Home Grinder- Baratza Sette, a review

Baratza Sette

 

Kyle Anderson and engineer Christian Etzinger have made an on-demand grinder so revolutionary that I predict it will influence grinders made to grind per-order for espresso  for years into the future.

The two design elements that are allow this teeny machine to brew great espresso are both known, and I admit a bit of a mystery to me.  I do know this produces a beautiful full flavor extraction but I don’t know why…but of course I have a theory.

In the past I have tested many conical grinders and formed the opinion that if you grind the coffee too quickly, say 20g in less than 8 or 9 seconds, you get a thin, watery extraction much like a flat burr machine produces turning the burrs at 900 rpm.  The effect was very consistent looking at Mazzre Kold machines, turning large conical burrs that would grind the 20g shot in about 4 seconds.  Always thin espresso…Compak grinding a little slower made espresso that was a little thicker and more flavorful.  And my choice at Vivace, the DRM mixed burr system grinds 20g in about 14 seconds and produces the thickest most flavorful shots I have ever encountered.  You can “read” the shot under the basket of a naked port filter.  Take a look at the Sette shot made on a Breville Dual Boiler:

Sette pour an a Breville home machine

 

This is a damn good pour.  Ok ready? The Sette turns a 40mm steel conical burr (made by Etzinger) at 1100rpm and grinds the 20g shot in six seconds!  It should be thin and watery and it is not.  (I love it when a “sacred cow” is slain and my theory is out the window). The only difference I can point to for this very superior performance is that the design drives the upper, or female, part of the burr set with the motor and all other grinders that I am familiar with drive the lower, or male burr.  I honestly have no idea why this would make such a huge, huge difference in viscosity and flavor intensity but it is the only real difference I can point to. (Or maybe the Etzinger burr is extremely superior but I lean towards the former explanation).

OK, what is the other innovation I am so excited about?  As you know if you have made more than one shot on a PID espresso machine and can taste at all, flow rate is the Holy Grail.  To control flow rate you must control the dosage to +/- 0.1g of ground coffee in the basket and you must have a uniform particle distribution in the powder coming into the port-filter.  In all grinders on the market today the powder is exposed to static electricity on the way to the PF, and they all have trapped, pre-ground coffee in the stuck in the machine between shots.  The static pulls the fine particles out of position in the powder to a greater degree than it affects larger, heavier particles, resulting in uneven fidelity to the original particle compositional matrix.  You cannot move the powder through any apparatus without screwing up the particle distribution.  When the fines are moved out of the mix, and stick to the cone or whatever they are traveling in, the shot speeds up.  Flow rate cannot be controlled if the powder is constantly affected by static.

The other enemy of flow rate control is the pre-ground chambered coffee.  Any ground coffee stuck in the machine between shots changes it’s moisture content immediately as it sits.  It desiccates due to motor heat, or it becomes more saturated in environments with very high humidity.  Either way pre-ground coffee will have a different flow rate than fresh ground.  I cannot tell you how vexing this is on the bar.  Controlling the fines, and accounting for the gawd-damn chambered ground coffee makes my baristi crazy.  They end up throwing out shots and doing an elaborate dance featuring cling brushes and chain gates to try to manage the powder. Any time we have a few minutes between customers, or they change the grind, they must purge out the approximately 6g of ground coffee sitting in the machine.  It is wasteful.

This design features a bare minimum of pre-ground chambered coffee, maybe 1% of a 20g shot (0.2g) so its negligible.  Also it has an impeller that turns at 1100rpm and the ground coffee makes a jet column, passing out of the grinder so fast the fines are not affected by static on the way to the PF.  The speed means very little time that the coffee is exposed to the air and no particle migration. Here is the view peeking up into the impeller and burr set. Showing the bottom of the burr with a thin coat of ground coffee.

Peeking up into the burr set and impeller of the Sette

 

 

I have never in my life has such perfect control over flow rate as the Sette gives me, and it makes wicked good espresso. By far it is the best home grinder I have ever used.

The machine features infinite, stepless grinder adjustment and will deliver the same powder at the same setting perfectly due to the features I described above.  It can be set for drip to French Press easily.One caveat, the fine control ring migrates slowly to a more coarse setting when you operate it.  I am thinking Kyle and Christian will fix this asap but for now I put a little piece of tape on the ring to hold it.

Also, this machine is loud.  I mean loud, if you have a cat it will bolt out the door and it will never come home again.  I hate noise but I still love this little grinder for the shots I can make.