I searched this, but got back a lot of AI slop, so like to hear what people’s experience is.

I was considering upgrading to reduce the morning noise for the household, and learned that big burrs are faster and can be quieter. Maybe that’s true?

Going down the rabbit hole, it seems like the burrs can also affect the taste (clarity, body, etc.) in wildly different directions, not necessarily one size fits all.

Is there anyone with more than one grinder over time that has noticed one way or the other? I use a Niche now, and had a Commandante 40. I just drink espresso, but what do I know? In this case, nothing!

  • tankplanker@lemmy.world
    1·
    19 hours ago

    At home I currently used a DF83 with the SSP HU Burrs for espresso, a Timemore 78 for pour over. For travel I have a 1Zpresso J-Ultra for espresso and a ZP6 for pour over. In the past I have owned a Niche Zero, Eureka Mignon Brew Pro, Quamar M80 E.

    Burr size ignoring the changes it makes to burr geometry has little baring on what you get out of the cup, espresso or pour over. The burrs themselves? Potentially massive differences, but their are caveats.

    Water, then beans are the two most important ingredients to your coffee. Sure, a great grinder will get more out of bad beans than a bad grinder, but it cannot cover up that they were bad beans to begin with, they cant invent flavor for you, only reveal it. And no amount of great beans and grinder will fix nasty tasting water.

    Also if you only really drink dark roast and not medium to light roast, coupled with a preference for an espresso with a ton of body, then ultra low fine production grinder/burr sets aren’t going to be giving you what you want and will make your espresso feel too much like thin tea.

    Having said all that, the particle distribution of a grinders output is something thats been measured many times. Its quantifiable that a better quality grinder, something with a proper pre breaker like a Zernos auger, and just all round high quality will produce a lower distribution of grind sizes. It is going to provide a more consistent cup of espresso than my DF83, but then its £2.5k for the same setup, when I swapped my Niche for the DF83 and the DF83 was light years better than the Niche for clarity.