EK43 SSP burr explanations

Grinders are one of the keys to exceptional espresso. Discuss them here.
culturesub
Posts: 195
Joined: 6 years ago

#1: Post by culturesub »

Anyone ever figure out the difference between all the 4 SSP burr sets? The explanation doesnt make a ton of sense, especially around fines, since it has low fines as making the second most amount of fines, so I'm guessing he means it the opposite and cast burrs make the least amount?

coffeeOnTheBrain
Posts: 622
Joined: 4 years ago

#2: Post by coffeeOnTheBrain »

Not that I own any of those, but here we go:
High uniformity - light roast espresso specialist
Low fines - somewhat of a compromise between espresso and filter
Low uniformity- pure filter (as far as I know)
Cast burrs - pure filter, some say best burrs for filter ever, but those people happen to sell grinders with these burrs ;)

RobindG
Posts: 194
Joined: 5 years ago

#3: Post by RobindG replying to coffeeOnTheBrain »

In the Kafatek forum Denis wrote that the Max burrs are the low uniformity version.
Hansung and Frank Durra recommend Low fines as regular espresso burrs.

rmongiovi
Posts: 460
Joined: 17 years ago

#4: Post by rmongiovi »

I just had a little conversation with Mr. Lee about the Flat MAX burrs.

He said SSP has three different burr sets in 98mm - High, Low, and Ultra Low - but then went on to describe 4. The MAX ships with Low. This burr is designed for light espresso (or high volume espresso) and brewing coffee. For unimodal grinding at the brewing range he recommended the High version which has a more aggressive geometry than Low.

The alternatives were described as:
High - Higher uniformity
Ultra Low - Less fines
Cast - More complexity

I asked for clarification because I would have expected "higher uniformity" to equal "less fines", and vice versa. Hansung said the High version results in the distribution graph which is most high and narrow, but that there are always fines which he said are mostly due to the shape of the last flat parts of the burr.

I'm not sure that answer either of our questions, though.

coffeemmichael
Posts: 393
Joined: 9 years ago

#5: Post by coffeemmichael »

rmongiovi wrote:I'm not sure that answer either of our questions, though.
the MAX burrs do not taste like the high-uniformity set. Pre-crisis I frequented a shop that had the HU burrs in an ek with the titus carrier. Had spro multiple times before finding out what the internals were, have a strong mental image of the cup profile

Making an equivalency here based on my ek burrs tasting & extracting the same in both max and ek

culturesub (original poster)
Posts: 195
Joined: 6 years ago

#6: Post by culturesub (original poster) replying to coffeemmichael »

This is true. The MAX burrs according to the KafaTek forum are the low uniformity burrs, not HU.

shotwell
Posts: 250
Joined: 5 years ago

#7: Post by shotwell »

coffeemmichael wrote:the MAX burrs do not taste like the high-uniformity set. Pre-crisis I frequented a shop that had the HU burrs in an ek with the titus carrier. Had spro multiple times before finding out what the internals were, have a strong mental image of the cup profile

Making an equivalency here based on my ek burrs tasting & extracting the same in both max and ek
I'd assume you're one of the few people that have had coffee from a well sorted set of three different EK/max burrs. Can you give a brief description of the taste differences for espresso and/or filter with each set? I'm not sure what methods you've used for each, but I'm interested in knowing whether it is worth exploring a swap down the road.

RobindG
Posts: 194
Joined: 5 years ago

#8: Post by RobindG replying to shotwell »

As Hansung says, it depends on
# what coffee you use, SO's or blends,
# do you use it for espresso and / or filter
# do you use the grinder at home or I. A high volume bar

For example: If you like dark roast blends, you don't need to consider hu burrs.

coffeemmichael
Posts: 393
Joined: 9 years ago

#9: Post by coffeemmichael »

shotwell wrote:Can you give a brief description of the taste differences for espresso and/or filter with each set?
'Spro:
H.U.@ 1:2 & 1:2.5
- ultra clean, soft, *borderline* perception of "weak"- a testament to how clean and even the particle mix must be

MAX @ 1:2, 1:2.5 & 1:3
- more clean than normal espresso burrs, slight blending of flavors. High perceived strength

Mk pre-revision filter burrs- 1:3
- clean, standout flavor clarity, high perceived strength

MK current burrs- 1:2, 1:2.5, 1:3, 1:4+
- clean, high strength, slight flavor blending like MAX
- hardest set to control for given number of setups tasted from


Filter:
- Max tastes like an espresso burr- flavor blending in a way the others don't. This is the only definite claim I can make, differences between the others minimal and harder to control for

malling
Posts: 2897
Joined: 13 years ago

#10: Post by malling »

coffeemmichael wrote:the MAX burrs do not taste like the high-uniformity set. Pre-crisis I frequented a shop that had the HU burrs in an ek with the titus carrier. Had spro multiple times before finding out what the internals were, have a strong mental image of the cup profile

Making an equivalency here based on my ek burrs tasting & extracting the same in both max and ek
Did you use the same water, the same machine, did you use the same extraction, comparable grind setting and brew time, same bean where you blind cupping. If not then the point isn't really that reliable.

I happen to have more than one pair of EK burrs, I have cupped and brewed it multiple times and there is hardly any noticeable difference if you use the same middle fraction and keep everything else the same. Often when people talk about differences between EK burrs they are really comparing apples and oranges and have not made sure to use comparable distribution. For example if you use 7.5 (old dial) with both a cast burr and a SSP machined burr your in fact not making a very good comparison. On the SSP machined burrs you typically have to go one whole notch coarser on the dial old dial and 1,5 on the EK43s dial as the overall grind setting spectrum is smaller with the machined burrs.

I have found this to be true on every single EK I have laid my hands on, if these are aligned and zeroed the exact same way and to the same degree.

The benefit of each if these burrs is when going to the extreme, for example if you want to grind very fine and unimodal for brewed, if brewing espresso or a particular type of it. Any of these burrs make very, very similar brewed coffee if you use a comparable middle fraction. Even a low fine nor cast burr set is going to drastically change things in the same environment and grinder a bean will always produce a certain amount of fines when it brakes/shatters.

If you use it for spro there is many good reasons to get another burr set, if not the point is mute as the difference in brewed is so small that the investment don't really pay off, none of the SSP are fundamental gonna change how an EK works they might change the particle curve a bit at the extreme ends, but your mostly not going to brew with those settings unless you use it for spro.

Post Reply