Oct 1

Testing: How Much Coffee Grinds are Left Behind?

post Category: Coffee post Comments (42) postOctober 1, 2011

We weighed out 20 grams of whole beans and then ground it in different grinders to see if any was left behind.

Well it’s got to be strong to touch my heart

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Horaayy..there are 42 comment(s) for me so far ;)

#1

@SeattleCoffeeGear lol wow maybe I missed the whole point of the test then.

TheCraig1998 wrote on October 1, 2011 - 3:22 am
#2

@jamescitrome You are lucky! Definitely have to change the grind and the tamp and the dosage with different coffees — something we are always working with customers on (esp. if they want to dial in initially with cheap coffee in order to limit their waste). – Kat

SeattleCoffeeGear wrote on October 1, 2011 - 3:38 am
#3

I have the fortune of living in Montreal and access to 4 roasters within 5km of my home. With access to 4 x at least 6 espresso blends per roaster, I have discovered that each blend requires not only a different grind, but a different dose for the best results. A full arabica melange from one roaster may be optimum with 18g and a finer grind while a 80% arabica and 20% robusta is better with 17.5g and a courser grind. Yes, my GF does love our Sat. and Sun mornings together ;>

jamescitrome wrote on October 1, 2011 - 4:25 am
#4

@TheCraig1998 It’s always something, isn’t it? had she not ensured all the beans out we would have had folks saying ‘too bad you didn’t make sure all the beans were out’ ;) We can’t please everyone, sorry this video didn’t meet your needs :D – Kat

SeattleCoffeeGear wrote on October 1, 2011 - 4:48 am
#5

@SeattleCoffeeGear instead of having Gail Williams patting and banging the grinder. Have her just do a normal “real world” grind.

TheCraig1998 wrote on October 1, 2011 - 5:03 am
#6

@smackcheez No, I get it; every time we put up a test, we get a ton of responses back saying we should have done it x y or z way. That’s cool, but we devise the tests with the tools we have and encourage folks to do the same. We can’t do a test to the specifications of everyone — this is just our experience. I suspect that .9 grams one way or the other will matter to some folks; we found that, regardless of attrition, we couldn’t taste a difference between weighing beans vs. weighing grounds.

SeattleCoffeeGear wrote on October 1, 2011 - 5:30 am
#7

@TheCraig1998 What do you mean?

SeattleCoffeeGear wrote on October 1, 2011 - 5:59 am
#8

To be fair I didn’t say the test was pointless, I think I was just being greedy in my thirst for knowledge ;-). I think the test is a great way to show folks who may be shopping for grinders what to expect. There are a bunch of hardcore folks out there who’d argue that .9 grams one way or the other could really change the taste profile of a shot. Maybe if Kat and Gail run out of ideas they’ll consider another test with a .1 gram scale and maybe a larger selection of grinders. Just sayin.

smackcheez wrote on October 1, 2011 - 6:51 am
#9

U should of just used it normally for real world results

TheCraig1998 wrote on October 1, 2011 - 7:43 am
#10

@renix Thanks for sharing that info! – Kat

SeattleCoffeeGear wrote on October 1, 2011 - 8:28 am
#11

@renix Cool!

SeattleCoffeeGear wrote on October 1, 2011 - 9:18 am
#12

@machuq We gave it to our repair techs to use in testing. – Kat

SeattleCoffeeGear wrote on October 1, 2011 - 9:54 am
#13

@jamescitrome I agree; although we did test both methods and it didn’t seem to make a practical difference, shot flavor-wise. Have you had a different experience? Please share! – Kat

SeattleCoffeeGear wrote on October 1, 2011 - 10:32 am
#14

Oh and the results for the vario: Espresso .4g normal use, 2.7g after cleaning….and for Drip: .4g normal and 2.5g after cleaning

renix wrote on October 1, 2011 - 11:11 am
#15

Baratza has a nice guide on retention for their grinders.Their test was a bit more thorough. They also point out that after cleaning lots of coffee will get stuck in small spaces, more than after usual use.

renix wrote on October 1, 2011 - 12:03 pm
#16

@jochemvanl @smackcheez

I agree as an impartial third party! It can say 19 each time but sometimes it might be 19.9, others 19.0.

renix wrote on October 1, 2011 - 12:50 pm
#17

Just curiosity. What did you do with all those coffees after all? To a trash bin?
Besides, nice video. Thank you :)

machuq wrote on October 1, 2011 - 1:48 pm
#18

I do not think the test was pointless. It demonstrated that for accurate dosing, weighing the ground coffee is far more accurate than weighing the beans.
I don’t think the 20g post grind grinders really were 20g, there is always loss and the scale was not accurate enough to determine the amount of loss. Therefore, since as little as 0.5g can affect the taste, one should always grind than weigh.
Thanks for the vid.

jamescitrome wrote on October 1, 2011 - 2:15 pm
#19

@MikeCD1965 Agreed :) – Kat

SeattleCoffeeGear wrote on October 1, 2011 - 3:01 pm
#20

Hi gals…. thanks for this, if a grinder is retaining around 5% then that is quite a lot…. As long as you stick to the same method each time of either weighing before or after grinding then it will not make a difference.

MikeCD1965 wrote on October 1, 2011 - 3:56 pm
#21

@elo583 :D They’re sneaky! – Kat

SeattleCoffeeGear wrote on October 1, 2011 - 4:37 pm
#22

@jochemvanl I don’t agree; someone asked a question, we devised a test using the tools we have and we performed it. Everyone has an opinion and we encourage everyone to do their own testing, however they see fit. I don’t believe our test was pointless at all. – Kat

SeattleCoffeeGear wrote on October 1, 2011 - 4:46 pm
#23

@MrEjachok Yeah, it doesn’t have the same kind of chute construction as the others, but if you’ve got your portafilter in there it isn’t as wild as grinding onto a plate. – Kat

SeattleCoffeeGear wrote on October 1, 2011 - 5:09 pm
#24

@aunsell I was scared ;) – Kat

SeattleCoffeeGear wrote on October 1, 2011 - 5:39 pm
#25

It seems some grinders like Espresso too or make money on the black koffee market of it. I would keep an eye on this boys and I will especially on my grinder. :)

elo583 wrote on October 1, 2011 - 6:27 pm
#26

@crazyawsome9 i just did. it’s amazing and heartbreaking.

aliciaingermanland wrote on October 1, 2011 - 6:34 pm
#27

@ana2694x this sounds quite splendid. hope you dont mind if i steal your idea.. (=

corridonut wrote on October 1, 2011 - 7:32 pm
#28

@crazyawsome9 i did….it was great <3

NFSJason wrote on October 1, 2011 - 8:19 pm
#29

Youtube makes me laugh. Something so beautiful like this song only has 193k views, while another video in the suggestion column named “Coffee Biaaatch!” has over a million views. The girl in the picture is rank too. And that’s what’s wrong with America. Damn.

rstroker530 wrote on October 1, 2011 - 8:34 pm
#30

I remember when I’d run to you
through field of white flowers
Your embrace is my air
How I needed you there
And all of the world and
All of it’s powers
Couldn’t keep your love from me no
Couldn’t keep your love from me

xoMusicLIFExo wrote on October 1, 2011 - 8:58 pm
#31

I want to fall in love in a rainy day, while listening to their music.

ana2694x wrote on October 1, 2011 - 9:02 pm
#32

@InLoveFurLife same <3

crazylatingirl94 wrote on October 1, 2011 - 9:08 pm
#33

Hey, what’s up music lovers. if you’re looking for more original acoustic stuff, check out my channel. If you’re not, then you probably shouldn’t. Either way, have a good day.

nathanlippert wrote on October 1, 2011 - 9:48 pm
#34

I didnt even have to listen to the whole song to fall in love with it the first 10 seconds i loved it<3

InLoveFurLife wrote on October 1, 2011 - 10:25 pm
#35

good music

Darkrai1009 wrote on October 1, 2011 - 10:44 pm
#36

boring video.

Mountainbare2002 wrote on October 1, 2011 - 11:43 pm
#37

@crazyawsome9 me too…

mmckissick149 wrote on October 1, 2011 - 11:50 pm
#38

@crazyawsome9 me too.

mmckissick149 wrote on October 1, 2011 - 11:58 pm
#39

@crazyawsome9 I did it once, and now this song is full of memories

henaozero wrote on October 2, 2011 - 12:54 am
#40

No words can describe how beautiful this song is.

KelseytheOptimist wrote on October 2, 2011 - 1:18 am
#41

@hurricanebellarose That’s funny – exactly three years ago someone very special made me a mix tape cd, and this song was on it. I just found that cd in a drawer today, and this song brought back all those memories from 2007-08. Gosh, that man was beautiful. Still is, actually.

jalojalka wrote on October 2, 2011 - 1:33 am
#42

@crazyawsome9 I did….I fell in love with my boyfriend to “Priceless.” Six years later, I still still cry when I hear Copeland… nostalgia hurts

ashoka4327 wrote on October 2, 2011 - 1:51 am
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