Bigger burrs fact or myth? (in the cup) - Page 3

Grinders are one of the keys to exceptional espresso. Discuss them here.
CwD
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#21: Post by CwD »

bachampion wrote:Don't believe me, just taste a coffee from an EK and compare it to a Mini.

Cheers
Ben
I don't think the Mini is a good burr to compare if we're looking for burrs of similar design quality with size as the difference. It, like everything Mazzer makes, is intentionally poorly designed to cater to weird obsessions in Italian coffee culture (e.g. crema laden shots). I'd rather see comparisons of the burrs SSP makes for the Mini, Ditting, EK, and so on. Where the designer has the same goal for each burr, but just has a different canvas to accomplish that on.

bachampion
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#22: Post by bachampion replying to CwD »

Completly agree, but that is also what I'm saying. There is much more to it then size but bigger has its advantages.

@lhs1859 (SSP burr designer) any thoughts?
Decent Espresso

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weebit_nutty
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#23: Post by weebit_nutty »

myth.

Grinding coffee has a ton of variables but in each and every case, it is up to you to fine tune your output for the best possible outcome. Some takes more work than others. As to the size of the burrs, they have made little difference in my experience.

While I have not tested my grinders in a controlled environment (and I doubt most people have gone to the insane lengths to do this correctly), I can say for certain burr size alone is not a limitation in grind quality.
You're not always right, but when you're right, you're right, right?

malling
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#24: Post by malling »

I agree with Bachampions first post, that goes more in dept than i bothered to in my first.

And I also agree that if you have two equally well made, equally aligned burrs the bigger one would always win of the reasons mentioned.

But how often is that really the case, too often we compare burrset that are worlds apart, like when we compare quality ditting/mahlkonig or SSP burrs with cheep low quality burrs from Italmil, Compak or Mazzer.

It is no wonder people these days don't think it matters, as allot have experience with high quality burrset and that these has shown to be able to outperform bigger ones, but what people rarely realise is that the bigger burrs usually are of a very low quality, that suits the Italian preference for shot characteristics and "quality".

Secondly It doesn't make much sence to compare a mini with an ek, not even with SSP burrs, one is still an espresso grinder the other is not. The EK is still mostly a brewgrinder that happens to be able to grind for espresso.

npf
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#25: Post by npf »

slipchuck wrote:Does bigger burrs mean better in the cup? I assumed it was until I read how small the Baratza Sette burrs were compared to other grinders that are supposed to be the same in the cup result as the sette

Thoughts?

Thanks

Randy
Hi Randy, for what my limited opinion is worth, I've owned a Rocky, an MD40, currently use an RR45 as well as a Super Jolly.

I was not able to tell the difference between the four in a blind taste test. I like the speed, grind fluffiness, and overall looks that my two larger grinders provide, but that's where the discernible difference ends for me.

I should point out that this is under a home use setting, not commercial, where 100's of doses per hour and its inherent heat may alter taste characteristics.

Regards,

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