Burrs breaking in

jcb1973

I’ve been reading about burrs “breaking in”. Interesting reading - am I likely to notice more and more stability / consistency over time with a brand new Specialita?

DavecUK

jcb1973 Yes, it’s well known that burrs need about 3+ Kilos through them in that type of grinder before the rough edges are knocked off.

AndyG1987

Can you buy scrap beans anywhere to run through? Or is it just over time getting through beans and brewing that will do?

dutchy101

When I got my new grinder I picked up a kilo of beans from Aldi for £7 which I used to season my burrs.

Flat_Eric

When I bought my Specialita it came with 1kg of reject beans for the purpose of breaking in the burrs. After putting these through I found I was making small alterations to the grind dial very regularly to try and maintain a constant pull pressure. Over the last few months the grinder has become very stable with only slight adjustments to the grind settings if I open a new bag or change beans. I put this down to the burrs now being matured!

tompoland

You probably need more than a kilo. Having gone through 8 new grinders last year (please don’t ask 😛) my guesstimate is that a grinder needs at least 3kg and as much as 10kg to get to the point where the burrs will produce consistent results.

I’m therefore having mixed emotions about the arrival of my 83mm hand grinder arriving next month 😱

Sham

So what’s the theory behind this?

From thinking about this for a bit, the best explanation I can get is that when you grind beans on a fresh burr the sharp edges produce slightly different grounds (more fines?). After a while the edges dull and the grounds have less fines. Isn’t the difference going to be negligible/only a bit more bitter? It shouldn’t affect shot consistency in theory… Why wouldn’t the burr manufactures just machine the edges less sharp then if it’s so significant?

Has anyone done a particle analysis on new burr vs grams of beans gone through?

DavecUK

Sham The edges of a new burr are ragged am grinding hones them.

Sham

DavecUK but why don’t they just fix the edges in production… Seems like a very simple thing to do (I’m assuming they’re using a 6 axis CNC or cast->heat treatment->CNC to sharpen edges)

DavecUK

Sham but why don’t they just fix the edges in production… Seems like a very simple thing to do (I’m assuming they’re using a 6 axis CNC or cast->heat treatment->CNC to sharpen edges)

If you get a set of coated or hardened burrs they require much less break in becaus of the processes required prior to applying the coating….I guess it’s partly cost and partly no easy way to prep the burrs and you wouldn’t like it if they all came bead blasted or shot peened in some way. The best way seems to be the grinding process.

Pompeyexile I guessing this applies to my Niche too. In which case, how much weight of beans (cheapos obviously) should I put through it before it is bedded in?

I just recommend using it and gradually the burrs will improve…rapidly at first then more slowly up to 15Kg where no more improvement is noticeable. With all the Zeros I tested, I always liked to pop my long term use burrs in.

Pompeyexile

I guessing this applies to my Niche too. In which case, how much weight of beans (cheapos obviously) should I put through it before it is bedded in?

Alexvs

When I get to finally start using mine I plan to just use it and let it bed in, really can’t be bothered wasting even cheap coffee, it’s still coffee haha. After all it’s not damaging or for the longevity of the machine and I’m not honed enough to likely notice a taste difference. As long as you’re happy with a continuous tweaking as it beds in just use it.

hornbyben

Alexvs I agree. It seems a waste just to grind beans and bin them. They still had to be grown, processed, boated half way across the world and roasted. On my niche I noticed the fines level reduce mainly in the fact I had to grind finer, I thought it tasted pretty good straight away.

dndrich

hornbyben I have noticed the same on my Niche. I have simply used it and am letting it break in naturally. My espresso went from 22 to around 14 over many weeks, and is staying there with my current beans. I’m sure it will continue to improve, but it was great right out of the gate.

Sham

dndrich so you went more fine with time? (not sure what the niche settings mean)

hornbyben

Sham correct. At the beginning there are more fines, so you have to grind coarser to compensate. As the burrs bed in the level of fines decreases, so you make the general grind finer to get the same resistance.