# feldgrind - grind quality



## bronifac (Nov 24, 2015)

Hey guys, i have been using weak grinder, worse than hario minimill with a sieve and after sieving out the fines i was getting ok cup of coffe using aeropress and v60, i now own feldgrind for more than a 3 months and im just not satisfied with its results , grind consistency is better for sure, in more coarse settings(for maybe french press) its way way better but still if i want to prepare one small cup of v60 using 15-20 g coffee, to hit 2.5 minute extraction it requires finer grind settings which gives me still a very noticable amount of fines, if i don't sieve out the fines i'm getting noticable worse cup of coffee and even my girlfriend doesn't like the results, without separating the fines (from 15-25% of ground weight) its very easy to taste burnt bitter overextracted part of final cup that ruins it,

were my expectations too high for this grinder ? how are you satisfied with its grind quality with finer grind settings ? im suprised by this because i noticed that people use this even for an espresso.


----------



## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

Welcome - hopefully someone will be along shortly who can help!


----------



## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Taste and over extraction can be a function of coffee water - water temp etc .

So what recipe are you using for your brews.

I have a haus grind and use it for brewed and ( only in my opinion ) get really good results from it . Without sieving of any kind

So could be recipe being used ( brew method - coffee water ) of course it Could be a faulty grinder .vit is rather start at looking at the recipes used first . Perhaps a clip of of grinding or photos may help this aspect .


----------



## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Hitting a time for a v60 won't by itself indicate over or under extraction or tasty . Try a recipe ( I use Matt perger recipe for this ) for a v60 - don't sieve - taste - adjust grind based on taste in cup - not time it took


----------



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

bronifac said:


> Hey guys, i have been using weak grinder, worse than hario minimill with a sieve and after sieving out the fines i was getting ok cup of coffe using aeropress and v60, i now own feldgrind for more than a 3 months and im just not satisfied with its results , grind consistency is better for sure, in more coarse settings(for maybe french press) its way way better but still if i want to prepare one small cup of v60 using 15-20 g coffee, to hit 2.5 minute extraction it requires finer grind settings which gives me still a very noticable amount of fines, if i don't sieve out the fines i'm getting noticable worse cup of coffee and even my girlfriend doesn't like the results, without separating the fines (from 15-25% of ground weight) its very easy to taste burnt bitter overextracted part of final cup that ruins it,
> 
> were my expectations too high for this grinder ? how are you satisfied with its grind quality with finer grind settings ? im suprised by this because i noticed that people use this even for an espresso.


Why are you aiming for 2:30 specifically? Sounds a bit quick for a 15-20g dose at 60-65g/l, especially if it also includes a bloom phase with no drip through?

What brew ratio are you using? It's easier to be consistent if you stick to the same dose & water weight each time.

If you want to use coarser grinds, break down the pour into smaller, evenly spaced pulses.

Sieve out the boulders, not the fines.


----------



## fluffles (Sep 4, 2012)

I'd echo the point not to get too hung up on brew times or grind settings that you've read elsewhere. Make your own cup of coffee, not someone else's. There are so many variables that no two setups are the same.


----------



## bronifac (Nov 24, 2015)

Thanks for a response, im using water filtered with a brita, my recipe is very close to his i think, i watched his videos

i mostly use 15g coffee and i try to hit 240ml in a cup

95-96 °C water filtered trough brita

30 sec bloom with a stir(like a bandit)

I try to not leave dry grounds on edges

around 2:30-2:50 total brew time

there are some pics but it doesn't show a lot


http://imgur.com/nPOTb


----------



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

fluffles said:


> I'd echo the point not to get too hung up on brew times or grind settings that you've read elsewhere. Make your own cup of coffee, not someone else's. There are so many variables that no two setups are the same.


Then surely, no one can help/advise anyone else, or train them?


----------



## aaroncornish (Nov 7, 2012)

Watching with interest as I find I get similar problems with my Rhino hand grinder.


----------



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

bronifac said:


> Thanks for a response, im using water filtered with a brita, my recipe is very close to his i think, i watched his videos
> 
> i mostly use 15g coffee and i try to hit 240ml in a cup
> 
> ...


Great. A couple more Q's if you don't mind.

"240 in the cup" this is finished beverage, or water added?

You say you are following Perger's method, for your brew quantities you may want to stretch it out a tad?


----------



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

aaroncornish said:


> Watching with interest as I find I get similar problems with my Rhino hand grinder.


Hi Aaron, do you want to describe your method & issues in a separate thread & we'll do our best to help?


----------



## GlennV (Mar 29, 2013)

I have a new feldgrind and its producing considerably more fines than my usual brew grinder, which has the same burrs. This is very noticable as sludge when using a clever coffee dripper. It all looks correctly aligned, and I'm assuming that this is just because the burrs need seasoning. When I get a moment I'll swap the burrs over to check this (and to season the new ones a bit faster).


----------



## bronifac (Nov 24, 2015)

240 as a finished beverage, i hear a lot about 1:16 coffe to water ratio


----------



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

OK, so assuming that you're adding a significant bloom, like Perger (25% of total brew water) and getting some output from early on, you're still looking at ~1.6g/second. This is faster than I can brew a tasty brew in V60. If you are adding twice the dose in bloom water & waiting 30sec before pouring, then this is way too fast (with the kind of coffee I typically brew with).

Your brew ratio is actually more like 18:1. You have 240g in the cup, the bed will be holding ~2g/g of coffee, so 270g brew water total. 270/15 = 18.

Perger's St Ali method is 16.7:1 brew ratio. To scale up try 15g dose, 65g bloom & stir, 65g after 30s, up to 250g after another 30s, 2:40-2:45 brew time, plus time for drips to stop?


----------



## bronifac (Nov 24, 2015)

thanks MWJB so the biggest difference would be a bigger amount of water for a bloom right ? Do i understand correctly that with that amount of water for bloom the coffee will be pouring to a cup faster from a very start ? I hope we understand each other correctly , eng is not my native language, thank you very much


----------



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

If you bloom with just 1 to 2x the weight of the coffee dose, then you will see very little output from the brewer, just a few g after 30s? But if, like the Perger St Ali method, you are using 4x the weight of the coffee dose to bloom, this is much more than the bed can hold, so at 30s you are already seeing significant output from the brewer.

So 15g dose & 20-30g bloom for 30s, add this to the total brew time (~3:10-3:15).

15g dose, 65g bloom for 30s, include this 1st 30s in the total brew time (~2:40-2:45).


----------



## lucasd (Feb 24, 2015)

even malkhonig guatamella (ultra big grinder) need/ should be sieved for optimal results.

Sieving from super jolly still got at least 20% out...


----------



## bronifac (Nov 24, 2015)

Thanks ill try the 65ml bloom recipe hopefully tomorrow in the morning

Anyway so its ok to brew with that amount of dusty fines ? When i look at my grounds , most of them look quite even but they are all covered with a lot of coffe dust, when i compare it with grind quality from high end electric grinder i can see beautifull ground pieces without dust around them , i dont say that feldgrind is highend grinder but my eye can see huge difference, meybe this coffe dust isnt that bad in the end when people make great coffee with feldgrinds?


----------



## lucasd (Feb 24, 2015)

maybe you see static which is quite bad on feldgrind.

On socratic coffe when they compare grinders they use 20 minute sieving protocol, as there are always some fines...

Finally fines may be also due to burrs misalignment...


----------



## bronifac (Nov 24, 2015)

hey i want to thank you all , there might have been problem with the beans that i have been using that time, my nearest roaster doesn't use very best beans and they probably badly roasted last batch ..., Now i got excellent coffee and with updated method i like the output now , grounds even seems to be more even with lighter roast

anyway im still a bit paranoid with my feldgrind, grinding beans is as hard as it was with my previous shitty grinder, probably im just being really paranoid,


----------

