# Stone into grinder



## u2jewel (Aug 17, 2017)

Just saw this on YouTube. As he poured it in, it made me cringe!






Then the result was a bit anticlimactic... No drama, no bang or screech.

Soft stone? Not even stone? Mazzer is a tank?

What do you make of it?


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Err . . . Why would you deliberately put a stone through your grinder? Sorry if there's an explanation, I didn't look further than the video. Maybe a chunk of soft sandstone wouldn't be such a problem? I don't know . . .


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

u2jewel said:


> What do you make of it?


Not recommended.


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## PPapa (Oct 24, 2015)

MildredM said:


> Err . . . Why would you deliberately put a stone through your grinder? Sorry if there's an explanation, I didn't look further than the video. Maybe a chunk of soft sandstone wouldn't be such a problem? I don't know . . .


As an ex rock climber, this. Rock type matters a lot - they aren't all the same.

As to why would one do that, no idea. Maybe tried to prove the point it's not going to ruin the burrs?


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## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

There was someone on this forum at one point who got a stone in his grinder from beans from a reputable roaster. the burrs were damaged. I always check my beans beforehand, specially if I am roasting the greens myself!


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## u2jewel (Aug 17, 2017)

MildredM said:


> Err . . . Why would you deliberately put a stone through your grinder? Sorry if there's an explanation, I didn't look further than the video. Maybe a chunk of soft sandstone wouldn't be such a problem? I don't know . . .


Crazy, right? I've read horror stories of stones and foreign objects in amongst beans causing havoc. Damaged burrs and all. The sadistic side of me wants to leave a comment in his YouTube channel asking for a part 2 with a bigger stone...



The Systemic Kid said:


> Not recommended.


Refreshingly understated


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

As Medium Roast Steam said, someone on the forum had a stone in his beans:mad: ME. It wrecked the burr's and took several pieces out of the lower carrier. I can tell you that it makes one hell of horrible noise. I do not think that item in the video was stone, much too soft.

My machine at that time was a Mazzer and it still buggered it up. Check your beans. Burr's £40 + carrier £50
















PS Urbanbumkin had a small nail in his beans / grinder which also nicked the carrier.


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

Whenever someone on this forum has found a stone in their beans theyve always kept the name of the supplier to themselves.

I just wish they'd say who it was.


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Jumbo Ratty said:


> I just wish they'd say who it was.


Because roasters go to great lengths to avoid this happening. That said, it's impossible to prevent all instances - that's why you should always check what you put into your hopper first.

For the record, patio dried beans are more prone to stones getting swept up after drying but it's still extremely rare.


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

It wouldnt stop me buying off the roaster.

It would just mean id be more vigilant when filling my hoopper with their beans.

Just cant see why they cant be named.


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## Missy (Mar 9, 2016)

Jumbo Ratty said:


> It wouldnt stop me buying off the roaster.
> 
> It would just mean id be more vigilant when filling my hoopper with their beans.
> 
> Just cant see why they cant be named.


I guess because it could easily happen to any roaster.


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Jumbo Ratty said:


> It wouldnt stop me buying off the roaster.
> 
> It would just mean id be more vigilant when filling my hoopper with their beans.
> 
> Just cant see why they cant be named.


Roasters use destoning equipment - powerful magnets to pull out any metallic foreign bodies that are magnetic - that said - it's impossible to guarantee that a stone, foreign body or other debris will get through.

There isn't a roaster out there who hasn't been affected in this way so there's no point in naming which would only serve to damage their reputation unfairly.

For the record, it's happened to me twice and I wouldn't name either roaster.


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## pgarrish (May 20, 2017)

I guess it's an alternative to 'will it blend?'


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## Stanic (Dec 12, 2015)

I just fished this out from the Red Brick blend..looks like piece of patio concrete


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## u2jewel (Aug 17, 2017)

Stanic said:


> I just fished this out from the Red Brick blend..looks like piece of patio concrete
> 
> View attachment 29930


Nice save!  that saved you a potential burr replacement!

People were saying that despite the Roasters' efforts, they do get in from time to time.

Understandably, having stones in your product doesn't do any positive PR for their image, so people out of courtesy/loyalty/sympathy/discretion decide not to post from who or what or where...

But I wish people did. Not so that I could boycott them or anything like that... Just so that I could know which origins, varietals and processing methods need spreading the beans out on a tray for thorough inspection.

I guess discussing which origins or farms the beans are from can be a positive thing? Sun dried on a patio is an obvious way for me to look out for stones!


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

u2jewel said:


> Nice save!  that saved you a potential burr replacement!
> 
> People were saying that despite the Roasters' efforts, they do get in from time to time.
> 
> ...


Just suppose as a roaster, you have a dozen 100 kilo sacks of coffee, how would you come up with a method to coach for stones!


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## Stanic (Dec 12, 2015)

Guess it ain't too hard to determine the roastery, but it really can happen with any roast

The Red Brick is a blend with seasonal beans


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## u2jewel (Aug 17, 2017)

dfk41 said:


> Just suppose as a roaster, you have a dozen 100 kilo sacks of coffee, how would you come up with a method to coach for stones!


Exactly. It's nearly impossible. If using a destoner working on principles of gravity, size (sieve) and magnetism still lets the odd one through, maybe one of those cameras that catch foreign objects determined by colour? I think I saw something like that in a food processing factory somewhere.. An off-colour object like those stones (typically lighter in colour) amongst roasted beans would be caught on camera pointed in the direction of moving beans in freefall... Then that small segment would get pulled aside for closer human inspection?

Rather than relying on roasters having the latest high-tech, I wanted to start something that would give me the heads up on certain beans origins that "might" have a higher likelihood of a rogue stone being mixed in. I don't know.. It's like terrorism. Totally unwelcome by all, and you don't know when and where its going to strike. Roasters and consumers both should benefit if somehow our suspicion and alert level were heightened when beans from farm 'x' or origin 'y' are used wholly as a SO roast or as a part of a blend.

I'm sure the processing method used by the origin has a massive factor in the likelihood of stone inclusion. I refuse to believe it is a random luck thing, affecting all origins and all processing methods equally.

As long as we can identify the origins of beans we buy, collectively we should be able to build a databank.


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## u2jewel (Aug 17, 2017)

Stanic said:


> Guess it ain't too hard to determine the roastery, but it really can happen with any roast
> 
> The Red Brick is a blend with seasonal beans


Nothing, including stones in beans, will stop me from buying what I believe to be good value for money and tasty. 

Having said that... Here, where I am living at the moment in Vietnam, they have this brand of rice which I reckon is better than most. Over the course of last 3 or 4 years that I have bought these, consistently I have found stones in them. Once every 6 months? They get spotted while washing under running water. One got through, chipped my tooth. Our security screening level went up a further notch after that incident


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

I think you either scrutinise your own beans via decanting them, or if you single dose then that should help, or you just be vigilant and hope that you spot them


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## u2jewel (Aug 17, 2017)

dfk41 said:


> I think you either scrutinise your own beans via decanting them, or if you single dose then that should help, or you just be vigilant and hope that you spot them


I think this might be a good enough excuse for me to get those Lynn Weber single portion glass test tubes.. A quick glance around the tube before rdt.. Bloody expensive though!


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

u2jewel said:


> Nice save!  that saved you a potential burr replacement!
> 
> People were saying that despite the Roasters' efforts, they do get in from time to time.
> 
> ...


Then after a period of time you would run out of roasters to use.


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

u2jewel said:


> I think this might be a good enough excuse for me to get those Lynn Weber single portion glass test tubes.. A quick glance around the tube before rdt.. Bloody expensive though!


There is no reasonable excuse for spendkng 200 quid plus on test tubes for beans







.


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## u2jewel (Aug 17, 2017)

Mrboots2u said:


> Then after a period of time you would run out of roasters to use.


True..

I wasn't thinking about discriminating any/certain roasters.. More on the lines of being more mindful of such possibilities with certain origins (as in country and region where the greens are processed).

Is there a tendency for one country or region to use more or less of methods where the beans are sun dried, scattered across the ground/patio?

My simple thinking was, if the beans don't come into contact with the ground (as a routine part of processing), chances of stone getting swept in together might be lower?


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

When I got my R58 and 65E, I was given good advice to always tip the beans out onto a tray before filling the hopper. Coincidentally at around the same time there was a big kerfuffle on the forum because somebody hadn't checked, ended up with damaged burrs and there was a lot of negativity (which seemed disproportionate and unfair to me at the time), so I took the advice to heart. Yes, maybe some origins might be more prone to stones, but as I've always given the beans a quick once-over as a habit, I don't give it much thought. Adds a few seconds to the time it takes to fill a hopper, and I take the opportunity to visually assess the beans - not just for stones, but also to pull out any quakers and so on, plus just to generally look at the beans just to see how they might differ in size, shape, colour from each other, or the last batch. Just another sensory appraisal of what I'll be drinking. And no danger of damage to my grinder or any hard-working but unlucky roaster's reputation.


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