decaf bean killed my grinder!

[Brevvery]

I had a great run with my Breville smart pro grinder for 2 years untill I started to grind some decaf beans I roacted to city.
The beans destroyed my clutch/gears. They sounded dense and brittle, compared to regular beans.

Have any of you had issues with grinding decaf (water process) beans?

 

[211bma]

Nope, never even heard of such a thing.

Of course the only time I ever have decaf is for dinner partys. If anyone comes to dinner at my place they usually see my machine and want espresso, and since I don't want to be awake all night I get some decaf.

 

[topher]

Roasting SWP decaf can be difficult. It is easier than it was 10 years ago though. The process used to make the beans look almost black before you roasted them. You would have to roast till you saw a wee bead of oil and then dump...that is the only way you could tell it was fully roasted. The beans are still dark just not as bad as before. Is it possible you didn't roast it completely? I go through 3 bags of it a week and have no issues with my grinders. try going a wee bit darker and see if it helps.

 

[Brevvery]

Thanks Topher - With my modified air popper, I see first crack around 10 minutes with regular beans. I never get much of a crack with the SWP beans, and I go 12-14 minutes until drop. They are quite a bit darker than regular beans - brownish-black, with some oil showing in a couple days. They taste quite good, without the more acidic tastes I associate with a lighter roast. They sure sound denser in the grinder too.
Perhaps I just wore out the grinder with my modest 2 espressos a day?

 

[BescaRoasting]

There is always the possibility of a piece of foreign material getting into your roast. I have seen more welding rod and rocks come out of coffe than I can shake a stick at.

 

[coffeeme]

Is there even such a thing?