Q: There are quite a few options for burrs, which burrs should I go for?

A: It depends on your usage and preferred espresso-style, as most burrs are slightly different in their own way and are unique in what they bring to the cup.

All burrs are capable of all brewing methods, and can pull shots almost at any brew ratios. However, in our experience, each burr design will shine in different types of applications - more information below. Red Speed coated burrs offered by SSP are rated up to 5000 kg / 11000 lbs. We expect any of the burrs we offer to last a lifetime and don’t require replacement in the grinder’s lifetime (i.e. at home-use of 2-6 double espresso per day), barring any castrostropic event (e.g. accidental grinding of foreign metalic material).

At present, there are five burrs options available:

1. Mizen - 64OM (Omni)

This is the new burrset that we’ve created based on our desire to come up with an all-purpose burr set (hence the name Omni) that excels in both espresso and pour-over grinding (e.g. V60, Kalitta, Chemex, etc), with tasty cup profiles in all use cases. By fine-tuning the popular cast burr teeth profile and incorporating our improved Moonshine process, we believe we have created a unique burr set that we’re proud to share.

When used for espresso, the Omni burrs provide enhanced flavour separation and clarity in the cup, showcasing the flavours of the coffee terroir and processing, without sacrificing the body/mouthfeel you would get with traditional flat burrs. The cup characteristics are extremely clean and sweet due to the unique surface finish as a result of Moonshine process. The Omni burrs are suitable for all roast levels, and are especially suited for those who enjoy medium roast level and/or lighter.

When used for coarser grinding (e.g. pour over or immersion brew), the Omni burrs produce high-quality coarse grind with relatively low fines (which can be notorious for clogging up paper filters). The grind size distribution of the Omni burrs is slightly broader than unimodal-style burrs, but is still rather focused when compared to traditional flat burrs – this combination lends itself to achieving brewed coffee with cup characteristics that are complex, juicy, and have satisfying mouthfeel and with little astringency.

These Omni burrs are what we envisioned to be high clarity, all-rounder burrs that deliver a cup profile that can please most users (e.g. as opposed to Unimodal Espresso which can be a polarising experience sometimes).

2. Mizen - 64ES (Espresso)

The geometry of 64ES burrs initially draws inspiration from traditional-style aggressive cut burrs, which we expected to deliver intense, high body shots. Out of curiousity, we experimented with using grind bypass paths to modulate the coffee grinding dynamics. Although we couldn’t precisely isolate the impact of these grind bypass, we discovered that this burr design, when combined with our other manufacturing processes, imparted unexpectedly distinctive characteristics that we felt brought us close to that ideal espresso, and so we would like to share it with you!

The Mizen 64ES delivers sweet, softer and more balanced shots, and most importantly it is followed by a pleasant finish — an aspect that we've observed traditional-style burrs sometimes struggle with due to some extent of unintended overextraction.

We designed the ES burrs with a specific focus on espresso enthusiasts—those who primarily enjoy espresso or espresso-based drinks. If you are looking to enhance the taste of your coffee (balance, finish and sweetness) without sacrificing body/mouthfeel significantly, these espresso burrs can deliver a velvety texture with minimized harsh notes or signs of overextraction. The key flavor characteristics are well-balanced, leaving a sweet and pleasant aftertaste.

3. SSP - Unimodal Espresso (UM) /Multipurpose

These are burrs with unique geometry that we think highlight flavour characteristics that are treasured in modern espresso. In October 2020, SSP has made a slight modification to the original Unimodal Burrs (Option 4 as described below) to make them more forgiving and adaptable for espresso usage. The Unimodal-espresso burrs (sometimes refered to as V2 inofficially in the community) work well both for filter brews and light roast espresso. The burr geometry was originally inspired by Mahlkonig Kenia & Guatemala Lab bulk grinders.

In our experience the SSP unimodal-espresso burrs tend to excel in highlighting flavour clarity and brightness in lighter roast coffees. They can also work for darker roasts but we think their potential is best used for the lighter roasts. If you are someone who don’t mind experimenting and are chasing delicate flavours in high-quality light roasted coffees, we recommend trying EKpresso-style shots (or Turbo shots) with these unimodal burrs. The high (and fast) extraction of SSP Unimodal burrs tend to play well with higher-acid coffee (ie light roasts).

When the unimodal burrs will be a less optimal choice : As the unimodal burrs can be a new experience for many, these behaviours may not be apparent to a new user - i.e. techniques that worked on conventional burrs may not be directly applicable on the unimodal burrs. For example, as the unimodal burrs are already producing extremely fine grind at normal espresso flow rate, it is not neccesary to use additional techniques that encourage finer-grinding, and doing so may be counterproductive. It also benefits from using a lower brew pressure (6-7 bar). If you often do three or more of the following in combination, and would like to keep the way how you currently pull the shots, the unimodal burrs may be less suitable for your application : (i) using very lightly/under- developed roasts, (ii) using low doses in double basket (e.g. <14 g), (iii) using modern baskets with larger total hole area (VST basket, particularly the lower capacity 15g basket), (iv) flow profiling (blooming-espresso or Slayer-style), and/or (v) making shots of low brew ratio (<1:2). The Unimodal Espresso burrs may also produce lesser mouthfeel compared to traditional burrs. Although it may sound like the unimodal burrs has less flexibility in these cases, the reward is that you can get shots that are extremely sweet, balanced and with high flavour clarity out of light roasts not achievable with conventional burrs.

4. SSP High-Uniformity (HU) /Espresso

These are SSP-improved version of traditional 64mm espresso burrs, by offering a higher grind uniformity in espresso compared to traditional 64mm flat burrs. This is also the same burrs style used in Socratic Coffee’s test where SSP’s burrs provided a higher uniformity grind at espresso grind (hence the name).

It offers results close to the more-traditional espresso experience but is an overall improvement over the standard 64mm burrs. It is best suited for those who prefer making espresso at a tighter brew ratio - i.e. if you frequently make espresso or ristretto with brew ratio between 1:1 to 1:2.5, this will likely be the better burr for you. This is an espresso-focused burrset that can work relatively well with roasts of all spectrum. Compared to conical burrs, we feel the high-uniformity (HU) burrs can offer a better flavour clarity experience. Compared to the Unimodal Espresso burrs, the HU burrs offer a more textured shots for those who value mouthfeel slightly over flavour clarity, and yet with a reasonable level of flavour clarity. For milk drinks, the HU burrs usually offer a punchier flavour in our experience.

5. SSP Brew (Unimodal V1) - Only available via custom order

These are the original Unimodal burrs (known as Brew burrs by SSP) that we offered at the launch of LAGOM P64 back in 2019. Our goal then was to share this unique style of espresso with our fellow coffee enthusiasts. While they can be worked to pull espresso, the 64 mm Brew burrs can be more demanding to use and hence based on our experience its usage may not be suited for everyone. When used for espresso, the puck may quickly lose its structural integrity over the course of extraction and hence channel more easily. This is a normal behavior for the grind of this burrset but as we learned it can be a suboptimal experience for those who are used to seeing well-behaved extractions. Hence, to achieve the Unimodal-style espresso more easily, a modified version SSP-Unimodal Espresso (Option 1, described above) was later developed. We recommend the SSP Brew (Unimodal V1) only if you’re planning to use the LAGOM P64 mainly for pour over or coarse grinding, or for high brew ratio turbo-Shots. While the Unimodal V1 can be used for traditional-style espresso (9 bar, 1:2 brew ratio, 30s), it is not recommended if that’s the main intended usage.

Clarification about SSP’s 64mm burrs naming system (a ‘confession’ and a note of apology): We initially sold the SSP Brew and SSP Espresso burrs in LAGOM P64 using our own naming system (as “SSP Unimodal Espresso” and “SSP High Uniformity”), thinking it would better convey what the burrs do and excel in. At the time, we did not see far enough to predict that the 64mm burrs would become popular and the naming would be an issue when the community is using the burrs elsewhere. We also (naively) overlooked the fact that SSP would sell these burrs separately (which are understandably sold using their own naming convention), notwithstanding the fact there is also another High Uniformity burrs in SSP’s 98mm burrs portfolio. So it is entirely our apologies for any confusion caused in the field as a result of this! For legacy reasons, we will keep using these naming system just for the 64mm burrs, as the coffee community seems to have picked up and started using this naming convention (too late to undo despite its imperfectness!).

The TLDR version ;)