Help dialing in brewed coffee with Aeropress - Page 2

July 30th, 2016, 8:19 pm

baldheadracing wrote:My only experience the Smart Grinder's (non-Pro) performance is the same burrs/mechanism as installed in my friend's Breville 870. On the basis of that experience, I would predict (i.e., guess) that for Aeropress, you won't experience a nice improvement until you go to:
- a Baratza Vario retrofitted with steel burrs, a.k.a. Ditting burrs, or the Baratza Forté BG (which uses the same steel burrs); or
- a Bunnzilla conversion, i.e., a Bunn bulk grinder retrofitted with Ditting 804 burrs (which should be better than Vario); or
- an EK43 or better.

The EK-43, Vario, and Forte are overkill for me at this point. Maybe in the future. How much is the Bunnzilla conversion? That's why I was thinking the Lido 2 or Hausgrind might be a good middle ground.

baldheadracing wrote:What you can do is get rid of the boulders in the ground coffee - it doesn't have to be fancy, a flour sieve will do - and then spread the grounds on paper towel (like Bounty), and then lift the towel - the paper towel will capture fines. (You can also get sieves, like the we're-all-waiting-for-it Rafino ...)

Ha, I already feel like I obsess over coffee as it is. Gotta draw the line somewhere. I would probably upgrade my grinder before diving into this.

July 30th, 2016, 10:26 pm

givemeespressofirst wrote:The EK-43, Vario, and Forte are overkill for me at this point. Maybe in the future. How much is the Bunnzilla conversion? That's why I was thinking the Lido 2 or Hausgrind might be a good middle ground.

I have the Lido2, albeit the first generation with Italmill burrs, and a Hausgrind, again, 1st gen with the TreSpade burrs. I can't speak to the performance on the burrs currently used in those grinders, but I would guess that you won't taste much of an improvement in an Aeropress.

Bunnzilla conversion depends on how much you pay for the used Bunn. Mill City has the Ditting 804 burrs with conversion ring for $430.

#13: Post by **NBA** » August 8th, 2016, 12:11 pm

givemeespressofirst wrote:That explains it. I tried your ratio and found it too bitter. 2 oz would bring the ratio up to where I brew. But 88-89C seems to be the sweet spot, agreed.

Interesting that no one suggested a better grinder. I take it the Breville Smart Grinder (not Pro) is decent to get good results? (This is the one I have.) It's not the rate limiting step for me?

I take a sip prior to adding milk to judge the flavor. I shoot for no bitterness regardless of ratio, just strong balanced flavor.

I pick one variable to change at a time. Since I have a cheap hand grinder, I keep that the same as the smallest adjustment is large.
If you get bitterness, I would suggest decreasing brew time or temp but not both at the same time.

Edited to add: another tip about bitterness - stop pressing as soon as you hear air start to go through the puck.

August 21st, 2016, 5:30 pm

baldheadracing wrote:There are two separate issues:
- is the Smart Grinder limiting;
- is your Smart Grinder limiting.

The issues are separate as the Smart Grinder is a consumer-level product so there may be quite a bit of variation within the model. I don't know the condition of your Smart Grinder, so let's look at the first issue only.

My only experience the Smart Grinder's (non-Pro) performance is the same burrs/mechanism as installed in my friend's Breville 870. On the basis of that experience, I would predict (i.e., guess) that for Aeropress, you won't experience a nice improvement until you go to:
- a Baratza Vario retrofitted with steel burrs, a.k.a. Ditting burrs, or the Baratza Forté BG (which uses the same steel burrs); or
- a Bunnzilla conversion, i.e., a Bunn bulk grinder retrofitted with Ditting 804 burrs (which should be better than Vario); or
- an EK43 or better.

No doubt a Lido would offer some improvement over a Smart Grinder, but I would suspect that it wouldn't be very big for Aeropress, so I wouldn't spend the money.

What you can do is get rid of the boulders in the ground coffee - it doesn't have to be fancy, a flour sieve will do - and then spread the grounds on paper towel (like Bounty), and then lift the towel - the paper towel will capture fines. (You can also get sieves, like the we're-all-waiting-for-it Rafino ...)

I'm getting the itch and thinking about pulling the trigger on a Bunnzilla.

Is this the correct model Bunn?

Reported to be working well. Decent price $125. What do you think? Then I'll just get the Ditting burrs. Sounds like the conversion set works pretty well.

August 21st, 2016, 7:55 pm

No. That's a Bunn Low Profile Grinder (LPG). You want a Bunn Bulk Grinder - the ones with a big honkin' knob in the front - G1, G2, G3, G5, etc. (the number refers to the size of hopper, so a G5 is huge). See pics at https://greenbeanery.ca/collections/commercial-grinders

August 21st, 2016, 7:59 pm

Are you sure the LPG won't work? This thread seems to indicate people have used the LPG for the Bunnzilla conversion before.

August 21st, 2016, 8:29 pm

Forgive me, but I had assumed that you would be grinding for an Aeropress, not a batch brewer. The thread you linked to explains why a G-series would be preferred over an LPG for single-dosing.

August 21st, 2016, 8:57 pm

You are correct. I would be brewing for single dose or as much as a pot of coffee in my Bonavita when company is over. I didn't read the thread extremely closely (clearly, I suppose). Thanks for clarifying. That's why I asked!

Wonder how much you can snag one of the G series for used. New they're over $1K.

I know it hasn't been released yet, but how would the burrs on the Sette 270W compare to the Bunnzilla?

#19: Post by **NBA** » September 15th, 2016, 10:46 pm

A recent dark roast of Colombian coffee beans has been a challenge to dial in. My regular 88ish C and time to go get the milk on the stove has had bitter results. I progressively went down to 79 C - still bitter.

Next, I will try 79 C, stir, and immediately flip and press. If that fails to bring bitterless results, I will conclude that the beans were roasted beyond dark to burnt.

September 16th, 2016, 5:06 pm

Here's a great article with 66 different aeropress recipes from different roasters, cafes, and competitors from all over:
https://handground.com/grind/66-recipes ... ?locale=en