Before the shim kit was installed my Breville could not grind fine enough for decent shots from my pump machine, I didn't try it with the MCaL at that point. After reshimming the grinder it would do a nice job in the coarser Microcasa range which may or may not equal what comes out of the Vario at a similar setting. Hard to say without having them side by side & doing a blind tasting. Unfortunately when I set the grind fine enough to get a range of normal pour times for a typical pump machine using a standard double basket the quality of the output drops way off. The previously fluffy grounds now leave the grinder with lots of dense little clumps that are hard to break up. With some dedicated WDT effort you can produce a decent pouring shot but the resulting shot isn't particularly tasty IMO, whereas the coarser ground shots pulled on the MCaL were pretty nice.
The Breville could definitely use some more power as it slows way down in the fine espresso range taking approx. 30 seconds to turn out an 18g dose. Of course this is only applicable to the grinder as I have it shimmed.
I doubt it as the best brew grinders available use flat burrs. I'm sure it has more to do with the design of the cutting/crushing area of the burr then conical vs flat burrs. The burrs in the B. Vario are designed to produce a very high quality espresso grind & the fact that they can also produce a good brew grind is pretty amazing. Based on the good espresso grinders I've owned they typically don't make very good brew grinders. The output in the drip range from the Breville was low in fines & produced a sweet vac pot brew with no bitterness once properly dialed in. It didn't bring out the individual flavors as well as my Bunn with the Ditting burrs but I felt it did do a better job then what I got using the stock Bunn burrs. Of course this is going from memory & without a blind tasting comparing the different grinders/burrs it's just my opinion.
Posted Mon Mar 21, 2011, 11:46am Subject: Re: Does anybody know the new Breville BCG800 (Smart Grinder)?
Hi all,
Just to update you about the shim kit thing...
Got the shims last Tuesday night and installed it. The grinder is now grinding fine enough for my Gaggia Twin and the dosing is OK too. Before the shims I was getting too big doses, probably because of the too coarse grind.
Unfortunately I'm travelling now and can't test my grinder a little more, only after a few weeks.
calblacksmith Moderator Joined: 25 Nov 2007 Posts: 5,772 Location: Riverside, Ca, U.S.A. Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: ECM Veneziano A1 Grinder: Many different commercial Vac Pot: 40s era Silex Drip: Milita, Bunn&Curtis... Roaster: Cast iron pan, gas burner
Posted Mon Mar 21, 2011, 12:56pm Subject: Re: Does anybody know the new Breville BCG800 (Smart Grinder)?
OK, I only read the first page and this point may or may not have been made but Watts is not an indication of the power OUTPUT of a product, only how much goes IN to the product.
A very inefficient (grinder lets say) may be rated for 200 w and only put out 1/30 HP while another grinder may be rated for 150 w and puts out 1/20 hp.
The first, though rated at a higher wattage than the second, is not as efficient in it's use of power due to poor design and thus uses more power to do less work. The second is a better design and gets more grunt from it's power usage due to better design and so it needs less power to do it' job though it's w ratting is lower, it is the better grinder.
No actual electrical calculations were made or were inferred. I only picked numbers out of the air to make a point. Please do not say that it is impossible to get 1/20 hp from 150 w using any formulas for hp from watts. SMILE!
In real life, my name is Wayne P.
Feed the newbs, starve the trolls and above all enjoy what you drink!
Posted Tue Mar 22, 2011, 1:53pm Subject: Re: Does anybody know the new Breville BCG800 (Smart Grinder)?
Just an FYI. If you need to get the shim kit for your Breville BCG800, just call: 1-866-273-8455 . Choose option#2 (all other inquiries). you may have to wait a bit for an operator to assist you, but from there it is fast going. They only ask for your name, address, and telephone number. Shim kit is free, and takes about 7 business days to arrive. I am waiting now.
Len
"Coffee leads men to trifle away their time, scald their chops, and spend their money, all for a little base, black, thick, nasty, bitter, stinking nauseous puddle water." ~The Women's Petition Against Coffee, 1674
ergojuer Senior Member Joined: 1 Dec 2009 Posts: 1 Location: bavaria/ germany Expertise: I live coffee
Posted Thu Jun 30, 2011, 12:43am Subject: Re: Does anybody know the new Breville BCG800 (Smart Grinder)?
At first, excuse my english, its not the best. ;-)
In this summer/ autumn the breville smart grinder will arrive in germany under the brand "gastroback" (link Click Here (www.gastroback.de) I read the english and the german manuals, but there is still a question:
Is there any possibity to adjust the basic grindamount for one shot? I know, that it is possible to adjust the amount in 5 steps of 5% up und downwards. But if it is neccessary to calibrate the grinder by shims for espressofine grinding, this will result in a smaller amount/ time. I prefer about 9 gr for a single shot. So what happens, when the thicker shim is built in? I am a little bit afraid, that this will result in a situation, where the basic amount will be far under the the desired 9 gram. Maybe I have to adjust the grinder then by take 20% oder 25% more in the direction stronger. At the end it won`t be possible to vary the amount upwards. Maybe even the basic amount +25% won`t be enough?
All this would be no problem, if it is possible to adjust the basic amount. Further on I could then work with the +- 25%.
zaneus Senior Member Joined: 16 Aug 2011 Posts: 2 Location: Wagga, Australia Expertise: Pro Barista
Posted Tue Aug 16, 2011, 5:37am Subject: Re: Does anybody know the new Breville BCG800 (Smart Grinder)?
You can select 1 or 2 shots with the espresso range on the grinder. In the one shot side you have a range between 5ish grams up to 14 grams. i weighed the heaviest and was getting about 7 at a bit below the halfway, didnt bother weighing the smallest amount as i didnt see a need to. In the two shot side of things it goes from as low as 14 up above 24g, i had the dose set to full and let it run. i knew i already had enough grinds so i stopped the automatic dosing early, weighed it at 24.4g. The grinder pretty much gives you any dosing setting you need for espresso. I can't comment on the accuracy of the dosing as i haven't had the grinder for very long, but it seemed accurate +/- a gram which i can live with. I had it set to dose around 18g and i'd weigh that, then pinch some off or grind a bit more in if it needed it
cappuccinoboy Senior Member Joined: 27 Jun 2009 Posts: 793 Location: MILANO Expertise: Professional
Espresso: Milano pod, Milano fully... Grinder: grind on demand
Posted Tue Aug 16, 2011, 8:02am Subject: Re: Does anybody know the new Breville BCG800 (Smart Grinder)?
calblacksmith Said:
OK, I only read the first page and this point may or may not have been made but Watts is not an indication of the power OUTPUT of a product, only how much goes IN to the product.
A very inefficient (grinder lets say) may be rated for 200 w and only put out 1/30 HP while another grinder may be rated for 150 w and puts out 1/20 hp.
The first, though rated at a higher wattage than the second, is not as efficient in it's use of power due to poor design and thus uses more power to do less work. The second is a better design and gets more grunt from it's power usage due to better design and so it needs less power to do it' job though it's w ratting is lower, it is the better grinder.
No actual electrical calculations were made or were inferred. I only picked numbers out of the air to make a point. Please do not say that it is impossible to get 1/20 hp from 150 w using any formulas for hp from watts. SMILE!
Wayne, motor Wattage is just indication of power that goes in as you rightfully mention, but if you put that 150W motor on a 1-11 gear reduction unit, you will actually have 1650W or 2.2 HP torque power... it is not exact but very close and it varies if you use AC or DC motors... : it is mentioned to be interpreted (or confuse the potential buyer), like the 15-18bar pressure quotation given for pumps, that can only mistake or mislead the naive and not the expert, since all you need to brew coffee is 9 bar...... So you cannot simply judge and compare different units on these simple parameters... ciao, Pietro
JDolezal Senior Member Joined: 3 Nov 2011 Posts: 4 Location: Upland, IN Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Expobar Office Control Grinder: Breville BCG800XL
Posted Mon Nov 28, 2011, 9:18am Subject: Re: Does anybody know the new Breville BCG800 (Smart Grinder)?
zaneus Said:
You can select 1 or 2 shots with the espresso range on the grinder. In the one shot side you have a range between 5ish grams up to 14 grams. i weighed the heaviest and was getting about 7 at a bit below the halfway, didnt bother weighing the smallest amount as i didnt see a need to.
I find that when I dial in 1 shot with no +/- % change (no bars), I get around 11g of coffee - which is significantly more than is required for a single shot. Is this normal for this grinder? I'm suspicious that the dosing isn't very accurate or consistent.
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