Testing grinders - which coffee beans?

Grinders are one of the keys to exceptional espresso. Discuss them here.
CathyWeeks
Posts: 321
Joined: 8 years ago

#1: Post by CathyWeeks »

So, as soon as my Rafino sieving system arrives, I'm planning to test the Handground against a Lido 2, using a Porlex as a base to compare against. I'll use the sieve to both set the grinders to the same grind size, and also to measure the amount of fines that come out of the grind. (I have an electronic scale that measures to the tenth of a gram)

But... what beans do I use?

I mostly order from small roasters, but also regularly buy from bigger roasters like Intelligentsia and Stumptown. The thing is - those beans are expensive, and I'm rarely comfortable grinding beans only to sacrifice them, which is what I'll have to do when grinding for brew types I don't use.

So, I'm inclined to buy the cheapest beans I can from the grocery store bulk areas. But how differently will they handle from fresh beans? And, I brew exclusively from light and medium roasts (well, light roasts, really, with only the occasional medium). I know that the darker the roast, the easier it is to grind the bean. My inclination is to buy cheap (and probably stale) light roasts, because that's what I use most. But I thought maybe using a medium roast might be more indicative of how the grinder performs on average across the spectrum of roasts.