What are burrs?
One of the hardest working parts of your coffee grinder are the grinder burrs. These burrs are also known as grinder blades and come in a wide variety of different shapes, sizes, and materials that all have different schools of thought and methodologies behind them. Although they may be different in appearance, the coffee grinding burrs normally consist of a set of “teethed” discs. One of these is fixed to the coffee grinder’s motor and spins whilst the other is normally in a fixed position. To break down and grind the coffee within the grinder, the burr attached to the motor is spun against the other, grinding the coffee into a size that is suitable for brewing coffee. To get a coarser grind, allow for a bigger gap between the burrs and a smaller gap to create a finer grind.
Why Do They Go Dull?
Every time you use your coffee grinder, you’re going to start wearing off the edges on the burrs’ teeth, which ultimately dulls them. Previously, manufacturers would give a rough estimate on how many kilos a pair of burrs would get through before they would need to be replaced, however this is not the standard practice these days. From the first coffee you grind, you are affecting the sharpness and grinding standard of your burrs. This means that it is up to you to establish what is an acceptable performance standard for your coffee grinder. If you ask us to give you a rough estimate, the lowest max capacity we’ve been given by a manufacturer for a set of commercial steel grinder burrs is 400kg and for titanium coated burrs is 800kg.
Things To Look Out For
But how do you know when to change your grinder burrs? What kind of signs should you be looking for? See below to figure out what signs your grinder may be giving you when it’s time to change your burrs.
Inconsistent Grind
Firstly, you may notice new inconsistencies when making your coffee. Maybe your grinder used to dose 18g of coffee consistently through the day with a slight expected variance - if you’re noticing that your grinder is now throwing out coffee with variances of 2-3+ grams, it might be a sign the burrs need changing. Perhaps, you also notice that even when you weigh 18g of coffee, your shots are still being pulled inconsistently.
Grinder Overheating
Have you noticed that your coffee grinder is getting very hot, even though you’ve only used it for a short amount of time? Maybe the ground coffee coming out is clumping or sticking together a bit more than usual? If the burrs are dull, sometimes you can get away with just making the grind finer and finer. But because the teeth don’t have their edge, they are working inefficiently to grind the coffee and producing unwanted heat.
Sluggish Grinding Performance
If your grinder used to grind a double shot in 6 seconds and now struggles to do it in 10, it might be a sign that the burrs need to be replaced.
If you’re looking for the right set of replacement coffee grinder burrs available in the UK, we've made a table below of some of the most well known ones. If your grinder isn't on here, reach out to us at [email protected] with your make and model and a member of our customer service team will be able to help you find it.
| Grinder | Original | Third Party |
| Anfim Caimano | 707124 | 700131 |
| Anfim Super Caimano | 707116 | 620351 |
| Ceado E37J | CEA90300 | - |
| Ceado E37R | CEA90300 | - |
| Ceado E37K | CEA90304 | - |
| Ceado E37S | CEA90303 | - |
| Ceado E37SL | CEA90303 | - |
| Ceado E37T | CEA90306 | - |
| Ceado E5P | CEA90300 | - |
| Ceado E5SD | - | - |
| Ceado E6P | CEA90300 | - |
| Ceado E6P FILTER | - | - |
| Ceado E7P | - | - |
| Ditting KR804 | 620315 | - |
| Ditting KR1203 | 620317 | - |
| Ditting KR1403 | 620318 | - |
| Fiorenzato F64E | 720049 | - |
| Fiorenzato F64 EVO | 720057 | - |
| La Marzocco Lux D | 620378 | - |
| La Marzocco Swift (Ceramic) | S52003001 | - |
| La Marzocco Vulcano | M1011 | - |
| Mahlkonig EK43 | F302804 | - |
| Mahlkonig Guatemala | F309700 | - |
| Mahlkonig K30 | F306715 | - |
| Mahlkonig Tanzania | F310123 | - |
| Mazzer Kold | 620372 | 620363 |
| Mazzer Kony | 620369 | 620371 |
| Mazzer Major | 700135/M | 700135 |
| Mazzer Mini Electronic | 620376 | - |
| Mazzer Mini Automatic/Timer | 620373 | 620358 |
| Mazzer Robur | 620372 | 620363 |
| Mazzer Super Jolly | 700108/M | 700108 |
| Mazzer ZM Standard 151F | FFMA00151F | - |
| Mazzer ZM Filter 151G | FFMA00151G | - |
| Mazzer ZM Espresso 151B | - | - |
| Nuova Simonelli Mythos One | 729000 | 620383 |
| Nuova Simonelli Mythos Two | F15030202SC |
- |
| Fellow Ode Brew Grinder |
FLD1211-01 |
SSP643 |
| Fellow Ode Gen 2 Brew Grinder |
FLD1211-01SB |
- |
