Lol... ok occasionally I'll pour 15.6g in the basket.

Well based on a previous post in the this thread I thought I'd try adding 4-5 days worth of beans to the hopper. I figured if it works for others and it makes things simpler then great. Unfortunately I noticed a measurable difference even after the first night. Faster blonding. Reducing the grind slowed things down but blonding was still happening well before an ounce had come out with a 15.5g dose. I'm sticking with my vacuum pump container. I waited another day just in case. Even worse the next day. However, the beans I put in the hopper came out of the freezer so I suspect previously frozen beans may degrade faster.

Do keep in mind that, when using a semi loaded hopper, a purge is required after an idle period. Even if you brush the chute after grinding, there is still ground coffee in the chamber. Only way to get around that is to waste some coffee before making your shots. How much you need to purge is dependent on the grinder, and also your tastebuds, ie: how much staleness you can deal with or taste.

nixter wrote:Well based on a previous post in the this thread I thought I'd try adding 4-5 days worth of beans to the hopper. I figured if it works for others and it makes things simpler then great. Unfortunately I noticed a measurable difference even after the first night. Faster blonding. Reducing the grind slowed things down but blonding was still happening well before an ounce had come out with a 15.5g dose. I'm sticking with my vacuum pump container. I waited another day just in case. Even worse the next day. However, the beans I put in the hopper came out of the freezer so I suspect previously frozen beans may degrade faster.

You shouldn't be putting frozen beans directly to grind. You need to allow them to come up to room temperature. You were experiencing problems because the grinder was essentially not working as it should with beans in a different state.

I've never experienced ill effects with previously frozen beans if they've been brought up to room temperature so I don't believe that's your problem. You have an issue outside of previously frozen beans... freshness?

Spitz.me wrote:You shouldn't be putting frozen beans directly to grind.

I didn't. They came out of the freezer but I let them thaw. It's not freshness either. Perhaps there's no difference in how fast beans degrade if they've been frozen. In which case I'm just more sensitive to the day to day degradation and find keeping any more than a day's worth in the hopper to be too much.

I always purge as well.

I didn't like keeping beans in the hopper because of the few cracked beans that would sit and would feel the need to purge a little from session to session. I also will often have a couple choices of beans. Then I built a tube with a ball on a string hopper and would add single to several doses. This would allow me to brush and vacuum everything clean after each session. I've now just about completely converted to a Dienes hand mill. All things considered I find it fast and easy enough to grind and much faster to keep clean. The Dienes seems to have a few less fines than the Major but I think just enough and a more forgiving grind for the Cremina lever. The flow seems better from beginning to end than it did with the Major.