Hey espresso and coffee lovers, Marc here from Whole Latte Love. Today a look at the BG accessory burr from Baratza. It fits all their Sette grinders and is optimized to grind in coarser ranges. It’s the burr you want for brew methods like drip, press, and immersion brewing. In this post, a close up look and comparison of the grind produced by the AP and BG burrs, how to tell the burrs apart, and I’ll show you how easy it is to switch the burrs out.
So how to tell the AP all purpose burr apart from the BG brew grind burr? From a distance they look fairly similar, but look closely and you’ll see the upper teeth are flatter on the BG burr. It’s that cutting surface change which yields a grind quality more suited to brewing methods using medium and coarser grinds.
Switching out from the stock AP burr to the brew grind burr is quick and relatively easy. Shut off the bean hopper and grind out any remaining beans.
Then remove the burr assembly by turning the grind size adjustment beyond the coarsest setting until the notch lines up with the blue arrow. From there, just pull it out. That easy burr assembly removal and installation is one of the things I love with Sette grinders.
With the assembly out, place it in your palm and use your thumbs to push on the upper part of the black shield or the top of the burr itself. Now the edges of the burr are a little sharp so be careful if pushing on the burr. Once it pops you can pull the burr right out.
From there, remove the funnel from the burr carrier. Before installing the new burr be sure the burr assembly is clean and free of any coffee dust or oils.
Replace the funnel into the burr carrier and then put the burr in place. You can press it into place like that, but it’s easier to turn the whole unit over, rest it on the burr, and firmly press on the burr carrier until it pops into place.
To reinstall the burr assembly, line up the notch to the blue arrow. You may need to rotate back and forth a bit to lineup the protrusions on the black burr shield before it will fully insert. Once it moves up into place, rotate toward a fine grind setting to engage the burr.
To check grind quality I ground with both burr types at their finest and coarsest settings. Now it’s always a little tricky to quantify grind quality but here’s a look at the results from both burrs at their coarsest setting. To my eye and feel the BG burr produced a slightly larger overall particle size and a more consistent particle size. So less fines which is what you’d expect with the flatter cutting teeth. Having less fines should produce a cleaner cup with less chance of over-extraction and bitter flavors when brewing with a coarser grind
On the finest settings, the AP burr produced a powdery fine grind which feels finer and more consistent in particle size than what the BG burr produced at it’s finest setting.
Could you get away with using either burr for brew methods ranging from espresso on up to coarse grinds? Well maybe, but based on what I see and feel I’d certainly prefer the AP burr for espresso and the BG for brew methods like drip and immersion. A more consistent particle size and the ability to get a little coarser grind for immersion brew methods will go a long way to making a better cup of coffee. With quick and easy installation and a cost that’s just a hair over twenty five dollars, the BG accessory burr for Sette grinders is an easy investment in a better cup of coffee when brewing from medium to coarse grinds.
Baratza’s brew grind burr is available now at Whole Latte Love. If you have more questions on the BG burr or anything coffee use those comments and I’ll be sure to get you the answers. I’m Marc, thanks for reading, and I hope you’ll come back soon for more of the best on everything coffee brought to you by Whole Latte Love.
