Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

[pcrussell50]

might not be so bad

with blends i put a couple of days worth of beans in the hopper and leave them there....i understand that probably reduces the freshness of the beans a bit, but it makes life easier.

i too put a few days worth in the hopper.  there is a school of thought out there that says that by having the hopper at least partially full, you ensure a steady "feed" of beans to the burrs.  as the hopper empties, the burrs will see a bean, then a gap, then another bean, then a gap... (like having air bubbles in your fuel line), and that that such things interfere with grind quality, especially with this kind of burr set. (may be less bad in the case of large flat burrs in commercial grinders like a Super Jolly).  its probably only us espresso blokes who really care about that, because filter coffee is less sensitive to uneven grind quality.

further, i reckon leaving the beans in the hopper is not so bad for aging/spoiling the beans as some folks believe... as long as the grinder and hopper are kept in as dark and temperature-stable an area as possible... with absolutely NO sun exposure.  mine gets no sun, and sits in a dark corner of my kitchen under a shelf, so its even shadowed from a lot of indoor light as well.  further, i think that when you put beans in a hopper, they get to stay sealed (relatively), in the hopper, as opposed to repeated openings and closings of another container, where each opening releases the trapped gases and exposes more beans to air.  i realize this is contentious.  just saying that keeping the beans in a hopper in a shady spot, is probably not as bad as the mythology would have you believe.

-peter

[Pete39]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Thanks for the replies guys. Im leaning toward your thoughts peter - might try just leaving them in the hopper and see how things taste.

On another point, page 13 of the manual seems to imply that I should be able to select up to 8 shots by pressing the amount button repeatedly, but it only goes up to 2. At the moment Im doing three single shots to get the roughly 20g dose for the em6910 which isnt a big deal, Im just curious.

[Rusty]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

On another point, page 13 of the manual seems to imply that I should be able to select up to 8 shots by pressing the amount button repeatedly, but it only goes up to 2. At the moment Im doing three single shots to get the roughly 20g dose for the em6910 which isnt a big deal, Im just curious.

You can only dial in more than 2 shots when the portafilter holder is not attached - as in grinding into another container 

[Pete39]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Ah, thanks Rusty. Ill sleep better tonight!

[Rusty]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Ah, thanks Rusty. Ill sleep better tonight!

So... Not much coffee today then :

[Jbounce]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

I just got this grinder however it doesnt have additional shims, anyone know where can i get them? Thanks.

[samhighley]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

I just got this grinder however it doesnt have additional shims, anyone know where can i get them? Thanks.

It may already be shimmed. Have you tried the grind?

[artman]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Yep, try it to see if it actually needs them first. If it cant grind fine enough, contact Breveille or Phil from breville on these forums.

Cheers

[Pete39]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Agree - I got one last week, no shims required.

[samhighley]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Agree - I got one last week, no shims required.

I bought mine about nine weeks ago, and it was already shimmed.

With the grind set just under the last "o" in "Espresso" I get a very tight pour on my BES900.

[craigmeads]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

I have a BES900 and BCG800 grinder. Love the BES900. The BCG800 however has given me some grief lately. In the middle of a grind, it sounded like it was jumping a couple of teeth, and then re-meshing. I cleaned it out and put some new beans in. I did not adjust anything. Then it would only grind about half the amount as before, and it was way too fine. I cleaned it again, then ran some rice through it to totally clean and dry it from any bean oils. No difference. The Breville agent here in NZ is scratching is head, as is the Breville techie in Auckland. Its like the EM6910 days revisited with Sunbeam.

[Pete39]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

With the grind set just under the last "o" in "Espresso" I get a very tight pour on my BES900.

Same setting for me, but Im surviving with a EM6910 . Anyone else wish there were numbers on the grind setting marks? (Still love the grinder though!)

[Rusty]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Anyone else wish there were numbers on the grind setting marks?

Yes! Its a major oversight IMHO

[samhighley]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Then it would only grind about half the amount as before, and it was way too fine.

I believe the dose is determined by whether a portafilter holder is inserted. Try removing and re-inserting the portafilter holder, and see if that corrects your dosing issue.

[Pete39]

Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

Interesting observation - grinding directly into Em6910 PF using "2shots" and max fine amount (5 bars), not quite enough dose. Repeat as two runs of "1 shot plus 5 bars", too much. Have settled on two runs of "1 shot plus 3" bars if that makes sense. Anyone else care to share there dosing for the 6910?