# Sage/Breville SGP - is it possible to reduce grind retention?



## groundup (May 7, 2021)

Hi,

I have had an SGP for a while, but only recently took the burrs out to give it a proper clean out. On the first use after cleaning, the grinder retained nearly half of the 15g of beans I put it. The mechanism seems to pack grounds into the area just under the burrs, so you have to have a fair amount of excess before grounds get pushed out into the collector. I could get by with just using the SGP for espresso, since I have a Rok hand grinder too, and thereby not worry too much about switching between grind sizes and knowing when you're actually getting the "new" size and not the old. However, it bothers me a bit that with each dose, you're probably getting a fair amount of stale coffee that has been there since you last ground some.

Are there any ways to modify the SGP to retain less, or am I better looking for another first world problem to solve?

Thanks.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

groundup said:


> Hi,
> 
> I have had an SGP for a while, but only recently took the burrs out to give it a proper clean out. On the first use after cleaning, the grinder retained nearly half of the 15g of beans I put it.
> 
> Thanks.


I'm a little bit confused as to what the question is. Are you saying over the time that you have owned the grinder, you have continually been disappointed by the taste of the stale grinds in each cup?

To get coffee out of a grinder, you have to fill any voids to ensure the new dose isn't just gobbled up by free space in the burs/grinder. 

What is the difference between the next 10 doses you put in and what you get out?
What is the problem with the taste of the coffee, say compared to the ROK?


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## groundup (May 7, 2021)

Well, the main question is in the title really, but it's a fair challenge that I would not be able to notice the difference between a shot made with all fresh coffee, and one made with a small amount of old coffee. I was just surprised at how much was required to fill voids, and assume that a lot of retention/void filling has implications for grind consistency too i.e. if you change to a new setting, when is the coffee coming out at the new setting as opposed to the old one? 

I only just started using the SGP with the Gaggia Classic, but thought the greater range of adjustment might make it better than the Rok. So far the taste of all of them is pretty bad as I haven't found the right setting yet! (I only make one or two shots a day, and most work mornings don't have time for espresso)

It's a good suggestion to see what the rentention is now that the voids are filled.


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## shaun**** (Oct 24, 2015)

i think the old coffee that’s packed in the voids is staying there. the new coffee you are grinding comes out the chute.


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