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Comment by tpm | Hacker News Reader

> The biggest downside for the grinder is that it doesn’t work with starbucks style oily roasts

I have no idea whether my coffee is oily or not. I sometimes buy Starbucks Blonde Roast, is that oily? I would expect a $749 grinder work with any coffee beans.

And the grinder looks great, except for the two things that immediately catch my eye:

- the cable that I feel should come from the base and not hang like that.

- I think there should be a (optional) storage container integrated where the ground coffee goes.

And the 'See more' link ( https://velofuso.com/oculo ) doesn't work

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Starbucks lighter roasts (Blonde and Willow) are not oily. I understand why Starbucks is a good reference but just about any Southern Italian style dark roast ends up with oily beans.

The problem with Starbucks coffee from an espresso point of view is that you don't know when they were roasted and chances are it was more than a couple weeks ago.

Although, staleness isn't always a problem, especially for blends with Robusta.

https://www.home-barista.com/coffees/thoughts-on-italian-esp...

I'm in Central Europe, we don't have Willow here, just Blonde. Anyway I don't drink it often but as you say it's a good reference point. Mostly what would concern me are light and medium Arabica roasts for filtered coffee (Hario).

Thank you, fixed it!

>I think there should be a (optional) storage container integrated where the ground coffee goes.

There is a little cup that fits right below the grinder, or do you mean something else?

>I would expect a $749 grinder work with any coffee beans.

I totally get this, and I definitely want to make a burr set that works with everything. The reason these don't is essentially because these burrs are designed for something called densification - it's where particles are gradually rounded and amalgamated as they are mixed and tumbled. The cutting path for most grinders on the market today is too short for to see much of this, so it definitely sets this grinder apart in terms of flavor profile and even how the grounds look. The downside is that sticky and oily particles resist that process and expand and start to clog up the bottom of the burr when grinding finely. When grinding for filter, it's fine, but with espresso can require some routine cleanings.

> There is a little cup that fits right below the grinder, or do you mean something else?

I would prefer something that can be sealed. My cheap & not good Delonghi KG89 has a semi-sealed plastic vessel, which is handy when I want to grind coffee in the evening to use it in the morning and not wake up the family. I just let it there for the night. But of course if a small cup fits, a small sealable vessel will fit too, so it's fine.

> When grinding for filter, it's fine, but with espresso can require some routine cleanings.

All right, that's important information since I only drink filters, now I would love to taste this.

Yeah, for storage it would be nice if there was a hole in the espresso maker's arches to hold the grinder. Even people with the money to buy these products need efficient storage.

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