Orphan Espresso Apex Grinder - Page 59

February 12th, 2020, 4:31 pm

Not much info out there on the apex and very little reviews aside from reading this thread.

For everyone who has an Apex, how are you liking them so far? One it's finest end - what would the equivalent Lido setting be? Say a 4 or a 5? Or higher? I only brew using my aeropress (sometimes with my moccamaster but not very often) and am wondering if I'd notice a significant enough upgrade from my Lido 3.

#582: Post by **Richard** » February 12th, 2020, 5:07 pm

nameisjoey wrote:One it's [the Apex'] finest end - what would the equivalent Lido setting be? Say a 4 or a 5? . . .

Those numbers don't mean anything because every grinder will be different. In general terms, the Apex shines at grinding for brew whereas the Lido is, in reality, an espressocentric burr.

#583: Post by **SpaceTime** » February 15th, 2020, 7:34 pm

Was wondering how many grams of beans the hopper will hold? Note I know beans can be different sizes, etc, but just an average that most folks are able to put in the hopper at once?

I looked in the manual, and searched but couldn't find.... I am certain it's somewhere in these 59 pages, but thought I would ask for convenience.

#584: Post by **AMac** » February 15th, 2020, 8:46 pm

SpaceTime wrote:Was wondering how many grams of beans the hopper will hold? Note I know beans can be different sizes, etc, but just an average that most folks are able to put in the hopper at once?

I get about 65-70g depending on the bean, but I am running mine with the funnel and the spring. You might get a gram or two more with just the funnel.

February 28th, 2020, 2:36 pm

Just received mine today. Attached it to a chopping board and taped some Dycem on the bottom to avoid slipping.
Did a quick Kruve sieve with just 2 sieves to see where the grind was. For me, on a brand new unseasoned burr, +1 was French Press, -3 was Chemex, -6 was a fine V60. Grinding speed was 70g/min at coarsest, 18g/min at Chemex, only 3g/min at the finest setting (if that) although not sure why I'd want to go finer than -6. All at 120 rpm. So far put 2kg of old beans through and will do some more detailed sieving with 4 Kruve sieves after a few more kg have been put through.
Had a Chemex and a V60 and the grind looked very uniform and both delivered on taste. I normally use a Compak R120 for my pourovers and the Apex was certainly not worse which is very impressive. The R120 churns out 25g/second so can't compete with that!
This came with funnel fitted but no spring auger fitted, although OE did supply one so it could be fitted if I wanted. So thorough and as usual a pleasure to deal with.

#586: Post by **Yan** » March 2nd, 2020, 7:29 am

Any idea how to speed up grinding a relatively larger coffee beans like Kenyan AB or AA size, I have to open more coarser settings and after the beans drop to Burr Chamber and than closed down the settings to finer setting but I thing it will mixing the grind size finer and coarser...and it takes more time to back and forth until it finish..

#587: Post by **jbviau** » March 2nd, 2020, 9:19 am

Pre-smash with mortar & pestle?

Seriously, though, unless and until they modify how the beans feed into the burrs I think simple patience is called for.

As an aside, I've never met a bean large enough that it wouldn't [eventually] grind in the Apex at my chosen setting.

March 2nd, 2020, 10:41 am

Yan wrote:Any idea how to speed up grinding a relatively larger coffee beans like Kenyan AB or AA size, I have to open more coarser settings and after the beans drop to Burr Chamber and than closed down the settings to finer setting but I thing it will mixing the grind size finer and coarser...and it takes more time to back and forth until it finish..

Take out the funnel and go back to the spring auger setup? (I did test funnel and spring auger together and found the feed was too aggressive, which is why I made a mini-auger.)

If it is only an issue towards the end of the grind, or right at the end of the grind, then one can drill a hole in the translucent cover and use a Rocket Blaster to agitate the last few beans in the hopper.

ETA: I did drill a hole in the cover for a Rocket Blaster, but here's a pic that OE sent me (attached with permission) showing their hole mod. Note that OE said that the placement of the hole is important.

As an aside, in the background is the best Lido carrying bag holder ever!

#589: Post by **Richard** » March 2nd, 2020, 5:14 pm

baldheadracing wrote:. . . the feed was too aggressive, which is why I made a mini-auger.

Can you describe this mini auger?

March 2nd, 2020, 5:42 pm

Click here to link back to the post about it.

That was in September and the only update is that the safety wire eventually gets pushed against the axle. Every pound or so of coffee I lift the safety wire back up. (Safety wire is just thin stainless steel wire. If/when the safety wire breaks, then I will try something a bit thicker, like the wire used in coat hangers from dry cleaners.)