Grinder recommendation for thickest body espresso

#1: Post by **Nv333** » March 21st, 2023, 9:01 am

Hey everyone I keep reading how conical Burt grinders give espresso more body than flat burr grinders and wanted to see if it's a significant difference with anyone with experience. I see so much conflicting things but the most I've seen is that conical does give espresso better body but not sure if it's a significant difference enough to invest in a new grinder for it

I have a eureka specialita that I'm happy with but I'm always on the search for the thickest body chocolatey espresso I can make. I don't care for fruity or any of those flavors I am looking for heaviest body I can get with chocolatey caramel notes. I also roast my own beans so the quality and freshness is there so I'm just wondering if it's worth getting any conical grinder to further improve on the body and texture or if it's just a waste of money and if it is a suggestion on a mid level conical to try this out with. Thanks

#2: Post by **baldheadracing** » March 21st, 2023, 9:56 am

I'd suggest a grinder with 68mm or larger conical burrs.

It isn't that conical burrs are better in and of themselves; it is just that all current large conical burrs were designed for use in very busy Italian espresso bars. (Hand grinder conical burrs are different.)

March 21st, 2023, 9:58 am

Do you think they would make a significant enough difference in body to be worth the investment? Thank you for the reply

March 21st, 2023, 11:13 am

That's hard for me to say as "worth the investment" is a value judgement. What is $100 to one person is $500 to another, and $1000 to another.

There are also features in a grinder beyond just the burrs. A Pharos is $350; an HG-1 Prime is $985; and a Key is $2000. I doubt that most folks would be able to distinguish between the three in a blind tasting.

Read these for the burrs, not the grinder models:
Titan Grinder Project: Can it Beat the Mazzer Robur?
Titan Grinder Project

March 21st, 2023, 11:16 am

Ok thank you for the reply maybe I'll keep my eye out for a used one

#6: Post by **CaptPat** » March 21st, 2023, 12:56 pm

I recently moved from an Atom 75 to an MC5 (large conical) and there is definitely a difference. The MC5 produces a shot with more body and a bit more chocolate (using the same beans in both).

March 21st, 2023, 1:22 pm

Thanks for the reply. Now I will go down the rabbit hole of research and shopping for used ones and deals

#8: Post by **erik82** » March 21st, 2023, 1:55 pm

You need to keep a couple if things in mind.

First of all it's much more dependent on the beans then on the grinder. Even with a conical grinder very light roasts won't have a lot of body whereas dark roasts will have a lot of body even with unimodal flat burrs.

Second point is that when using a darker roast a large conical will give more body compared to more unimodal flat burrs but there are flat burrs that give a similar body a big conical burrs as they're less unimodal. But as a rule of thumb most big conical burrs will give more body.

Third point is there's a lot to be gained compared to you currenct Eureka grinder. If you like medium to dark roasts you're better off with a big conical as they fit your preference more and they give a much more consistent grind giving you better espresso. So lookng at your question there's even more to be gained when switching to a big conical.

Downside is that conical doser and GOD grinders have a lot of retention so I'll advice you to look at a singledose version. Good things if there's a lot of SD grinders with big conical burrs. The benchmark which can't be beaten for the money is the Niche Zero.

#9: Post by **jgood** » March 21st, 2023, 2:28 pm

I'd buy a Niche and then sell whichever grinder you end up not favoring. A lot of grinder for the money and IMHO single dose is so much better for home use (2 to 8 shots a day).

March 21st, 2023, 3:50 pm

Thanks for all that. Pretty much confirms for me the direction I need to go then. I'm a medium dark dark roast guy I never do light