There are two different types of coffee machine parts for grinding your coffee beans; burrs and blades. Blades are inexpensive and easy to use, but also less consistent than Burrs, which are known for their uniformity, consistency, and high-quality grind.

What are SSP Burrs?

SSP is a South Korean manufacturer of cutting tools like customized burr sets. SSP burrs are famous for their compatibility and coatings. For instance, Titanium-nitride and Titanium-carbonitride coatings in SSP Burr minimize their wear and tear.

In this article, I will guide you in choosing the right SSP burrs, discuss the various types of SSP burrs, their compatibility, and more!

SSP Burrs vs Regular Burrs

In short, SSP Burrs are good choices for replacing your old burrs or upgrading your coffee grinders. Before buying see if the size of your coffee grinders matches the chosen SSP burr. Also, make sure that the SSP burr is compatible with your grinder motor. Though there are many varieties of SSP Burrs, I recommend red speed coated SSP burrs for a long-term run. Red speed-coated burrs are expensive but are honestly worth the price.

How to choose the right SSP Burr?

Larger burrs provide more contact areas. Also, a wider diameter means fewer rotations of the beans. Both factors improve the overall speed of the grinder even when grinding large amounts of coffee.

In the coffee world, quicker is cooler. You do not want to overheat your beans while you grind them. This is why it’s always safer to go for large-sized burrs.

SSP Burr sizes: 58 mm, 64 mm, 71 mm, 73 mm, 74 mm, 80 mm, 83 mm, 98 mm, 120 mm

Shape: Flat or Conical

There are two main types of SSP burrs, flat SSP Burrs and Conical SSP Burr. You should know the differences between the two burrs to make the right choice.

The flat and conical burrs are similar. Ironic! Isn’t it? The burrs have their pros and cons and are comparable in weight. It is not the question of which type is better but which is more suitable? There is no right and wrong; it is like comparing apples to pears.

Here are the differences:

Usage:

Conical SSP Burr: It is industry standard and is ideal for high-end and high-capacity coffee machines with grinders and coffee shops. Clearly, conical SSP Burrs are the right choice for professional baristas. Also, you should choose Conical SSP Burr if the usage is constant or frequent.
Flat SSP Burr: Suits coffee grinders used in homes.

Ring Arrangement:

Conical SSP Burr: The Conical SSP Burrs have two sets of conical rings. The rings are concentrically placed, meaning one ring sits inside another.
Flat SSP Burr: Flat SSP Burrs have two rings. The rings sit horizontally to the ground; one ring faces downwards, and the other faces upward.

Coffee Retention:

There are spaces in the burr chamber where the coffee particles rest without getting expelled. The amount of coffee particles held by the burrs is the retention of the coffee grinder. The lesser the retention better is the efficiency.

The retention of conical SSP Burrs is more than the flat SSP Burrs. How so? The conical shape and gravity force the coffee powder to the bottom, thereby reducing the retention.

Conical SSP Burr	Flat SSP Burr
Bimodal Grind	Uniform Particle Size
Less Heat	More Heat
Quieter	Noisier
Less expensive	More Expensive
Less coffee retention	More coffee retention
Easier to clean	Harder to clean

Bean Type:

Before choosing the SSP Burr type, select your coffee bean type. How do you like your coffee; Dark or light roasted, less potent or strong and aromatic?

Overall, lightly roasted beans grind well in conical SSP Burrs for the following reasons:
- The lightly roasted beans are less brittle than the darkly roasted beans and consume more time and energy grinding. The conical SSP burr arrangement crushes any type of beans and is the right choice for lightly roasted beans
If you like your coffee dark, you should go for medium roasted to darkly roasted coffee beans. Because the dark coffee beans can generally grind just fine using any burr type.

Note that when you try to grind lightly roasted beans in a flat type SSP burr, it may consume more time. However, the time varies with the brand.

Altogether, choose the burr type based on the bean type.

Coated vs Non-coated SSP Burrs

SSP burrs with coatings can grind between 4,000 kg to 5,000 kg of coffee beans in their lifetime, while SSP burrs without coatings can grind 1,000 kg to 2,000 g of coffee beans in their lifetime.

Different SSP Burrs are made of different alloys. Primarily built on steel, these burrs come with different types of coatings like aluminum, titanium, tungsten, carbide, nitride, etc. The coatings decide the lifetime of the burrs, that is, how much coffee beans the burrs can grind throughout their life.

Furthermore, most of the SSP burrs are made of steel. The carbon content in the steel should between 2.11% and 8% for a long term grind. Increasing carbon content in burrs not only increases the hardenability and strength of the burr, but also, adds to its hardness and wear resistance.

The only drawback with increased carbon content is that the burrs become brittle due to the high hardness and chip away. So, ensure that the carbon content of your SSP burr is within the permissible limit (2.11% to 8%).

Should I season my SSP Burrs?

It is not mandatory to season your SSP burrs.

What is seasoning? Seasoning is tuning the burrs to grind a large number of coffee beans.
What is the seasoning period of SSP Burrs? 3-5 kg
What is the recommended grind for the seasoning period of SSP Burrs? French roasted bean
Can I un-season my SSP burr after it breaks-in? No

Types of SSP Burrs-TECHNICAL

The following are the different SSP Burr types in the market:

SSP High Uniformity Burr: Good for medium to dark roasted beans; these burrss are even more espresso-focused. Not a good choice for filters.
SSP Unimodal Burrs: Brew burrs; produce coarse grinds.
SSP Multipurpose Burrs: Ideal for coarse grinds; Good choice for light roast, espresso and filter coffee.
SSP Uniformity Burrs: Similar to SSP High Uniformity Burr, Ideal for making espresso; best for medium and dark roasted beans
SSP Cast burrs: You do not get a fine grind with SSP cast burrs. Filter brews are great with them.
SSP Silver Knight Burrs: There is not much difference between SSP red speed burrs and SSP Silver knight burrs. It is a harder coating, and grinders purge more easily with silver knight coatings. However, unlike SSP red speed Burrs, the SSP Silver knight Burrs are ideal for brewed coffee.
High-Speed Steel SSP Burr
- SSP Burrs with coatings are sometimes referred to as High-Speed Steel SSP Burr.
- To achieve high speed, the SSP burrs are made of steel containing tungsten, vanadium, and titanium. A non-coated SSP burr, on the other hand, grinds at lower speeds.
- The only drawback with high-speed steel (HSS) SSP burrs is that they generate heat. Turn off your coffee grinders at the right time if you are using HSS SSP burrs. Else, the burr will overheat your coffee powder and ruin the taste and flavor of your coffee.
Tungsten coated SSP Burr
- Tungsten coating increases the lifetime of your burrs. The “Tungsten Sire” SSP burr can grind 20,000 kg of coffee beans in its lifetime.
- You can customize your coatings with the SSP manufacturer. Besides tungsten, you can choose titanium or vanadium coatings for your SSP burrs.
SSP red Speed Burrs:
The SSP Burrs coated with red speed have high resistance to wear.
Their coefficient of friction is less and can grind more coffee beans.
What is red speed coating? The red speed coating is made of Titanium, aluminum, carbides, and nitrides. This type of coating prevents the surface from dulling and helps to maintain the speed of the burr.

I recommend SSP red speed Burrs for their proven long-run and quick grind.

Types of SSP Burrs-COMMERCIAL

The burrs in your coffee grinders lose their sharpness after using them for a while. Unfortunately, you cannot sharpen these burrs. But you can remove and replace them. Here are a few types of SSP burrs for the most popular yet problem causing coffee machines:

Fellow ode and SSP burrs

Issue: The Fellow Ode coffee grinders are for brewed coffee and not espresso.

Solution: In order to get espresso-fineness in Fellow Ode, install the 64 mm SSP multipurpose burr or the 64 mm SSP Unimodals. Their grind sizes are consistent and can give you the required consistency.

EK43 and SSP burrs

Issue: The EK43 is ideal for lightly roasted coffee beans. You cannot achieve blends and grind medium to dark roasted beans.

Solution: Replace the EK43 burrs with SSP Uniformity burrs to grind medium to dark roasted beans.

Niche zero and SSP Burrs

Issue: Are there SSP Burrs for Niche Zero? Some claim that SSP Burrs is the correct replacement for Niche Zero. And some others complain that there are no SSP Burrs for Niche Zero.

Solution: Actually, there are no SSP Burrs for Niche Zero. The Niche Zero comes with 63 mm conical burrs. Conversely, there are no 63 mm SSP Burrs. 58 mm, 64 mm, and 71 mm are the closest SSP Burrs for Niche zero. SSP manufacturers claim that they take customized orders. However, it is unclear whether they accept bulk orders alone or take individual orders.

Baratza encore

Issue: Difficult to find the right upgrade or replacement for Baratza Encore burrs.

Solution: SSP Multipurpose Burrs are the right choice for Baratza encore coffee grinders.

Break – in and Titanium coated SSP Burrs

New burrs need to break in. Breaking-in means the burrs need light wear on their surfaces before they start producing even-sized grounds. Titanium coatings prevent the occurrence of these wears. This means you cannot season titanium coated SSP burrs.

Do all SSP burrs come with titanium coatings? No, not all; a few come with titanium coatings.

When should I replace my Burrs?

You should replace your burrs when they wear out. There are two things you need to look for when your burr in the coffee machine is worn: Speed and Grind size.

Speed: The speed of your coffee grinder reduces. It takes a long time to grind the beans.
Grind Size: The coffee grinder starts grinding finer than usual.

There are other signs as well. But these signs pop up at later stages

Your coffee quality degrades due to uneven coffee grounds.
The edges of the burr feel dull.
The coffee grounds are coming out in clumps.

Compatibility of SSP Burrs

SSP Burr	Compatible with
SSP Multipurpose Red Speed 64 mm flat burrs	Fellow Ode, Ceado E5P, Mazzer Mini-E, Option-O Lagom P64, Ceado E6P
SSP High Uniformity Red Speed coated 64 mm Flat Burrs	Mazzer super Jolly, Lagom P64, Mini-E Anfim Caimano, Ceado E5P, E37J and E6P
SSP Unimodal Red Speed 64 mm Burr (Brew Burrs)	Mazzer Super Jolly, Lagom P64, Mazzer Mini-E Anfim Caimano, CODY II
SSP Silver Knight Burrs	Mazzer Mini, Fellow ODE, Super Jolly
SSP Cast Burrs	DF64 Grinder, Mazzer Super Jolly E, Fellow Ode, Mazzer Mini

How to prolong SSP Burr’s life?

No burrs last forever. However, you can keep them healthy.

Here are some ways to extend the life of your SSP Burr:

Never grind non-coffee objects. Also, keep an eye for tiny rocks in the coffee beans.
Always grind upright. If you grind your coffee beans at an angle, they put uneven pressure on the burr.
Clean your coffee grinder regularly.

How to sharpen my SSP Burrs?

The blades of your coffee burrs become blunt after using them for a while. And the grinders do not grind the beans properly. This affects the size of your grinds.

There are no tools available in the market to sharpen your SSP Burrs. However, there is a simple and most affordable method to sharpen the SSP Burr blades.

Use a damp cloth and wipe the blades.
Take a cup of raw rice.
Put it in the grinder
Grind the rice for 60 to 70 seconds
Take out the rice
Wipe the blades with a damp cloth

The rice not only sharpens the blade but also, removes the oil residue in the grinder.

Hope! My guide on SSP Burr was helpful!

Make the right choice! Enhance the flavor! Enjoy your coffee!