# Hand grinders eg 1Zpresso and light roasts



## TomHughes (Dec 16, 2019)

I love my JX pro.

it does a fantastic job on the darker Brazilian I like in the morning.

But I am struggling with a light roast SHB from Guatemala. The grind setting is very very fine (12.5 on JX pro, as opppsed to the Brazilian which is about 16)

result is often a little sour and channeling despite good prep technique. 
I presume this is down to inconsistencies in the grind with the fineness.

Has anyone had any similar issues with smaller conical grinders?

I'm happy for the JX Pro to just be my morning grinder but want to know it's not just me!

I've tried the usual stuff, but you are a bit limited on the LP to what you can do with output dose/ratio and depth of puck etc.


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## L&R (Mar 8, 2018)

Conical burrs and light roast = torture of the grinder's mechanism and not so great results in the cup. Tested with all common premium hand grinders.

So your observations in JX are normal.


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

If you are getting sour espresso, it's under-extracted for which the usual solution is to grind finer. You could give this a try - wouldn't worry how far the setting is from the darker roast. What matters is getting the extraction level up. If that doesn't work, it's probably a case of the bean asking too much of the grinder's capabilities.


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## TomHughes (Dec 16, 2019)

Thanks both. Having ground as fine as I can really get away with with the LP, with resultant high pressure and then channeling, I think I am largely hitting the limits of the grinder with that bean. 
It does fine with a very finely ground Pacamara, but this is a much softer bean than the SHB.

This is fine as I am in the very slow process of resurrecting a 64mm flat burr grinder. 
If this isn't good enough I am going to upgrade.


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## Northern_Monkey (Sep 11, 2018)

@TomHughes - Is it an "omni roast" on the light side or a super modern light filter one you are trying out?

I have had some filter roasts so hard and light, even dropping it down past 0.75 (normally somewhere between 4.0 and 2.5) on my EK43S Turkish and preinfusing with a paddle for an age didn't help matters 😢

Could be the bean is just better suited for brew based methods or is too bright tasting. Trying a flat to compare it with is worth a go, but some beans just don't seem to get on with espresso for whatever reason.


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## TomHughes (Dec 16, 2019)

Northern_Monkey said:


> @TomHughes - Is it an "omni roast" on the light side or a super modern light filter one you are trying out?
> 
> I have had some filter roasts so hard and light, even dropping it down past 0.75 (normally somewhere between 4.0 and 2.5) on my EK43S Turkish and preinfusing with a paddle for an age didn't help matters 😢
> 
> Could be the bean is just better suited for brew based methods or is too bright tasting. Trying a flat to compare it with is worth a go, but some beans just don't seem to get on with espresso for whatever reason.


 It's a roast I did myself, so a light-medium. I can't go that light on my DIY setup!
It's a bean which did OK on the mignon, so I think this is the small difference between 50mm flats and 48mm conical. 
I will rebuild the 64mm flat and see what happens


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

Can you do a really long pre-infusion/bloom?


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## TomHughes (Dec 16, 2019)

Rob1 said:


> Can you do a really long pre-infusion/bloom?


 Yes sort of, but this hadn't helped all that much, probably around the minute mark of pre-infusion.

Problem with the pre-mill is the temp changes with a pre infusion that long


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## a_aa (Feb 27, 2020)

Heating the beans in the microwave is no secret to you, I just found  :

https://www.coffeeforums.co.uk/topic/51175-so-whos-microwaving?do=embed

Have you tried it with that bean?

It's my SOP with light Ethiopians in my Feld47 - it reduces the draw down time with something like 40 seconds when brewing 32:500 with the V60, less muddy and less clogging.  I've never tried it with espresso, I'm currently waiting for my Cafelat Robot and will experiment when it arrives sometime in September (extra wait for the right colour).


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## TomHughes (Dec 16, 2019)

a_aa said:


> Heating the beans in the microwave is no secret to you, I just found  :
> 
> https://www.coffeeforums.co.uk/topic/51175-so-whos-microwaving?do=embed
> 
> ...


 You know what, I was just thinking I need to try that again with this bean!


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## Bagpu55 (Dec 23, 2019)

If you ground say 2-3g of beans at a time do you think it would help getting better uniformity and a better grind. It has helped on my feld but is a bit of a pain but I'm in no rush.


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## shodjoe1 (Apr 25, 2018)

L&R said:


> Conical burrs and light roast = torture of the grinder's mechanism and not so great results in the cup. Tested with all common premium hand grinders.
> 
> So your observations in JX are normal.


 But I have different question, I like filter coffee too. Did you try grinder on coarse for filter? How was the result... It should be easier to grind...


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

shodjoe1 said:


> But I have different question, I like filter coffee too. Did you try grinder on coarse for filter? How was the result... It should be easier to grind...


 I tried a JX pro for V60 & it was comparable to other hand grinders (Feldgrind & Lido), but had less felt resistance whilst grinding.


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## shodjoe1 (Apr 25, 2018)

I have 1zpreso Q2,which is the entry one.Im just curious ,because I'm using it only for filter coffee ,but didn't try proper light roast to grind ,so trying to get some info and find out how difficult it's Gona be grind it.Thanks


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

shodjoe1 said:


> I have 1zpreso Q2,which is the entry one.Im just curious ,because I'm using it only for filter coffee ,but didn't try proper light roast to grind ,so trying to get some info and find out how difficult it's Gona be grind it.Thanks


 I didn't try the Q2, but doesn't that have Zassenhaus style burrs? All I can say is that the JX Pro was the easiest to grind out of any hand grinder I have tried.


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