Hi!

Who has tried both pourover AND long EK-style espresso with the SSP Cast burrs?

Background:

I like the filter coffees from my stock Mahlkönig burrs in my EK43S with Titus carrier. I have pushed some light roast Tim Wendelboe pourovers to about 25% without getting much bitterness, just getting a clean nice cup. In fact sometimes if I don't push the extraction a lot the coffee is lacking a bit, but my water is soft and adding some buffer helped a bit. But I really enjoy the clean flavors presenting the differens beans clearly.

For espresso however I can't grind quite fine enough, it's giving me clean EKspro at 1:3, but I run into beans I know I would need to grind finer to get the drink I'm after. Didn't quite like blooming but will try some more (use a Bianca). Have used the burrs almost a year since new, and started the journey running many kilos of beans through them.

Borrowing a set of SSP Low Fines now and I can grind fine enough for espresso, but now it taste more like traditional grinders and espressos. More muddy and bitter, generic. I get high extractions, but then I want to reduce the extraction by grinding coarser or cutting it shorter because of that dirty bitter. Ends up being a little bit different kind of espresso.

This generic bitterness is tainting both filter brews and espresso and I need to be careful. Pourover has to run very fast to avoid it, and cup needed to chill a lot more than I usually do to sense less of it. It's fine but less interesting to drink. It's the taste I was glad to get rid of when I got the EK. This all compared with filtered VST measurments so it's not like I'm extracting at different levels. But I believe I extract different things with the different burrs, maybe more fines in the equation with SSP?

I know what you are thinking, and I will have the chance to try a set of High Uniformity burrs in a few days. I'm looking forward to it, as it's supposed to be the best for light roast SO EK-style spros. But it's also supposed to be less optimal for filter brews.

After reading about the new SSP Cast burrs I know I would like to try them. I don't have anyone to loan from. They are not made exactly like the old style coffee burrs, SSP have written that they changed the angle of the cuts making it a little more unimodal plus make espresso a bit more available with it. Titus however wrote on facebook that they are «great for filter but don't try making espresso with them». I don't know if he does fast flow longer EK style spro though. I would love to try it for EK-spro and filter.

Basically: If my stock burrs could do only a little bit better but maintaining what I like about them I would be happy. I don't want to drastically change the taste of my coffee, and I would like to use one grinder for both (even though I have a Wilfa Uniform for vacation use).

If your EK43s doesn't grind fine enough, but moving side is fine and stationary also (which is in 96% of all the case) then the burrs are the last error source.

Very unlikely that the SSP cast will grind fine enough for spro.
Filter is just great with them.

The "high uniformity" SSP work great for spro but terrible for filter.

Hi and Thanks.

With your dial holder/tool I have measured the chamber to be perfect, I have your custom carrier so I hope that's close to perfect, I measured the burr I use on the static side to be even on the three parts between screw holes, only a tiny difference around every screwhole, so the only thing I haven't really measured is the other burr. I can mount that on the static side and measure that too. I did lay the burrs facing eachother and inspected if there were any signs of bending, but they touch each other all the way around when rotated against each other as far as I could see.

So unless it's an error with the last burr, if it's tilted or something it would be the bigger opening in the outer edge of the burrs holding me back for spro?

After getting the second SSP set to try they were both exactly the same, SSP confirmed they are both High Uniformity, so it wasn't Low Fines.

That matches my experiences as I could pull high extractions with them, even Wendelboe beans for filter, as his espresso beans now tasted a bit bitter and more 'classic' with these. Intense stuff, think I would do even longer than 1:3 with those. And the filter coffee side of the H. U. wasn't exactly amazing, it's OK, better than a lot of other coffe I've had, but a bitter/dirty taint to it, not as clean and sweet as original cast.

So I would still like impressions from those who has tried EK-spresso with the SSP Cast burrs compared to the Mahlkönig new Coffee burrs. That's fast long high clean extractions with slim body, not classic 1:2 9 bar which doesn't work well.

And also how they compare for filter compared to the originals. They seem similar-ish both being cast with shallower cut than pre 2015, but of course there shoul be a some differences as well.

Just need to find someone in Norway that actually has the SSP low fines burrs then?

That would be interesting, will you just buy the whole SSP lineup?