# scientific grinder evaluation?



## gtanny (Jan 6, 2013)

Hi All,

as im getting more and more into this coffee obsession im currently enjoying i was wondering how far have people gone to evaluate grinders, people are always comparing saying how great a certain grinder but how do they test them, i work as an analytical technician as a living and have in the past at my previous employers i used particle sizers to get a breakdown of clients products that were size specific (my current employers also have one but im not willing to risk my job jamming it up with coffee







).

what im wondering has anyone ever known anyone doing such analysis on coffee to test consistency of a grinder?

esentially the units are used to give a range of sizes and will break it up into % of grind size which would be excellent for evaluating a grinder and much more accurate then personal preference and 'fee' of the grind.

maybe im thinking a bit too in depth of this but i would interested in seeing some results.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Brewed coffee http://marco.ie/uberproject/?p=401

espresso http://www.home-barista.com/reviews/titan-grinder-project-particle-size-distributions-of-ground-coffee-t4203.html


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Are you able to make it to the Grindoff?

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?9554-Grind-off-update-set-confirm-and-venue&highlight=grindoff


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## Don_your_hat (May 13, 2013)

Interesting links garydyke1. I think it would be really interesting to get more information like this on grind-size distributions, the repeatability of results, etc and work out how the distribution relates to flow and extraction properties and ultimately the taste of the shot.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Interesting indeed. Many theories need testing including :

1. conical v flat (the old fruit versus choc profiles)

2. Single dose versus full hopper (single dose requires finer grind and blondes quicker)

3. Sifting fines for brewed coffee (thus overall grind can be finer)

4. Use of a high-end filter coffee grinder and modfied distribution / tamp for espresso machines (as per 2nd placed WBC performance)


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## gtanny (Jan 6, 2013)

excellent link Garydyke1, some interesting reading but just the sort of data i was looking for, if not a bit limited, but its nice to know im not the only person thinking about coffee in this sense

unfortunatly i wont be att the grindoff as 1, im working 06:30-14:30 and 2 i live just outside hull so its quite a long way to travel... reason number 1 negates #2 as if i wasnt working it may of been a possibility should the wife allow me a day off from the family


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