Burrs for pleasant espresso sweetness?
Workflow-wise I'm very satisfied with my Sette 270Wi. However, I'm curious if I could upgrade taste-wise.
I'm only considering grinders that can grind by weight. My attention is currently on the ZF64W, a grind-by-weight DF64 variant. It can be ordered with a choice of burrs: Italmill titanium-coated, SSP High Uniformity (HU), SSP Multipurpose (MP), SSP Cast Sweet Lab Silver Knight, or SSP Cast Sweet Lab Red Speed.
I'm open to advice on both burrs and grinders. (For example, the Lucca Atom seems incredible, but besides its price tag, I can't seem to have it shipped to Europe.)
I almost exclusively use medium-light to medium roasts. Favorites tend to be single origins from Brazil or Ethiopia.
I'd like to get as much sweetness as possible in my espressos and flat whites. I'm not entirely sure whether I prefer clarity vs. intensity/body, for lack of experience with different grinders. With the Sette, at least, I find my results rather muddled and aggressive. I'd love something... friendlier.
My research so far has me leaning towards the Sweet Lab or the Italmill titanium, based on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_lPebBqVd4 and bits and pieces read elsewhere, but it's hard to get a reliable idea of what to expect.
Should I go with the ZF64W? If so, what burrs would you recommend?
I'm only considering grinders that can grind by weight. My attention is currently on the ZF64W, a grind-by-weight DF64 variant. It can be ordered with a choice of burrs: Italmill titanium-coated, SSP High Uniformity (HU), SSP Multipurpose (MP), SSP Cast Sweet Lab Silver Knight, or SSP Cast Sweet Lab Red Speed.
I'm open to advice on both burrs and grinders. (For example, the Lucca Atom seems incredible, but besides its price tag, I can't seem to have it shipped to Europe.)
I almost exclusively use medium-light to medium roasts. Favorites tend to be single origins from Brazil or Ethiopia.
I'd like to get as much sweetness as possible in my espressos and flat whites. I'm not entirely sure whether I prefer clarity vs. intensity/body, for lack of experience with different grinders. With the Sette, at least, I find my results rather muddled and aggressive. I'd love something... friendlier.
My research so far has me leaning towards the Sweet Lab or the Italmill titanium, based on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_lPebBqVd4 and bits and pieces read elsewhere, but it's hard to get a reliable idea of what to expect.
Should I go with the ZF64W? If so, what burrs would you recommend?
- Jeff
- Team HB
I don't have a lot of confidence in the past crop of inexpensive Asian grinders. I'm not sure the more recent ones are any better.
The Italmill burrs are pretty ordinary, perhaps no better than your current grinder.
I'd look at the Atom 75. Its burrs are said to be very similar to the Mythos burrs, known to be a solid choice for classic espresso.
To get into something like Cast v2 burrs, I'm not aware of a grind-by-weight option that I would trust to be aligned and stay aligned.
If others have suggestions, please let us know
The Italmill burrs are pretty ordinary, perhaps no better than your current grinder.
I'd look at the Atom 75. Its burrs are said to be very similar to the Mythos burrs, known to be a solid choice for classic espresso.
To get into something like Cast v2 burrs, I'm not aware of a grind-by-weight option that I would trust to be aligned and stay aligned.
If others have suggestions, please let us know
The Atom 75 seems great. But I can't find anything to indicate that it can grind by weight. I also read that it has around 2 grams of retention. It might not facilitate the easy workflow that I'm looking for.
The Acaia Orbit with Lunar scale might be an interesting option once it becomes available internationally.
There several that have GBW grinders
Compak; E6DBW & E8DBW/F8DBW
Mahlkonig: E65s & E80s
Fiorenzato; F64 Evo XGI pro & F80 Evo GXI pro
VA; Mythos II with gravimetric
Eureka; Mignon Libra
Baratza Vario/Forte also came in a GBW solution but it was not really all that much better the timer and noticeably slower.
Then Acaia Orbit can be purchased with that if you get Acaia scale and additional hopper
I would steer away from cheap GBW solutions as accuracy is vital here, too cheap and you might as well get a time based one.
If I was so up into this and money not an obstacle I would either get the Mahlkonig or the Acaia as Mahlkönig actually work fairly well and was probably one of the first to actually achieve that, acaia starting out as a scale brand have the technology to make it work.
Also Mahlkonig burr are top notch if your into the profile. The 65 works well with medium and darker and E80 with lighter. On top SSP make burrs for it.
I
Compak; E6DBW & E8DBW/F8DBW
Mahlkonig: E65s & E80s
Fiorenzato; F64 Evo XGI pro & F80 Evo GXI pro
VA; Mythos II with gravimetric
Eureka; Mignon Libra
Baratza Vario/Forte also came in a GBW solution but it was not really all that much better the timer and noticeably slower.
Then Acaia Orbit can be purchased with that if you get Acaia scale and additional hopper
I would steer away from cheap GBW solutions as accuracy is vital here, too cheap and you might as well get a time based one.
If I was so up into this and money not an obstacle I would either get the Mahlkonig or the Acaia as Mahlkönig actually work fairly well and was probably one of the first to actually achieve that, acaia starting out as a scale brand have the technology to make it work.
Also Mahlkonig burr are top notch if your into the profile. The 65 works well with medium and darker and E80 with lighter. On top SSP make burrs for it.
I