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Date: 21 Dec 2006 21:54:09
From: Bradley
Subject: Anita / Anfim Haus problem settled, questions remain about converted rice
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I just changed out the burr set on the Anfim Haus. And it's a new
grinder. Lovely, 27 second pours of Moka Kadir that I roasted to a
Full City+ on Monday. With the new burr set, I managed to dial in the
grinder in three pours, compared with a 1/2 pound of disasters
yesterday. And now, the honeymoon with Anita begins, and I can start
to focus on tasting and timing the cooling flush.
Yes, theoretically, Matt would be right in saying 100 pounds of coffee
should be trivial wear on a burr set. OK, maybe is was 150 pounds.
But beyond theory, the fact remains that the outer edges of the burr
set seemed smooth, and the new burr set has made a distinct
difference.
Item 1: I never caught any igneous indignities running through my
grinder, and the coarser edges of the burrs show no insults from
rocks. The old (150 pound) burr set just seems worn.
Item 2: I believe, although beliefs can be delusions as Richard
Dawkins keeps pointing out, that I first noticed changes in the Anfim
Haus after I first ran converted rice through it (I know. perhaps I
should have used pagan rice). Yes, this defies the conventional
wisdom here. But, has anyone actually tested the claim that converted
rice, partially cooked, is truly softer than rice fresh from the
paddy? Is it possible that the steaming hardens the surface of the
rice? For my part, I'll probably cough up a few doubloons for some
(wholesale) Grindz rather than foist Uncle Ben's on the new burrs.
I'm just relieved that the new burr set is producing the desired
results on the Anita. And I'll mull over a longer term solution of
upgrading. Probably to a Mini E.
Waiting for Godot (shot),
Brad
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Date: 22 Dec 2006 04:41:35
From: mattw
Subject: Re: Anita / Anfim Haus problem settled, questions remain about converted rice
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Odd, but glad to see it worked for you. Good thing you had some spare
burrs around.
I have used plain old rice (because we have about 25 lbs of it in the
pantry - amazing how long a 50 lb. bag of rice lasts) with some success
in my commercial grinders (though not often). Worked pretty well,
though I am sure Grindz works better (and as mgwolf noted on HB: If you
cleaned your grinder once a month (home use), a can of Grindz would
probably last two years at least. It does a great job, and you only
need to grind a small amount of coffee through it after its use. If you
have to use a lot of coffee to get the cheap minute rice out, what's
the point?)
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Date: 21 Dec 2006 21:14:47
From: Don C.
Subject: Re: Anita / Anfim Haus problem settled, questions remain about converted rice
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Even with the distinction it is unlikely that the rice really caused
any damage to the burrs. It was probably just the 150 or so lbs of
coffee that wore them down.
Good luck with that Anita. I have been lusting after one for a couple
months now and will probably have to wait until ch or thereabouts to
get mine.
Only hitch now is that I just got finished redoing my kitchen with
granite and cabinets. Part of the project included a new counter
section for coffee equipment complete with power and while I was
redoing the plumbing I decided to run a new line to this counter "just
in case" and now it seems like a waste not to go plumbed in for
espresso. So now I am considering the Bezzera Direct Connect.
On Dec 21, 8:51 pm, Bradley <nos...@127.0.0.1 > wrote:
> On 21 Dec 2006 16:39:00 -0800, "Don C." <DonRCummi...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> >Converted rice is actually almost no different in density and hardness
> >from regular "off the paddy" rice. The blanching process is designed
> >mostly to add a little flavor and to strip some of the surface starch
> >so that the rice doesn't stick together when cooked.
>
> >Instant rice or Minute Rice by tradename is the stuff that helps to
> >clean grinders very effectively. It achieves this feat by shattering
> >under force into dessicated powder that can then absorb rancid oils and
> >shake coffee debris loose from burrs.
>
> >The priy benefit from using rice comes from the dry-ness of the
> >Minute rice and its absorbant qualities. Regular rice, converted or
> >not, does not share this trait.Don, thanks for the distinction.
>
> Brad
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Date: 22 Dec 2006 12:23:41
From: Bradley
Subject: Re: Anita / Anfim Haus problem settled, questions remain about converted rice
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On 21 Dec 2006 21:14:47 -0800, "Don C." <DonRCummings@gmail.com >
wrote:
>Even with the distinction it is unlikely that the rice really caused
>any damage to the burrs. It was probably just the 150 or so lbs of
>coffee that wore them down.
>
>Good luck with that Anita. I have been lusting after one for a couple
>months now and will probably have to wait until ch or thereabouts to
>get mine.
>
>Only hitch now is that I just got finished redoing my kitchen with
>granite and cabinets. Part of the project included a new counter
>section for coffee equipment complete with power and while I was
>redoing the plumbing I decided to run a new line to this counter "just
>in case" and now it seems like a waste not to go plumbed in for
>espresso. So now I am considering the Bezzera Direct Connect.
>
It doesn't say a lot for the steel of the burr set; IIRC, the
manufacturer claimed 600 - 700 pound rating. But with new burrs the
grinder is as good as new for the time being, and I think I'll forgo
the rice. And set aside a budget for a grinder upgrade.
Yeah, the Anita was a stretch, which would have made adding a grinder
at the same time painful. It was a returned Anita from someone who
had it two weeks and then upgraded to Andreja, I was told. $80 off of
list, which wasn't much, but it does seem effectively a new machine.
These thermo-siphon machines go through a lot of water. I can see why
people go with the direct connect (and in-line water softening if
needed) option. There's just two of us here most of the time, so the
pour over is not too big a deal, and I can maintain frequent
observation of water hardness.
But what I am now speculating on is this. I am guessing that when
Faema designed this group, they had in mind its interaction with the
dynamics of a rotary pump. Perhaps I'm wrong about that. But it
seems to me likely that there could be a discernible difference in the
extraction from the s l o w build up of pressure when a vibe pump is
attached to the E61 vs. a rotary. I'm guessing that attaching a vibe
pump to an e61 was an accommodation to the "prosumer" ket and
perhaps not as originally intended by Faema's engineers. Wondering
what the trade offs may be, and thinking that the purist solution
would be an E61 driven by a rotary pump. Others here are much more
qualified to address this question.
Brad
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Date: 22 Dec 2006 15:36:07
From: Bradley B.
Subject: Re: Anita / Anfim Haus problem settled, questions remain about converted rice
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On Fri, 22 Dec 2006 12:23:41 GMT, Bradley <nospam@127.0.0.1 > wrote:
>But what I am now speculating on is this. I am guessing that when
>Faema designed this group, they had in mind its interaction with the
>dynamics of a rotary pump. Perhaps I'm wrong about that. But it
>seems to me likely that there could be a discernible difference in the
>extraction from the s l o w build up of pressure when a vibe pump is
>attached to the E61 vs. a rotary. I'm guessing that attaching a vibe
>pump to an e61 was an accommodation to the "prosumer" ket and
>perhaps not as originally intended by Faema's engineers. Wondering
>what the trade offs may be, and thinking that the purist solution
>would be an E61 driven by a rotary pump. Others here are much more
>qualified to address this question.
>
>Brad
>
I've been digging around. As many here must already know, Ken and Jim
have done some controlled tests to compare vibe pump to rotary,
holding all other variables as constant has possible, and assert that
properly set up, the vibe pump produces no discernible difference in
espresso quality as compared with the rotary.
Brad
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Date: 21 Dec 2006 16:39:00
From: Don C.
Subject: Re: Anita / Anfim Haus problem settled, questions remain about converted rice
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Converted rice is actually almost no different in density and hardness
from regular "off the paddy" rice. The blanching process is designed
mostly to add a little flavor and to strip some of the surface starch
so that the rice doesn't stick together when cooked.
Instant rice or Minute Rice by tradename is the stuff that helps to
clean grinders very effectively. It achieves this feat by shattering
under force into dessicated powder that can then absorb rancid oils and
shake coffee debris loose from burrs.
The priy benefit from using rice comes from the dry-ness of the
Minute rice and its absorbant qualities. Regular rice, converted or
not, does not share this trait.
On Dec 21, 4:54 pm, Bradley <nos...@127.0.0.1 > wrote:
> I just changed out the burr set on the Anfim Haus. And it's a new
> grinder. Lovely, 27 second pours of Moka Kadir that I roasted to a
> Full City+ on Monday. With the new burr set, I managed to dial in the
> grinder in three pours, compared with a 1/2 pound of disasters
> yesterday. And now, the honeymoon with Anita begins, and I can start
> to focus on tasting and timing the cooling flush.
>
> Yes, theoretically, Matt would be right in saying 100 pounds of coffee
> should be trivial wear on a burr set. OK, maybe is was 150 pounds.
>
> But beyond theory, the fact remains that the outer edges of the burr
> set seemed smooth, and the new burr set has made a distinct
> difference.
>
> Item 1: I never caught any igneous indignities running through my
> grinder, and the coarser edges of the burrs show no insults from
> rocks. The old (150 pound) burr set just seems worn.
>
> Item 2: I believe, although beliefs can be delusions as Richard
> Dawkins keeps pointing out, that I first noticed changes in the Anfim
> Haus after I first ran converted rice through it (I know. perhaps I
> should have used pagan rice). Yes, this defies the conventional
> wisdom here. But, has anyone actually tested the claim that converted
> rice, partially cooked, is truly softer than rice fresh from the
> paddy? Is it possible that the steaming hardens the surface of the
> rice? For my part, I'll probably cough up a few doubloons for some
> (wholesale) Grindz rather than foist Uncle Ben's on the new burrs.
>
> I'm just relieved that the new burr set is producing the desired
> results on the Anita. And I'll mull over a longer term solution of
> upgrading. Probably to a Mini E.
>
> Waiting for Godot (shot),
>
> Brad
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Date: 22 Dec 2006 01:51:14
From: Bradley
Subject: Re: Anita / Anfim Haus problem settled, questions remain about converted rice
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On 21 Dec 2006 16:39:00 -0800, "Don C." <DonRCummings@gmail.com >
wrote:
>Converted rice is actually almost no different in density and hardness
>from regular "off the paddy" rice. The blanching process is designed
>mostly to add a little flavor and to strip some of the surface starch
>so that the rice doesn't stick together when cooked.
>
>Instant rice or Minute Rice by tradename is the stuff that helps to
>clean grinders very effectively. It achieves this feat by shattering
>under force into dessicated powder that can then absorb rancid oils and
>shake coffee debris loose from burrs.
>
>The priy benefit from using rice comes from the dry-ness of the
>Minute rice and its absorbant qualities. Regular rice, converted or
>not, does not share this trait.
>
Don, thanks for the distinction.
Brad
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