding I shut the motor off and press the left tong down slowly in order to slide the PF holder out. This is done slowly as the basket will be filled above the rim. Then, I level the puck very carefully with a finger, tap, tamp and pull the shot. Using an 18g VST basket I am dosing exactly 18g. I find that the basket is perfectly level after I swipe with my finger. After tapping the coffee in the puck has dropped sufficiently below the rim so that the e61 screen does not touch the puck while pulling the shot.

Steve, have you ever tried to grind into a bowl/can of some sort? Where do the grinds go if there is no PF below the lower cone to catch the grounds?

I use the OE dosing funnel with mine and it works great. I also have a coffeecatcha dosing tool which works good but not quite as good as the simple funnel from OE due to the design of my portafilter handle.

I doubt this is a very good answer but my daughter turned on the Titus and forgot to put the PF holder in - grounds went pretty much everywhere! I have not tried to grind into a bowl or other catching device yet. But, I plan to try this soon as my son has a Rancilio Silvia and I want to give him a couple of Titus ground doses to try out.

FotonDrv wrote:Steve, have you ever tried to grind into a bowl/can of some sort? Where do the grinds go if there is no PF below the lower cone to catch the grounds?

Before you bulk grind consider that if the motor is not spec'ed for continuous duty you may burn the motor winding.

I don't know what motor Frank uses but if it is the same Bodine 6034 motor it is spec'ed for a 30-40% duty cycle (so roughly 20-30 second on, 40 or so off).

Assaf,

I just emailed Frank - he said the Titus will easily grind for one hour non-stop.

Not that one would likely see the need to do that, but it is nice to know the Titus was designed/built with enough headroom to easily handle a little bulk grinding if one were so inclined.

Paul, which size of OE funnel do you use? I suppose that makes it so one doesn't have to be so ultra careful not to spill when bringing the PF holder out and away from the Titus?

arcus wrote:I use the OE dosing funnel with mine and it works great. I also have a coffeecatcha dosing tool which works good but not quite as good as the simple funnel from OE due to the design of my portafilter handle.