Calling all owners of grinders with these burrs fitted...

Can you please comment on the level of crema and mouthfeel that you get in your espressos (relative to other grinders that you have owned/still own) please?

Super low on crema and mouthfeel.
See it as a rule of thumb, more uniform particle size range = less crema.

Why is that the case? Is it because fines contribute to crema? I always expected that fines would thicken the mouthfeel, but for crema the explanation seems less straightforward.

Depends more on roast level as with dark roasts even those burrs give a lot of crema and mouthfeel. But they do give less crema and mouthfeel then comparable big conicals or classic flat burrs having everything the same.

Terranova wrote:Super low on crema and mouthfeel.
See it as a rule of thumb, more uniform particle size range = less crema.

I do not think this is correct for SSP HU burrs. SSP HU burrs have a bimodal distribution despite the term "high uniformity".

SSP brew burrs are unimodal and have very little fines - little crema and non existent body/mouthfeel shots.

SSP HU burrs are classic thick body espresso burrs that will give plenty of thick crema.

At least this is how they label their 64mm burr sets. Seems unlikely that SSP switches the meaning of HU & unimodal between different burr sizes, but anything is possible. High Uniformity (HU) and unimodal are honestly awful descriptors and should be replaced with terms that mean something

TigerStripes wrote: Seems unlikely that SSP switches the meaning of HU & unimodal between different burr sizes, but anything is possible.

You'd be surprised then. 64mm SSP burrs and 98mm SSP burrs have nothing in common when it comes to naming conventions.

I have no comments about crema. IDK why you would ever want that. It's also CO2 dependent and I sometimes just scrape it off. Even latte's I'll spoon off the top layer sometimes.

For straight shots, the mouthfeel can be pretty nice if you pull shorter ratios with the 98mm HU. You don't need to be pushing 1:3 ratios with the HU and 1:2 or even 1:1.5 can be tasty since it's a fast extracting burr.

jevenator wrote:For straight shots, the mouthfeel can be pretty nice if you pull shorter ratios with the 98mm HU. You don't need to be pushing 1:3 ratios with the HU and 1:2 or even 1:1.5 can be tasty since it's a fast extracting grinder.

This.

I will say that compared to other grinders, the mouthfeel is less, but these burrs extract so much so early that you can get similar extraction as other burrs with longer ratios at a shorter ratio with mouthfeel and viscosity that rivals the longer shot of the other burrs. The downside is that your shots can get pretty small, leading you to making and enjoying several more before you realize exactly what has happened...

It's an unfortunate bit of madness, perhaps brought on by marketers. Sort of like "medium roast" coffee, which can be just about anything.

It's further confounded by the "original" and "improved" cuts of burrs in the same size and name on a popular, 64 mm grinder.