<h1>No</h1>
<p>The short answer is just <strong>no</strong>, because you can't really say any kind of burr is better than the others in absolute terms.</p>
<p>Flat burrs tend to produce more uniform grounds and some prefer this profile for pour over, while conical burrs tend to produce more fines and some prefer this profile for espresso, but there's no way to objectively say any of these is the better one. Also, the burr shape is just one of the many factors of the grinder design and operation that affects the output particle distribution. Just the burr design alone won't reliably predict the ground coffee profile.</p>
<p>So whatever a ghost burr could be, the answer was destined to be <strong>no, they are not &quot;better&quot;</strong>. With that in mind, we can still talk about what a ghost burr can do differently and why someone would choose one.</p>
<h1>What is it and why try one?</h1>
<p>A ghost burr is kind of an obscure classification because there aren't many of those around and, to be fair, they aren't that much different from regular flat burrs. People tend to define a ghost burr as a flat burr that has its blades very protruded and following a &quot;teeth&quot; pattern, as if the goal was to crush the beans instead of cutting them.</p>
<p>For example, you can compare the &quot;teeth&quot; of a Fuji Royal ghost burr versus a regular bladed flat burr:</p>
<img src="https://i.sstatic.net/1gVk7.png" width="256">
<img src="https://i.sstatic.net/0LXPI.jpg" width="370">
<p>The different geometry has a few implications. Because the teeth are so tall, you can't really put the base of the burrs too close, so these burrs are usually incapable of providing fine ground enough for espresso. They are mostly for pour-over coarse grinds and above. As for uniformity, it is kind of hard to say in absolute terms if a ghost burr produces more uniform particles than a flat burr because the grinder RPM plays a major role on this as well, plus other factors like retention and popcorning and so on.</p>
<p>The only safe conclusion is that the particle size distribution produced by a ghost burr is slightly different from a regular flat burr and this could yield a different (not necessarily better!) flavor profile.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-31T21:17:32.843Z
2022-05-31T21:17:32.843Z
villasv
<p>I would like to know if ghost/crushing burrs produce better particle uniformity than conical burr grinders.</p>

<p>Ghost burrs are particularly not so popular in the US, but some notable brands are from Fuji Royal in Japan, and some steel-manufacturing companies in Taiwan.</p>

<p>Conical burr grinders are used by Breville and Baratza (at least the most legitimate ones). I particularly use the built-in grinder on my Breville, and the uniformity is great, but I'm attracted to the ghost-burr grinders by Fuji Royal and Yang-Chia (amongst other competing companies in Taiwan).</p>

<p>Has anyone owned either of these kinds of grinders?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-14T23:59:54.257Z
I've heard of flat burrs, and of course conical burrs, but never ghost burrs, and my google-fu is failing me. Any chance for a link on more information on them?
Evan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-15T08:59:36.367Z
@Evan, here you go http://www.home-barista.com/advice/fuji-royal-r-440-vs-yang-chia-207-n-t38540.html
wearashirt
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-06-02T14:35:00.360Z
The link you posted shows a flat and conical burr, as well as a hybrid burr which is a combination of both. Calling it a "ghost burr" is either a proprietary name or something someone just coined on that forum. Hybrid burrs are definitely a thing.
tsturzl
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-31T20:55:48.620Z
What people usually call a ghost burr is not really an hybrid between flat and conical, but a flat burr with patterned and particularly protruded teeth. One could just keep calling them flat burrs, but these are usually incapable of grinding espresso-fine because the teeth are so big, the blades bases have to stay considerably far apart and so they can't produce ground coffee fine enough for a good espresso.
villasv
<grinder>
Are ghost-burr grinders better than conical burrs?
wearashirt
# Are ghost-burr grinders better than conical burrs?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-05-14)

I would like to know if ghost/crushing burrs produce better particle uniformity than conical burr grinders.

Ghost burrs are particularly not so popular in the US, but some notable brands are from Fuji Royal in Japan, and some steel-manufacturing companies in Taiwan.

Conical burr grinders are used by Breville and Baratza (at least the most legitimate ones). I particularly use the built-in grinder on my Breville, and the uniformity is great, but I'm attracted to the ghost-burr grinders by Fuji Royal and Yang-Chia (amongst other competing companies in Taiwan).

Has anyone owned either of these kinds of grinders?

**Tags:** grinder

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I've heard of flat burrs, and of course conical burrs, but never ghost burrs, and my google-fu is failing me. Any chance for a link on more information on them?  
> **username_0**: @username_1, here you go http://www.home-barista.com/advice/fuji-royal-r-440-vs-yang-chia-207-n-t38540.html  
> **username_2**: The link you posted shows a flat and conical burr, as well as a hybrid burr which is a combination of both. Calling it a "ghost burr" is either a proprietary name or something someone just coined on that forum. Hybrid burrs are definitely a thing.  
> **username_3**: What people usually call a ghost burr is not really an hybrid between flat and conical, but a flat burr with patterned and particularly protruded teeth. One could just keep calling them flat burrs, but these are usually incapable of grinding espresso-fine because the teeth are so big, the blades bases have to stay considerably far apart and so they can't produce ground coffee fine enough for a good espresso.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2022-05-31. Score: 3

# No

The short answer is just **no**, because you can't really say any kind of burr is better than the others in absolute terms.

Flat burrs tend to produce more uniform grounds and some prefer this profile for pour over, while conical burrs tend to produce more fines and some prefer this profile for espresso, but there's no way to objectively say any of these is the better one. Also, the burr shape is just one of the many factors of the grinder design and operation that affects the output particle distribution. Just the burr design alone won't reliably predict the ground coffee profile.

So whatever a ghost burr could be, the answer was destined to be **no, they are not "better"**. With that in mind, we can still talk about what a ghost burr can do differently and why someone would choose one.

# What is it and why try one?

A ghost burr is kind of an obscure classification because there aren't many of those around and, to be fair, they aren't that much different from regular flat burrs. People tend to define a ghost burr as a flat burr that has its blades very protruded and following a "teeth" pattern, as if the goal was to crush the beans instead of cutting them.

For example, you can compare the "teeth" of a Fuji Royal ghost burr versus a regular bladed flat burr:

![](https://i.sstatic.net/1gVk7.png)
![](https://i.sstatic.net/0LXPI.jpg)

The different geometry has a few implications. Because the teeth are so tall, you can't really put the base of the burrs too close, so these burrs are usually incapable of providing fine ground enough for espresso. They are mostly for pour-over coarse grinds and above. As for uniformity, it is kind of hard to say in absolute terms if a ghost burr produces more uniform particles than a flat burr because the grinder RPM plays a major role on this as well, plus other factors like retention and popcorning and so on.

The only safe conclusion is that the particle size distribution produced by a ghost burr is slightly different from a regular flat burr and this could yield a different (not necessarily better!) flavor profile.


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