• Grinders

  • How long does it take to season new burrs?

I just picked up a DF83 grinder, and it’s working quite nicely. In another thread the topic of seasoning burrs in a new grinder came up.

Knowing that this is going to be grinder and burr-dependent, how long does it generally take to season a new set of burrs? I have the stock burrs, which are ItalMill stainless steel burrs. so there aren’t any fancy coatings or metal alloys here.

At this point I estimate that we’ve put about 300 g of beans through the grinder. I’m still zeroing in on the settings for my ideal espresso (although I was really close this morning!), and was wondering if changes I’m seeing are due to my adjustments or also from the burrs settling in.

    Depends on the burrs and coating.

    Plus point of a coated burr rdt😂

    In my major I always use rdt. One spray and it makes a massive difference clearing all the grinds.

    I don’t have a clump catcher fitted though.

    Decent De1pro v1.45 - Niche Duo - Niche Zero - Decent is the best machine ever made -

    DavecUK Should improve markedly after 3Kg, then slower more gradual improvement for the next 7.

    At the rate I’m going, that’s the beginning of February for the first phase, and late June for the second. I’m beginning to see why people put lower quality beans through a new grinder all at once. 😆

    Seriously, is there any difference at the end between seasoning through regular use, or buying a few kg of mediocre beans to plow through at once? I can’t imagine that there would be any difference, but wanted to check.

        No just static dies down quicker.

        Decent De1pro v1.45 - Niche Duo - Niche Zero - Decent is the best machine ever made -

        wilburpan beginning to see why people put lower quality beans through a new grinder all at once.

        That’s what I do, most times. Minimum of 2kg. I even did that with the Malwani Livi benchtop hand grinder. Mein Gott what a mission.

        I reckon (no tests to back this up) that you’ll continue to notice differences up to 10kg odd.

          4 days later

          Purely empirically I reckon my Niche is still getting better and less clumpy. It must have had at least 30kg through it.

            I think astrophysicist Jonathan Gages was still reporting measurable improvements after 19kg on his EG-1.

            Rob666 I reckon my Niche is still getting better and less clumpy. It must have had at least 30kg through it.

            For sure…when testing different voltage models over the years, I would always prefer to put my older burrs in them that had seen many kg of coffee

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              Honestly think it’s way overrated… regardless of using stale coffee to speed up the process I prefer to just let the burrs settle in with normal daily use. With a new grinder (or burr replacement) I run a handful of coffee through just to be sure the burrs are ‘clean’ and good to go. Sure grind settings will change as things smooth out, but it’s not like the end result will be disgusting by any means leading up to that. Over time burrs tend to improve a bit, but not like night/day with any grinder I’ve ever had and just another blown out of proportion topic IMBHO. I imagine those that worry about a specific break-in period also likely count the pounds over time expecting the burrs to magically stop functioning properly once they get close to reaching the expected end of useful life.

                JonWoo187 Agree that in some circles it’s made into a big deal when it’s more of a little deal.

                I’ve found that some grinders e.g. Niche, Moca SD - behave consistently and predictably from the get go. Others like the Livi and Honne are frustratingly unpredictable until they have had 2kg or so through them.

                So for me, it’s not so much a matter of seasoning to get the best flavor (although there is a little of that) but more about getting to a point where I’m less tempted to use the grinder as a door stop.

                    tompoland Also will mention that the majority of my grinding for quite a few yrs has been done by hand… so worrying about putting pounds through a hand grinder just for the sake of seasoning wasn’t happening, bwahahaha. Having used the Helor 106 pretty much daily at the rate of around 2 lbs weekly for over 1.5 yrs it’s definitely ‘broken in’, but I will honestly say the end result really hasn’t changed/improved as it was spot on from day 1. Over time the grind changes needed have been more due to variations in my home roasts (origin, density, etc) than the burrs themselves.

                      The other thing to consider is that changes from one day to the next are so slight as to be imperceptible. Whereas if there are changes to flavor before and after seasoning with say 2kg of beans, they are more likely to be noticed.

                      I just wanted to acknowledge that Jake from @CrownandCanvas was kind enough to follow through on his offer to send me stale coffee beans for the cost of shipping. Turns out that isn’t practical, as I’m in the US and shipping costs are silly high for something like this. But the fact that Jake and his staff were willing to take the time to do something like this that nets zero profit (arguably, it’s a cost item for them in that someone would have to take the time to package and send it out to me) is an indication of an excellent operation.

                      My thanks to Jake and his staff for taking the time and effort to look into this for me.

                      21 days later

                      I’ve used cheap 1kg bags from amazon in the past. Ones that sell well. Anyone that can visit a fresh roaster may usually be able to get some or maybe just pay postage. Have to ask to find out.

                      Solo / DF64 was a disaster for me for other reasons. Can be improved but not a cat in hells chances with some beans I use regularly.

                      Rob666 Purely empirically I reckon my Niche is still getting better and less clumpy. It must have had at least 30kg through it.

                      What beans? I’m fond of 2nd crack monsooned malibar. Currently I’m trying directly into the portafilter having used the can for a long time. When I tap the grinds down via the portafilter the grinds sort of facture indicating how sticky they are yet no clumps directly out of the grinder. None on any bean I have used in it. In the can there may be the odd static clump - maybe Shake the can side to side which I do anyway to level the grinds and they break up. Gentle shake as well. Not worth worrying about and stirring grinds like that has some odd effects.

                      There was more static initially when I started using it - grind sticking well up inside the can. I buy in 750g or 1kg packs. Some static went while I found that banging the cup down wasn’t a good way to get them to fall off. It messed up my brewing. Later that stopped happening. How many packs total - pass but not many. Taste corrected itself markedly in the same period. Probably speeded up as all at espresso levels.

                      I didn’t try running the burrs in on Niche as no stated on to off time. A commercial grinder will get too hot if run for too long grinding loads all at once or as fast as possible in batches, That was noticeable on a Solo and a Mazzer mini.