End game brew grinder - Page 2

Recommendations for buyers and upgraders from the site's members.
namelessone
Posts: 453
Joined: 15 years ago

#11: Post by namelessone »

EK43 is standard in all competitions and what not. That said, I don't think grinder makes such a difference for brew, as you can adjust your recipe to suit your grinder. For example, if you have a grinder that produces too many fines, you can grind coarser and do multiple pours instead of just one.

All this talk about one grinder being more uniform than other is not correlated with any tasting as far as I know and you can hit the tasty extraction range in a pour over with any grinder, including blade grinders. If high uniformity is always better, SSP seem to contradict themselves by claiming their "low uniformity" burrs taste better for brewed coffee. I've also yet to see some comparison of their different burrs. Gagne with the self-claimed "most uniform grinder in the world" EG-1 grinder has similar EY to my brews made with a hand grinder.

You will also see in competitions and what not that people rarely extract above 18-19% as they go for balance rather than maximizing extraction.

I've had a Wilfa grinder, Feldgrind, Kinu M47 and Vario. Now also have an EK43 S with SSP Burrs, which produces a more uniform grind than the others (tested via Kruve - see my graph at http://cangencer.github.io/noncumulative.html) but I don't necessarily prefer it to Kinu M47. Probably if I could choose again, I love the workflow with the EK and the machine in general, but I wouldn't have gotten it. Workflow wise I would definitely get something that's easy to single dose with, though.

RyanJE
Posts: 1519
Joined: 9 years ago

#12: Post by RyanJE replying to namelessone »

Funny I too have the ek43s and Kinu. I really like the kinu for variety of reasons, but I dont think it really comes close to the EK in the cup. I am not sure I agree you can make adjustments to get things equal. The coffee is the upper most limiting factor, then the grinder and person doing the brewing. You can certainly use a whirly grinder on some Geisha and still drink it, but wouldnt you rather have the EK?
I drink two shots before I drink two shots, then I drink two more....

iBrew
Posts: 202
Joined: 5 years ago

#13: Post by iBrew »

I don't agree that grinders won't make much of a difference with brew/pour over. There's a big difference from the Encore or Vario with steel burrs to the ghost burrs in the Apex or with the EK43. IMO there is a very noticeable difference in taste between a flat burr to a ghost burr and you can't make that difference up by multiple pours and coarser grind size.

jkmm (original poster)
Posts: 4
Joined: 5 years ago

#14: Post by jkmm (original poster) »

I really appreciate all responses - the EK has been on my short list. I am however a bit concerned about the size (even in the shorter version). As a result I am leaning towards the grinder that no one has mentioned - the new DItting 804 Lab Sweet. It has a slightly smaller foot print than the EK (even if it is still massive.



Seems the grind distribution for the Ditting is good (if you are looking for unimodal distribution):



Also seems that most that has been using it are pretty happy with it - at least for pour over.

RyanJE
Posts: 1519
Joined: 9 years ago

#15: Post by RyanJE replying to jkmm »


Um, looks like plenty of room for an EK. just sayin! :) an EG1 with brew burrs might look nice there too.
I drink two shots before I drink two shots, then I drink two more....

namelessone
Posts: 453
Joined: 15 years ago

#16: Post by namelessone »

jkmm wrote: Seems the grind distribution for the Ditting is good (if you are looking for unimodal distribution):
image
That graph has many issues, it's easy to make any grinder look good or bad in this kind of graph by adjusting grind setting, and is also looking at espresso range. I would never buy anything based on what Socratic say since their methods in my opinion are very questionable.

lsun22
Posts: 47
Joined: 5 years ago

#17: Post by lsun22 »

If you can get your hands on a grindmaster like the 875 which uses ghost burrs. I have to say that the grind uniformity is simply amazing. But it may be a bit large or not practical for most people. But you might find one for a few hundred bucks.

tv79
Posts: 237
Joined: 7 years ago

#18: Post by tv79 »

njw wrote:also, re: ghost burrs/ fuji/ apex - this grinder has garnered some favorable remarks from several members here with very positive comparisons to the fuji -
https://h5.aliexpress.com/item/32933018712.html
Curious how the Xeoleo 520N compares to the Fuji, as I've been searching for a suitable replacement for my old Vario with steel burrs. Wouldn't mind spending more for the Fuji, but I really don't want to have to deal with the converter.

ripvanmd
Posts: 176
Joined: 9 years ago

#19: Post by ripvanmd replying to tv79 »

I believe if you order from Fengjen in Taiwan then. I converter should be needed.

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