Breville said this 870 has the improved the grinder compared to 860 in consistency and fineness unfortunately it still fall short; in my case. the grinder setting is set to 1 yet it flows like tap and never be able to get the 20-30 seconds extraction time, the consistency is there. i've seen other posts from other forum that they were able to achieve this but not what i have. lemon? not sure. let's go to the solution!

method 1 (easy, may void your warranty as it requires opening the internals) - adjust the gears
http://coffeesnobs.com.au/brewing-equip ... ittle.html

method 2 (easy, no need to open the internals) - replacing the washer/shim or whatever you call it. i will just explain briefly and pictures. the manual says how to do it anyway except the modding part.

step 1 - remove everything until you see this


step 2 - remove the washer/shim leave the felt washer there


step 3 - before anything else look for something like this. sorry i forgot to measure. the packaging says its "GI flat washer 3/8 10". 10 probably the number of pieces. if you can get stainless steel better. the thickness is about twice plus a little more i think. btw, this doesn't hit the top burr even at grinder setting 1.


step 4 - replace the stock washer/shim and this will cover also the felt washer


step 5 - put everything back. might as well clean the grinder. test it!

Grinder setting 1-3 at 6:00 amount chokes the machine. the beans i used are old. Your output may vary. i start at 5 to restrict the flow and be able to achieve 20-30 seconds extraction.

i hope this helps owners looking at this option due to budget as well as current owners who finds the grind still not fine.

Thank you for this useful instructions. I always grind at the finest setting and need to overdose to get the right flow. I wish I had known this earlier. Now I want to get rid of my 870XL.