Why good espresso grinders not good for drip ???

#1: Post by **Cafesp** » May 9th, 2008, 12:18 am

I'm buying Rocky grinder is very good for drip coffee BUT still wonder:
Why Macap or Mazzer SJ with bigger flat burrs are not good for drip !?
Why low-end conical grinders are better than high-end conical ones in drip!?

Still don't get it !!!

Cafesp

#2: Post by **zin1953** » May 9th, 2008, 12:29 am

TTBOOK . . .

It's not that a "high-end conical" is "bad" for drip. Rather, it's that a) it's designed to grind beans for espresso, and therefore excels at that task above all others; and b) most of them are a PITA to switch back-and-forth between espresso and drip -- and therefore it's easier (if not actually better) to have two dedicated grinders.

#3: Post by HB » May 9th, 2008, 6:52 am

Cafesp wrote:Why low-end conical grinders are better than high-end conical ones in drip!?

Jim answered this question in Mazzer SJ with Duranium Burrs, Macap Conical MXKR, Cimbali Max Hybrid: Which is better for drip?

another_jim wrote:Espresso grinders are designed to produce fines, and thereby do worse for brewed coffees than grinders designed specifically to produce no or few fines like the large Ditting or Mahlkoenig grinders. I would think even a grinder designed for supermarkets, like the Bunn, which are easy to find on Ebay, and for which burr replacement is inexpensive, would do better for drip or any steeping method.

This is consistent with John's findings in the Titan Grinder Project:

From Titan Grinder Project: Particle size distributions of ground coffee

I don't drink much drip coffee, but I have compared the large burrs on commercial Bunn grinder. They have single long cutting surfaces rather than the tiered cutting surfaces of dedicated espresso grinders with flat burrs. So, why good espresso grinders not good for drip? As Jim alluded to above, because grinder manufacturers have optimized the resultant particle distribution for the expected extraction method (espresso with a combination of fine/coarse particles, drip with uniform particles).

#4: Post by **Spironski** » May 9th, 2008, 9:17 am

I can only confirm this. I was on vacation last week, and I took my French Press with me. I decided that I would grind some older espresso beans to go with that.
It was impossible to find the right level for grinding on my Major! Or I would have good taste, but fines in the coffee, or almost no fines, but a very coarse grind. In the end I chose for the latter, but I needed to put very much coffee in the pot to get a decent taste out of it.

May 11th, 2008, 3:38 pm

Along with the above inform, the following link explains about grinder burr types
Grinder burr types explained (flat, conical, DRM)
make me believe I can use my Versalab M3 for... AeroPress brew, French Press and Drip

...if I dial in COARSE
Or wait for this one coming soon
http://www.baratza.com//products.php?itemid=31

Cafesp

#6: Post by **cdrikari** » May 12th, 2008, 3:37 pm

I'm probably going to keep my Virtuoso for drip and press. It does an awesome job for both.

May 12th, 2008, 10:04 pm

I almost bought Macap MXKR for drip. Have you ever tried it for drip ? BTW, how it's doing for your espresso as well ?
Thanks for sharing,

Cafesp