Just realized my burr grinder went dull after 8 months of daily use

My Baratza Encore used to give me consistent grounds, but last week I pulled a shot and the fines were all over the place, chunks and dust mixed together. I checked the burrs and they had visible wear, likely from all the light roasts I've been running through it in Portland. I swapped in a new set of burrs for $35, and the difference in extraction time and taste was night and day. Anybody else noticed their grinder losing consistency way before the suggested 500 pound lifespan?

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noahchen12d ago

The 500 pound estimate assumes you're grinding medium roasts, not the light stuff that's basically roasted gravel. Those beans are way harder on equipment and you knew that when you moved to Portland. A $35 burr swap after eight months isn't a defect, it's the cost of doing business with third wave coffee. Most people never check their grind consistency that closely, so they just live with worse coffee and call it fine. You caught the problem early and fixed it, which means you're ahead of the curve, not behind it. The fact that you noticed the change in extraction time only proves you know what to look for, and that's worth more than any lifespan number on a spec sheet.