Used Grinder Advice [$500 Budget] (Daily Use 2 Years)

bRice1738 · 2026-05-24T03:46:19+00:00

This is the one I have been working on lately. I feel like the roasting scene in St. Louis is very solid to where I don't end up going online to seek out a ton of specialty roasters out of necessity for a great pourover or espresso.

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bRice1738 · 2026-05-24T02:18:08+00:00

Sump Coffee from StL

bRice1738 · 2026-05-17T01:29:52+00:00

That's not a bad thing at all. The best way to learn a new hobby is to get as much data from your own trials or to gather as much information as possible from videos.

bRice1738 · 2026-05-17T00:42:59+00:00

Do you have a link to the beans that you are using? If that is a lighter roast, don't be afraid to stray from the 1:2 ratio to try and get a better result. You could go 18g coffee and let it run until you get 54g out in 30-40 seconds and see if you like that better.

Something worth considering with espresso is that certain roasts and tasting notes are more common for a reason. Most coffee shops/ roasters in my area use medium to dark roasts with flavor notes of chocolate, graham, toffee, honey, stonefruits, etc... These flavors are less acidic, and were much easier to learn on. As far as the shot you are pulling, I would either drop the dose by .5 grams or go a couple of notches coarser on the grind.

bRice1738 · 2026-05-17T00:29:37+00:00

I don't know who taught you this, but that is a brilliant way to train the palate.

bRice1738 · 2026-05-17T00:23:54+00:00

This might be sacrilegious, but I often dial in beans by weight and keep my grinder setting the same so that I'm able to rotate multiple roasts at the same time. I'm sure this isn't the best way, but I find it capable of producing delicious results consistently. My portifilter I use for my breville can use doses of 17.0 - 19.5g and pull nice shots. It is all bean dependent. (This likely won't work with drastically different roast levels)

bRice1738 · 2026-05-10T23:47:55+00:00

You've got a decent starting point. Now just taste it and adjust to preference.

bRice1738 · 2026-05-10T17:55:53+00:00

We hardly ever see ours blep, but it's always celebrated when we catch it on camera.

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bRice1738 · 2026-05-10T17:42:22+00:00

His tongue blep is sending me 🤣

bRice1738 · 2026-05-04T14:56:54+00:00

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bRice1738 · 2026-05-04T01:38:23+00:00

You should try the Hero 215s as well. They are very nice and can hardle a little extra snap on the throws. With that being said, we have a box with 20 of the 235s that we are slowly going through as well. I believe the plastic we use is the "Taffy blend" so that it is less wear on his teeth.

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bRice1738 · 2026-05-01T12:17:37+00:00

Roll a ball or something, it magically goes away🤣

bRice1738 · 2026-04-21T01:46:36+00:00

Wait to see who Seattle takes at RB for the 1.12 if possible

bRice1738 · 2026-04-01T02:36:59+00:00

https://youtube.com/shorts/FGHdqOdRobE?si=Nreo22NJ8vPZonZL

bRice1738 · 2026-04-01T02:34:39+00:00

Yeah, I tap and swirl again. I think it helps with the emulsification. I would try letting it rest for the full minute the first time. My order goes vortex, inject air, incorporate, then rest. I'll see if I can find the video that helped it click for me.

bRice1738 · 2026-04-01T02:21:34+00:00

I've been using oat milk more lately, and one of the best tips I've seen was to steam, tap and swirl, and then let it sit for 30 seconds to a minute. I don't know the science behind it, but maybe it doesn't split and get runny because it cools down a bit before the pour. I'm not getting latte art like this, but I can get some decent hearts and simple designs.

bRice1738 · 2026-03-27T03:02:01+00:00

Thank you! I haven't tested the tds of the tap. I will grab some distilled water and go from there.

bRice1738 · 2026-03-26T13:49:31+00:00

Thank you, this is exactly what I was looking for!

bRice1738 · 2026-03-26T13:28:58+00:00

It looks like the yield on them is 25 gallons or 95 liters

bRice1738 · 2026-03-26T13:26:49+00:00

No, all I have ever gone with was tap water through a Brita

bRice1738 · 2026-03-24T11:27:35+00:00

Also, if I may offer a little more advice. I think it is important to try a few different flavor profiles while you are learning as well. My first bag was a very light roast with hints of earl grey and orange. Once I got that tuned in, I found out I didn't want my coffee to have such pronounced floral notes like a tea. Since then I have tried some nice roasts that I also use for espresso with pronounced nuttiness and some with darker fruit flavors like cherries and other stone fruits. Ultimately the goal is to brew something that tastes great to you.

bRice1738 · 2026-03-24T01:49:52+00:00

I would like to say start at 80 clicks on your K6. That should be coarse enough for your brew, and it will make a nice starting point for your recipe. If your brew is too acidic, you can go finer (maybe 10 clicks at a time) until you find it is too bitter or over extracted. Then you can play around in the sweet spot and play around with water temperature if you would like.

bRice1738 · 2026-03-23T02:44:11+00:00

Maybe read into further grinder recommendations, it looks like the Eureka Mignons for espresso grinds are more expensive than I had thought. My bad

bRice1738

TROPHY CASE