another_jim wrote:For years, I've been wondering how stable the impacted grinds inside the grind chamber are. Do they stay put? Do they exchange with the fresh coffee? What percentage of a dose is from this stuff in the chamber, and how much is fresh coffee from the hopper?

Unfortunately, the only experiment I could think of is dying the coffee in the grind chamber with green or blue food dye, seeing how much ends up in the doser, and the throwing away the grinder once done.

Sponsors welcome.

My experience with the SJ is that the grounds packed in the crevices around/under the burrs stay put. Even when I place the vacuum nozzle in the grinder throat the grounds packed around the inside edge of the lower burr hold fast unless I break them up with my coffee brush. I'm pretty confident that when I put the vac nozzle over the chute opening with the grinder running I'm getting any loose grounds that could "contaminate" the next shot.

Halogen stoves and doserless grinders? Don't make me use the Chewbacca defense!

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1974564/c ... a_defense/

First things first:

malachi wrote:Commenting as a ex professional cook... no... no they don't. No matter WHAT the heat source is.
Gas or induction. Only.

Agreed!

And now, for something completely different . . .

malachi wrote:For all their promises, it seems like we've reached the point where the vast majority of doserless grinders are more trouble than they're worth.

I read about all the insane work-arounds people have invented to deal with the negatives of doserless grinders (clumping, static) and I can't help but think that, at the end of the day, we've created something that has one positive (less messy) which requires one to practically sacrifice a white chicken while rubbing your belly in order to get good results in the cup.

I'm not sure that's true -- at least for the vast majority of the great unwashed heathens, Chris.

I know, for example, that when it comes to certain wines -- wines with which I have a great deal of experience -- I can detect far more subtle characteristics, nuances, than "the average bear." Other wines -- wines that I've never (or infrequently) worked with in my 35+ years ITB can be more problematical. This is merely a round-about way of saying that, while I will accept your professional experience (and your ability to possibly/probably detect the difference), there are times when I've not detected any distinction between a shot pulled on my equipment without WDT and a shot pulled WITH WDT. Indeed, I have all but abandoned the practice completely.

As a result, the only chickens we have here have been "pre-sacrificed" and go straight to the grill . . .

Cheers,
Jason

Oh this is a good one!

Re: grinders.

Ive got a Major, and have used it both with and without the Doser. When I first got it, I tried doserless, simply because I had to break it all down to clean it. I did the simple upside-down soda bottle mod. I took a guitar string and pulled it tight across the bottles neck, where the grinds would fall into the portafilter. This helped a little bit to stop any clumps, and it killed static OUTSIDE of the doser. Not all beans worked well with the bottle. Some would completely cover the soda bottle, others would fall right down into the PF. When there was no static, i liked its operation.

Then I tried the doser.

I much prefer it. A quick brush/switch on/brush of the throat, and its good to go. I dont even need to really 'thwack' the vanes.. just a steady motion. I use the WDT, as it pretty much guarantees a beautiful shot, but I watch the PF, and there isnt much clumps anyway. With the tape on the vanes, and a thinger over the starnut, the amount of grounds left behind is SO minimal, that I just dont care. Once a week I take a vacuum hose to the burr area/doser, as well as the rest of my bar. I much prefer the Doser.

Re:stoves

Im a professional cook..well.. I wont be starting my formal studies until June(CIA BABY!) and Im not certified, but thats what I do for a living. Been doing it now for 6 years, working in restaurants on the saute' station almost exclusively. I also do light catering, and handle parties/get-together for family & friends. I guess you could say Ive used some stoves, both commercially/residential/and for fun. In all my adventures, Ive not used a single electric/flat top stove I have liked, even in the slightest bit. And I hate the claims about it being easier to clean. They just arent. Id rather clean stainless steel over porcelain/ceramic/whatever ANY day. In theory, you would think they would have a more even heat distribution then natural gas/propane. In practice, what you get is hot spots and dead spots. Try making a delicate buerre blanc, or properly browning(Meaning an ACTUAL malliard reaction) a steak on an electric stove, and what you get is a broken mess of grease, or a stove covered in grease, and unless you wipe off that grease WHILE its hot and youve got a full stove(hahahaha) then you'll be gently cleaning for the remainder of the evening. Heres a thought. There is not ONE professional cook/chef I know of who would advocate the use of an electric stove, in ANY setting. There also is not ONE professional barista I know of who advocate the use of a steam machine, in ANY setting. (alright, its a stretch, but its relative, and valid, I think) And forget the ovens, theyre worse then the cooktop! As an aside, were moving in a few months, and Im helping design the kitchen. Aside from our lovely bar area, our stove is going to be a 36'' commercial range. 6 spider burners, and a convection oven. the burners alone pump out 46,000 BTUs. I am foaming at the mouth waiting to use that baby!

Sorry for the rant,, I just love what I do, and what others to do it right!

I have a black glass top stove, very happy with it. When we remodeled our kitchen gas wasn't an option and induction was too expensive. A friend with a white one complained of horrible staining so I called Schott, the manufacturer of almost all of the glass surfaces, induction and all, to find out what to avoid. They said to keep it clean and avoid copper or aluminum bottom pans because they can over time leave a stain that cannot be removed. Doncha know we had a full set of Calphalon hard anodized aluminum pans, ditched them for a more glass friendly material. In two years of home use (neither of us are professional cooks) the top is pristine.

As grinders go, my Versalab works just fine, thank you.

We mustn't forget that one of the reasons shops may be taking a shine to doserless is the idea that it will save them money in wasted grounds....

at my shop i use grinders with the doser. a mazzer major, a mazzer kony, a mazzer mini.

i experienced the greatest drop in wasted grinds by using a darkroom timer on the grinders. a time-o-lite on the major and a gralab 505 on the kony. the mini is the decaf grinder and i load per shot into the hopper and grind until its done. we dont get much demand for decaf so i keep the hopper empty. it is pretty much zero waste except when the variance in the timer gives too much or the over spray from the doser. every morning i re-adjust the grind and the time to get what i am looking for. i usually will weigh the dose until i get what i want and get the grind dialed in then adjust the time to give me the weight im looking for. the single origins are more consistent than the blends, but that is to be expected.

jon

another_jim wrote:I never thought of trading in all my cookware so the range would work. I call that thinking outside the doser

Worse than that. My wife just gave it away, several cabinets full of expensive stuff.