Hi,

i've been into coffee quite some time - and i was quite happily enjoying good espresso alongside nice drips with my Expobar Brewtus II (modded to tapped + rota-pump) and Mazzer Mestre (which is a stepped SJ predecessor, which i modded to stepless). After some time i thought of an upgrade, sold the mestre and got a 380V Mazzer Major, fresh burrs (i *think* that was 151B), and Accurato baskets (which are a cheaper, german, VST-like precision baskets). I instantly modded the Major to Doserless with a stainless funnel that looks much like the original. Since then, everything has gone downhill. I think i'll start by a list of my current problems. Currently i grind by-the-shot, so i have the hopper removed from the major and pour weighted doses in there. Also, when grinding often ~15% of the grounds "stick" to the funnel and i need to tap it slightly to help them slide down.

- I need to WDT, even on the major! Otherwise i get lots of channeling and spritzing on my bottomless...
- Even if i WDT, i get lots of bald spots, on both the Accurato (~VST) and standard baskets. (this is, i think, the main problem i see!)
- My extractions blond earlier than what i'm used from the DC Pro + large doserless Macap at the cafe i help out sometimes
- Taste is often inferior, especially complexity and balance are lacking, with a tendency to unpleasant acidity

I tried lots of things: Grinding with hopper (and timer), Grinding by the dose, Grinding to overfill, no WDT, more WDT, RDT, Overfill+Stockfleth, Upping and downing dose, Various Coffees: selfroasted and from "work", Various Temperatures, Both baskets: Accurato and standard, Using a plastic "flap" at the grinder exit to help the grounds fall evenly and not stick (they do with this).

I'm just not there. Meanwhile i even started banning the bottomless filter since i'm tired of cleaning up all the spritzes...
Since the grinder behave so strangely, i'm not sure it's faultless. I've tried to remove the burrs again, and checked for and dust or dirt beneath them to ensure alignment, other than that i cannot check alignment well, i think...

Any tips on this would be helpful! I'll also try to make a video of my routine and shot soon...


Thank and best regards,
-Dario

PS: Sorry for the bad english :/ Non-native here...

If I were you, I would change 1 variable at a time and try the stock basket first.
I heard fresh burrs may need some time for seasoning and align themselves properly.

Hi,

that's what i always try, one after another, while keeping everything else in place. It's been well over a year since i changed my setup, and i took my time to try everything. Unfortunately, the grinder is one additional variable that i cannot change back, so it's always 2 variables at best .

Upon getting the new burrs, i've ran ~20kg of "display beans" through it, then cleaned them again to get rid of the baah-coffee leftovers. After that, maybe another ~30-40kg ran through them until today...

Best and Thanks!
Dario

Maybe a prep of the video would help. When I had issues it was mostly due to a canted tamp or distribution problems.

It's also true that some coffees just blonde earlier or are roasted so light the flow looks blonde from the start. I would try a mainstay like nossa familia full cycle to see how that goes. This thing takes foreverrrrr to blonde.

Hi,

i do guess it's a tamp and distribution problem, but two things get me thinking there too:
- at the DC pro in the roaster shop, i distribute less, tamp quicker and uglier, and the shots still get better - admitted, the smaller baskets make it easier
- compared to the mazzer major of a friend - with the original doserless kit - the grounds look muuuch much fluffier, and fall straight. Mine don't.

Also, i've tried various coffees of which i had godshots elsewhere. Not only on a DC pro and mini, but also on E61 DB home machines - so that ought to be kinda similar.

Also, i've just found this thread:
Mazzer Major no longer grinding fluffy

LukeFlynn wrote:Now, not even 6 months later my grind has gone chunky (Largish blocky clumps), and no longer fluffy like it used to be.

Which sounds a LOT like what i'm seeing - just that i don't have any old burrset to try. I guess it's also hard to convince a cafe owner (said friend) to disassemble his major and lend me his burrs for a few hours to try. New burrs are expensive - and won't instantly show any improvement. So the options to verify this are rather limited...

Thanks, and Best
-Dario

NebuK wrote:Hi,

i do guess it's a tamp and distribution problem, but two things get me thinking there too:
- at the DC pro in the roaster shop, i distribute less, tamp quicker and uglier, and the shots still get better - admitted, the smaller baskets make it easier
- compared to the mazzer major of a friend - with the original doserless kit - the grounds look muuuch much fluffier, and fall straight. Mine don't.

Also, i've tried various coffees of which i had godshots elsewhere. Not only on a DC pro and mini, but also on E61 DB home machines - so that ought to be kinda similar.

Also, i've just found this thread:
Mazzer Major no longer grinding fluffy


Which sounds a LOT like what i'm seeing - just that i don't have any old burrset to try. I guess it's also hard to convince a cafe owner (said friend) to disassemble his major and lend me his burrs for a few hours to try. New burrs are expensive - and won't instantly show any improvement. So the options to verify this are rather limited...

Thanks, and Best
-Dario

Chris Coffee sells Major burrs cheap. About $50.

Hi,
I wouldn't expect the burrs themselves to be bad. Have you checked the burr alignement (color the outer flat part of the burrs with a felt pen and then screw down the grind adjustment collar till you reach soft zero. There should be an even rub-off). This is a problem I am pondering at the moment. Bought two old Mazzers. The burrs on both are not perfectly aligned. I don't yet know of what consequence this is.
I also think it possible, that you are separating grinds of different sizes (fines and coarser grinds) in your funnel, causing different resistance in the puck. Possibly even good WDT wouldn't get them evenly distributed again. But then you tried a doser. That should of solved that problem.