Fellow Ode brew grinder review - Page 48

#471: Post by **airicmac** » November 27th, 2020, 2:48 pm

cibby wrote:How are you liking the new burrs?

When you say you calibrated to 3 past chirp do you mean that you're going past the point when it's making noise? Is that concerning? In the video I watched about calibration they said to back one off at that point. I presume the idea is to get it to grind a bit further?

Oops. I should have said 3 clicks from chirp. Similar to violin_geek123 I wanted to keep my "1" setting far from chirp to avoid damaging the burrs. I did my first 2 cup V60 (using James Hoffman technique) at a setting of 4(+1) and that was even finer than what I could get on the stock burrs. But I had a pretty steady drawdown (3 min total brew). Using the stock burrs at setting 2 I got some choking and channeling on coarser grinds. This first brew using the SSP presented a lot more sweetness and acidity. I still need to dial in and season the burrs. But all in all, I'm happy I made the switch. These SSP burrs are a touch louder but not so noticeable (and definitely still quieter than my Encore).

November 28th, 2020, 5:30 pm

I'm seeing a lot of really great feedback that suggests the Ode doesn't handle finer grinds well, but does anyone have experience brewing with a coarser grind? For reference, I brew with a Moccamaster, using 28 gram/450mL batches, notably coarser than an 18 gram V60. Lately I've been seeing more fines out of my Breville Smart Grinder as well as my Kinu M47 (espresso burrs), so I'm looking for something that can hopefully cut down on that. It should out-perform a Virtuoso in this area, right?

November 28th, 2020, 6:07 pm

I haven't had any issues with the finer grind on the Ode, it just doesn't go very fine but this hasn't been an issue for me. The Ode is on another level than the Virtuoso, Baratza has their work cut out for them as their current offerings don't match up well to the Ode. I had a Vario with their brew burrs and even that is well behind the Ode and is basically a bit cleaner cup than the Virtuoso. It's been almost a year since I've sold the Apex but I feel the Ode is very similar to the Apex, which I thought the Apex was on the same level as the EK43. The Ode has surpassed my expectations and I think it's easily the best home grinder for brewed coffee at any price point.

November 29th, 2020, 10:32 am

I'm not sure what to think anymore, reviews are all over the place. While your experience is very good, others are the complete opposite saying the grinder's basically useless..

November 29th, 2020, 11:11 am

All goes to show that the only opinion that should matter is your own, and that without the context of your own informed judgment, most of what you read can be, at most, only moderately interesting. You always have the opportunity to return something if you don't like it -- especially in the EU.

That said, like most products, its next iteration is almost certainly going to be improved, so if you're looking for a good, nicely-designed, and moderately-priced brewing grinder, the question is whether you can and wish to wait. Or not. Or purchase somebody else's product.

#476: Post by **jng0714** » November 29th, 2020, 10:10 pm

My report of a successful SSP install in my Ode. It was extremely easy to drop both burrs in. I'll try to include as many details and pictures as I can.
Disclaimer: There was nothing wrong with my Ode in it's stock form. Not grinding fine enough is the only thing. The stock burrs were an immense upgrade from my Encore + M2 burrs. I loved it as is. I suspect only marginal improvements going to the SSP burrs, but I haven't had enough time to dial in yet. I had upgrade-itis.

General:
- SSP Silver Knights. Received via FedEx in 5 (!) days. From Incheon to Canada.
- Seasoned with ~5kg of stale, junk beans from a local roaster. It's probably light roasted beans, since that's their style.
- I performed a marker test to check alignment, and placed a piece of foil in two different locations (under the stationary burr). It's not totally perfect alignment, but I'd say it's maybe 90% of the way there.
- Can't comment on taste yet, since I've just performed the upgrade. Need some time to dial in and get used to the new grind profile.
- I'm grinding now between 8-9 on the SSP, where as on the stock burrs I was grinding between 1-2, and it wasn't really fine enough.

Burr Chamber & Carrier
- Stationary burr chamber : cast
- Rotating burr carrier : has machined & cast parts

Measurements and Tolerances:
- Both burr slots have a bit of a wiggle (see videos)
- SSP burrs are ~64.1 mm. Stock burrs are almost 0.2mmm smaller at ~63.9 mm
- The inner diameter of the rotating burr holder is more than enough to hold "64 mm" burrs (see wiggle videos). Though it seems YMMV
- Extremely easy install. Dropped in with no issues on fit

Stationary Burr Wiggle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4qvZpq4Lbk
Rotating Burr Wiggle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiClWJnrLec

Grinds:
- Visually very consistent
- Compared to the Stock burrs, the grinds only look a tad bit more consistent, if I'm being honest.
- Calibrated to chirp @ 1+0
- At 3+0, the grinds are almost espresso level fine
- Pictures below are somewhere between 8-9 (I forgot the exact number)

Sound:
- Forgot to record sound when actually grinding... so only sound tests from grinding blanks
- Both burrs run at the same sound level, but different frequency (SSP is slightly higher whinier)
- The SSPs are 5-6g heavier, so maybe that's a contributing factor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QYKFSjFG1M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY0WdhwoMys

November 29th, 2020, 10:45 pm

iBrew wrote:I haven't had any issues with the finer grind on the Ode, it just doesn't go very fine but this hasn't been an issue for me. The Ode is on another level than the Virtuoso, Baratza has their work cut out for them as their current offerings don't match up well to the Ode. I had a Vario with their brew burrs and even that is well behind the Ode and is basically a bit cleaner cup than the Virtuoso. It's been almost a year since I've sold the Apex but I feel the Ode is very similar to the Apex, which I thought the Apex was on the same level as the EK43. The Ode has surpassed my expectations and I think it's easily the best home grinder for brewed coffee at any price point.

There is not a planet that the ode is the best grinder for brewed coffee at any price point.

November 29th, 2020, 10:53 pm

Home brew grinder, given the Odes size and kitchen friendliness to the quality of the grinds, it's tough to beat imo. No shop will be trading in their EK43 for an Ode, but for home use, I really don't think it's that far away from what I am able to get from an EK43.

#479: Post by **airicmac** » November 30th, 2020, 8:27 am

jng0714 wrote: - SSP Silver Knights. Received via FedEx in 5 (!) days. From Incheon to Canada.

I'm curious why you chose the Silver Knights. I think the majority of people on here that performed the upgrade went with the Red Speeds, likely cause that was what Prima stocked. I've seen comments both on these forums and elsewhere that the geometry of the SSP burrs are the primary driver for grind quality, whereas coating moreso impacts longevity.

#480: Post by **graphidz** » November 30th, 2020, 10:44 am

Most probably because of the coating hardness. Since filter beans are usually lighter roasted, hence denser. From espresso tool's website, coating is for hardness, hence longevity and shouldn't affect particle distribution.