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"popcorning" inside grinders

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  • nunu
    replied
    Re: "popcorning" inside grinders

    At least I know Im making good use of the plastic tamp that came with my machine...Fits perfectly in the throat of my Mazzer.

    Leave a comment:


  • coastal_coffee
    replied
    Re: "popcorning" inside grinders

    for my two cents worth,

    using 4 grinders compak k8, k3touch,

    la cimbali cadet and Fiorenzato T80 A,

    inmho I have seen little or no variation when the bean level is low and

    no discernible difference when a little pop corning takes place,

    perhaps we should stick with the old

    whats in the cup that counts theory

    just me $1 worth,
    did you see that? inflation and compound interest are a bugger of a thing when combined. ;D :

    Leave a comment:


  • Lizzie
    replied
    Re: "popcorning" inside grinders

    Originally posted by Dennis link=1184501068/30#33 date=1187860242
    And when I do, Ill hand-pick my beans and only use uniform sized batched, and slide them into the grinder one at a time, pointy end first!
    :P
    "chuckle, chuckle" ... wouldnt mind seeing you do that, Dennis....

    actually, the main reason i made the mini hoppers for Ms Carimali was the fact that i regularly forgot to put my hand over her throat and her bean-spitting behaviour had side effects... i kept grinding the beans into the carpet and the dogs found the beans i missed on the floor and ate them... caffeinated dogs... like having bouncy balloons on the very end of horizontal piece of string.

    L

    Leave a comment:


  • Dennis
    replied
    Re: "popcorning" inside grinders

    Originally posted by Thundergod link=1184501068/30#34 date=1187863402
    I shut the hopper door and they cant bounce as high.
    I leave the hopper door open so they can bounce higher! Wheeeee! ;D

    Leave a comment:


  • Thundergod
    replied
    Re: "popcorning" inside grinders

    I shut the hopper door and they cant bounce as high.

    Leave a comment:


  • Dennis
    replied
    Re: "popcorning" inside grinders

    I agree with Lucinda. There are quite a few other things that I can concern myself with before I would worry about this. If indeed I do perfect all the other "bigger" things that will improve my coffee making skills, Ill certainly look at this. And when I do, Ill hand-pick my beans and only use uniform sized batched, and slide them into the grinder one at a time, pointy end first!
    :P

    Leave a comment:


  • tempestv8
    replied
    Re: "popcorning" inside grinders

    Originally posted by lucinda link=1184501068/30#31 date=1187837113

    Be honest with yoursves - Arent you all just being a bit  anal about all this and need to take a reality check?


    Snigger! Hehe! ;D ;D Love the comment.


    I guess if people were less than a perfectionist, wed have to start a new website called Coffee Slobs. :-X



    Leave a comment:


  • lucinda
    replied
    Re: "popcorning" inside grinders

    I have an MDF and in all honesty, it rarely popcorns. I couldnt really count hpw many times it happens, it is so rare.

    I have loaded up my hopper with a lot of beans if I am grinding a heap of beans for OG to take to work every now and then and the MDF churns through them quickly. Not sure of the quality of the grind as this is usually for a plunger.

    I honestly cannot see how the amount/weight etc of beans in the hopper is going to affect the grind as the weight of the beans on the burrs does not affect the function of the burrs.

    Be honest with yoursves - Arent you all just being a bit anal about all this and need to take a reality check?

    Leave a comment:


  • reubster
    replied
    Re: "popcorning" inside grinders

    Remember, even if popcorning is occuring, and, if as a result, a different grind characteristic is produced to that of a full hopper, it is not necessarliy a bad thing.

    Provided the "popcorned" grind produced is consistant between successive grinds, then adjustments could [actually would] be made to the grind setting to compensate.

    I see popcorning as a problem, only if the popcorning produces variations, between each successive grind.

    Leave a comment:


  • robusto
    replied
    Re: "popcorning" inside grinders

    Yes, Luca, the sliding gate for when the loaded hopper has to be removed -- forgot to mention that.

    Its a nuisance to have to tip the whole grinder, hopper and all horizontly, to move the beans from the throat and into the top end so they dont spill out everywhere.

    But again, while all these anciliary things make life easier, they have no bearing on the essential function of the machine: to produce quality grounds.

    Leave a comment:


  • luca
    replied
    Re: "popcorning" inside grinders

    Originally posted by Beanhead link=1184501068/15#26 date=1187768230
    From Robustos comments it looks as if the Iberital Challenge popcorns alot and is therefore not a good grinder if you want to feed small quantities of beans into to test blends etc ie hopperless use.

    Does anyone disagree with this?

    I was eyeing off the IC as a future grinder purchase and like to grind just enough beans each day rather than having a full hopper.
    I am very, very happy to disagree with your comment ;D

    Firstly, has anyone actually done any sort of experiment to prove the evils of letting your beans be exposed to the air for a few days? At work I usually like to cut the bags that I intend to use open a few hours or even the day before I intend to use them. This seems to stop me from having to change the grind as much. Competitors at barista competitions do the same thing.

    I cant actually see where Robusto said that the Iberital popcorns a lot. And popcorns a lot relative to what, exactly? The throat that feeds the burrs is a good deal narrower than the throat on the mini. If anything, I would expect it to popcorn less than a grinder with a larger throat. However, the smaller throat means that if you want to physically remove the hopper there will not be enough space above the burrs for a whole double shot of beans.

    As Robusto says, the Iberital certainly does have its shortcomings. But bottom line, it produces a very good cup at a very reasonable price point.

    If you want a grinder that is designed to be used for grinding a single dose at a time, I suggest that you buy a Versalab M3 and put up with the potential durability issues that some of its users have flagged. If not, I really dont see whats so difficult about keeping a hundred grams of beans in the hopper at the time. If you want something that will be easy to change around for different beans, I suggest that you get something with a mazzer style grind adjustment (ie. stepless collar that allows wide movements easily) and a bean gate to close off the hopper.

    Hope that helps,

    Luca

    Leave a comment:


  • robusto
    replied
    Re: "popcorning" inside grinders

    Beanhead, I disagree with your conclusion that the Iberital Challenge is not a good grinder.

    It IS a good grinder in may respects. But even good grinders have shortcomings, irrespective of whether they use conical or flat burrs, cost $300 or $1300.

    Others may disagree, but my experience over two years with this grinder is that you cannot feed in 20 grams of beans, and expect 20 grams of grounds in the basket.

    Grounds get trapped and build up in the grinding chamber, clinging to areas where the sweeper does not reach.

    And Im talking about a doserless here. Could be worse still with a doser

    It can be messy. Very messy. If you stick to 14 grams in the basket, that is not an issue. But when you have to heap the basket to collapse and level, it is a big issue which is straining my maritial relationship (a little hyperbole here).

    Popcorning? Yes, it does. But even the last stubborn bean will eventually succumb.

    Now, these "problems" or "shortcomings" are not unique to the Iberital

    And, they are quite unrelated to what really counts: the qualaity of grind.

    On that score, a very important one, it is an excellent grinder.

    Construction wise: It has conical burrs set in very robust plastic. Brass or bronze bush bearings . Reduction gearing to give it a slow speed so it maximises power and does not heat the beans.

    If I were to upgrade -- and being me I am sure I will -- it will be for two reasons:

    -to eliminate the mess (and save the marriage!)
    -to get an easier mechanism for changing grind setting.


    Leave a comment:


  • Beanhead
    replied
    Re: "popcorning" inside grinders

    From Robustos comments it looks as if the Iberital Challenge popcorns alot and is therefore not a good grinder if you want to feed small quantities of beans into to test blends etc ie hopperless use.

    Does anyone disagree with this?

    I was eyeing off the IC as a future grinder purchase and like to grind just enough beans each day rather than having a full hopper.

    Leave a comment:


  • mylesau
    replied
    Re: "popcorning" inside grinders

    My view on this, based on observations of conical burs only, is that having a head on the beans at the burrs does have an impact on grind.

    I suspect beans without a head bounce around much more and are more prone to being smashed, and/or, the beans are shaved thinner as the pressure between bean and burr is lower. Having a head pushing the beans against/through the burrs changes the grinding characteristics.

    A very obvious example is when I grind using a Zass manual grinder, the last portion of the beans, without a head, hang up in the burrs, i.e. they do not feed through at all well, and tend to grind to dust. This is more due to the poor feeding characteristics (i.e. pressure from above), but I think the principle is the same.

    As others have mentioned I perceive the grind to be better through the EM0480s, conical burrs if the hopper is loaded. Ive found I have to change the grind setting if I grind with just the required amount of beans. The result is still okay, but the characteristics of the grind certainly change.

    Does anyone work in a lab that can do grist (sieve) analysis, I used to have access to this type of equipment...

    Leave a comment:


  • Dimal
    replied
    Re: "popcorning" inside grinders

    Maybe "pop-corning", where it occurs, has more to do with the peripheral velocity of the rotating burr plate, the shape of the grinding chamber and the profile of the feed chute into the grinding chamber. As Lizzi has observed above, I too rarely noticed this phenomenon occurring with Rocky as I only ever load and grind the beans Im going to use immediately. It is more noticeable in the LSM grinder but the grind size is unaffected and as Robusto stated above, how could it anyway.... the burr-plate gap hasnt changed and thats the only way out for the beans.

    Perhaps there is something more to this than any effect that pop-corning is being attributed with.... Yet another mystery ,

    Mal.

    Leave a comment:

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