You don’t have to spend more than a few minutes in coffee forums before you’ll see people talking about burr sets and “geometries.”
What’s interesting though, is just how few companies actually specialize in making them. We’re talking about a number so tiny that you could probably count them on one hand.
That’s why when a new player enters the scene, the coffee world takes notice. And LeBrew has definitely been getting some attention lately.
In this article, I’ll take a close look at the brand, and most importantly, their so-called “HyperBurrs“.
LeBrew provided me with three of their burr sets for testing, which I’ve been using over the past several months. In the interest of transparency, I should mention these were gifts from the company. While you might think this would lead to a glowing review, I’m going to be frank here – I will discuss their drawbacks just as much as their strengths. And there are several issues that need to be mentioned. This review pulls no punches.
(Jump directly to burr set)
About the Brand
In the intro, I alluded to the somewhat stale history of burr design. For decades, you just had established grinder companies like Mahlkönig and Ditting producing burrs for their own grinders, and industrial contractors making grinding tools for various industries, coffee being just one of them.
But in 2017, Korean brand SSP disrupted this market by doing something completely different: Transmuting several renowned burr geometries to new sizes. Suddenly coffee geeks everywhere were able to upgrade their existing burr grinders to perform more like the much more expensive commercial models.
Now, it’s LeBrew’s turn to enter this market with their HyperBurrs lineup.
While the name might suggest French origins, LeBrew operates from the Pearl River Delta – that concrete megalopolis in Southern China that has more or less become the world’s factory floor.
By coincidence, LeBrew shares some traits with their Shenzhen-based neighbor DiFluid. Both make highly specialized coffee measurement tools like water activity meters and roast analyzers. And both offer products with nice branding, solid UX, and disruptive pricing.
But now let’s talk about the actual burrs.
The LeBrew Sweet 64 HyperBurrs
The first burr set to look at is LeBrew’s take on Ditting’s renowned Lab Sweet cast burrs.
But there are a couple of twists here – LeBrew calls it not “Lab” but LeBrew Sweet. And the burrs are not cast, but CNC machined.
When it comes to performance, the 64 mm version offers excellent value. It’s a pair of true allrounders.
This set delivers sweetness, body, and decent flavor separation for espresso, along with strong results for filter coffee.
True to its name, I found that it emphasizes sweetness, paired with a silky mouthfeel. It has a mild acidity, but still works well with light roasts.
SSP’s Lab Sweet 64 mm burrs are often referenced as something many people are familiar with, but actually they offer three versions (V1, V2, and V3) that all have slightly different geometries. V2 is considered more filter-forward, while V3 leans toward espresso. V1 has been out of production for a while.
I haven’t tried the V3 model, but I found V2 underwhelming for espresso—it produced muddy shots with astringent off-flavors in my experience. By contrast, LeBrew’s 64 mm set delivers cleaner, sweeter espresso with better clarity.
For filter coffee, SSP and LeBrew diverge noticeably in taste. SSP’s Lab Sweet burrs, particularly V2, have a rougher, cast-like texture inspired by the original Ditting burrs that sparked the Lab Sweet trend. LeBrew’s HyperBurrs, on the other hand, have a polished CNC-machined look with a smooth titanium nitride coating, which gives them a more conventional feel. In terms of flavor, SSP burrs tend to have a powdery, detached sweetness, while LeBrew offers a smoother, more integrated sweetness.
Both are enjoyable but differ in character—LeBrew’s option feels more conventional, but not in a bad way.
SSP Cast V2 for filter coffee somehow manages to have that signature SSP acidity with some sweetness added to it – almost like an afterthought. I actually like this and think that it’s a very pleasant burr set, although it can feel a bit confused, sitting somewhere between a high clarity burr set and a sweet burr set.
LeBrew’s version feels more holistic in this regard. It’s sweet and approachable, but with enough clarity and balance that many people would be perfectly content with the filter brews it produces. Where it’s lacking in the filter department is probably in what I’d call cup journey – you’re usually left with a couple of different sweet flavor notes, rather than being taken on a longer sensorial journey like you are with the top 1% of filter focused burr sets. Still good enough for me on most mornings, though.
Espresso Performance
For espresso, the 64 mm set has a very reasonable dial-in range. It’s easy to choke the machine, and it’s also pretty simple to find the sweet spot. It handles both modern and classic roast styles, so it a solid allrounder.
The clarity, texture, and sweetness strikes a really good balance for me here. It’s modern but it’s not thin in the cup as some burr profiles can sometimes be (for example, SSP MP or Timemore’s 78 mm espresso burrs). This is closer to Mahlkönig’s E80S burrs (which it actually resembles more than true Lab Sweets). In the same way it’s capable of producing tasty shots that stimulate the tastebuds in a fun yet balanced way. I love americanos from the E80S burrs, and without having done any side-by-side comparisons, this is where my mind drifts when I think about the americanos from LeBrew Sweet 64 mm.
Overall, I’ll say these burrs are true allrounders. For drip coffee, I rate them at a pretty similar level as SSP Cast, although rather different, but with a much better espresso experience.
Given their affordability (should be in the range of $100 -139), I think these would be a great pick for many people out there.
Lebrew Sweet 83 mm HyperBurrs
My experience with the 83 mm LeBrew Sweet burrs was quite different from the 64 mm version. Initially, results were inconsistent, but after thorough alignment work – using marker tests and shims to get a clean wipe in my DF83V – the performance improved significantly.
Even then, the 83 mm size didn’t quite deliver the same all-rounder experience as its smaller sibling, which was surprising since larger burrs typically perform more consistently.
For espresso, these burrs produced sweet, balanced, and juicy shots similar to the 64 mm version.
However, there was less clarity in the filter coffee range. While I could still get somewhat, enjoyable brews, there wasn’t much clarity.
Going coarser in search of clarity resulted in hollow body and reduced sweetness, essentially limiting you to medium or medium-fine grind settings.
This was a bit puzzling to me given how well the 64 mm burrs performed. So I went to back to scratch, got out my alignment tools again, and went another round, to see if there were some user errors on my part. But no – I still got a clean wipe indicating perfect alignment.
Grind size particle analysis
After this I pulled out the DiFluid Omni particle analyzer. This is by no means a perfect tool for measuring particle size distribution as there can be big fluctuations even with the same portion of grounds.
Every time you test a sample of grounds, there’s some randomness in how the device distributes them. As a result, even with the same sample, multiple tests will likely yield differences in average particle size and consistency. However, when you run enough tests—say 5 to 10—you start to get a sense of the grinder’s consistency. For instance, is the standard deviation (STD) below 300, indicating a consistent grinder? Or is it higher? How many fines or boulders are present? While there’s a margin of error in each test, patterns begin to emerge with repeated testing on the same grinder. For example, despite the randomness, the LeBrew 83mm burrs never achieved an STD below 317.
Another thing that stood out was that while the 64 mm LeBrew Sweet produced a more expected distribution, the bigger brother consistently had a very wide spread, meaning it would produce both boulders and fines at the same time.
Even at fine grind settings where you’d expect few boulders (big particles) it would produce unexpected amounts.
⚠️ Disclaimer: The Particle Size Distribution (PSD) data presented here should not be taken as definitive proof of grinder performance. Rather, it serves as a useful tool that illustrates trends that align with my sensory analysis.
A lower STD = more consistent 👇
To give you some context: The particle distribution looked very similar to that of the Kinu POB (Pour Over Burr): a wide spread with a lot of fines, boulders and medium sized particles mixed together.
Ironically, that burr set is very popular for filter brews, but when you look at it through the lens of a particle analyser it’s a mess. And even though, I’m not a fan of the “eye test” for grind size analysis, it really also confirms that the POB produces an uneven grind size. Well, the 83 mm LeBrew Sweets felt very similar in this regard.
The 64 mm LeBrew Sweets had a much more even (and logical) grind size distribution where going finer would lead to more fines and fewer boulders, and the other way around.
In contrast a grinder like the Eureka Filtro, which I have previously praised as one of the most consistent grinders around, produces absolutely beautiful distributions with a tiny amount of fines and boulders, and pretty much everything in the sweet spot. Not a single time did it go over 300 STD. Even the ZP6 burr set looked inconsistent in comparison to the Filtro.
But one thing is PSD and another thing is the reality, which is about getting tasty cups.
At this point I think it’s pretty clear that grind consistency is not the whole story when it comes to grinders, and a less consistent grinder can produce tastier cups than an objectively more “precise” model.
So if the LeBrew 83 mm burr set produced outstanding cups, I wouldn’t put too much emphasis on these test results. However, that’s not quite the case. I do enjoy the 64 mm LeBrew Sweet burrs more, and at least I now have some objective data to back up why this is the case.
83 mm burrs (as well as 83 mm grinders) are typically more expensive than their smaller 64 mm and 55 mm counterparts. So I think they should offer something more. If grinding speed is the only advantage, then I just don’t see the point for a home user.
SSP 83 mm Lab Sweet vs LeBrew Sweet
I also have SSP’s 83 mm cast burrs, so let’s compare the two: The SSP version feels more like a true all-rounder, delivering velvety, elegant pour over with signature sweetness, integrated with substantial body, and clarity. While LeBrew’s 83 mm burrs are much more affordable, SSP’s versatility are hard to beat in this size.
SSP’s 83 mm burrs are much more expensive, so it might not be an entirely fair comparison, but I think if you already have an 83 mm grinder, you want performance that clearly trumps that of 64 mm burrs. In the SSP universe I feel that is the case.
Conversely, in the LeBrew cosmos, 64 mm is the more attractive option, in my opinion.
The 64 mm Filter Brew burrs
Moving to the 64 mm Filter Brew burrs, LeBrew’s geometry here resembles something many people will know from the SSP MP and SSP Brew V1 burr sets. While SSP arguably popularized this design to semi-mainstream, it was actually invented by Mahlkönig and used on their Guatemala and Kenia grinders.
This burr set is well-known for its high clarity filter coffee, but the sharp acidity and analytical nature can be a bit polarizing.
While the LeBrew set visually resembles the SSP models, the result is quite different in the cup. I even made a dedicated video over on my YouTube channel, discussing their performance in depth a couple of months back.
What stands out is their delightful balance of clarity, sweetness, and a long and interesting aftertaste. These burrs emphasize the mid-range notes while still delivering elegant cups. Compared to SSP’s multi-purpose burrs, which can be sharp, acidic, and clinical, LeBrew’s version is more forgiving and pleasant for daily use. Whether you’re working with washed or natural coffees, these burrs consistently produce balanced and enjoyable cups with lingering aftertastes that let you pick out subtle nuances.
In taste comparisons with SSP Brew Burrs and Timemore 78 mm Turbo burrs, I often found myself preferring LeBrew’s filter burrs because they occupy a middle ground between these two extremes. SSP’s brew burrs are more acidic and sharp, while Timemore’s Turbo burrs emphasize sweetness and subtleness but sacrifice a bit of edginess.
LeBrew’s option strikes a balance between these characteristics, making it a solid all-rounder for filter coffee. The downside is that the highs might not be as high, as with SSP Brews. You’re not going to get the same glass like transparency that those burrs can produce with certain beans. But your hit rate for above average brews will be higher.
The Espresso Caveat
Here’s the major downside of the 64 mm Filter Brew HyperBurrs: they’re pretty much unusable for espresso. And I don’t just mean difficult to tame. They’re essentially unusable for it. Grinding for espresso with these burrs is painfully slow, creates high retention, and struggles to achieve a fine enough grind. If you’re looking for high-clarity burrs that can handle both filter and espresso, you’ll want to look at SSP’s multi-purpose designs or other alternatives.
Looking to the Future
The future looks promising for LeBrew. I’m particularly excited about their upcoming 78 mm burr set, designed specifically for Timemore Sculptor grinders, which can already be preordered.
What’s interesting is that LeBrew has invested in their own manufacturing equipment, which suggests that it will be even easier for them to pursue product development. And they can probably also produce smaller runs of aftermarket burrs than other brands. For example, I suggested to Ryan from the brand that they should make unimodal filter burrs for the DF54, and he didn’t appear to be totally against the idea.
At the moment, the brand is mainly recreating geometries we have seen before. But is that a problem? I don’t think so. While all their HyperBurrs have a striking physical resemblance to well-known burrs from SSP, they taste rather different. That just shows how complex the world of burr designs is. I’m not surprised by this as I have experienced it myself many times – just because two burr sets look alike, there can still be a substantial difference in performance (if you need a reminder of this: SSP MP vs SSP Brew V1).
Besides all this, it looks like LeBrew is able to offer their burrs at a very competitive price. That alone should get them a lot of fans.
You can check out their current burr lineup here.
Judging from their active presence on social media and apparent understanding of the specialty coffee scene’s needs, I think we have a brand that’s worth keeping an eye on for years to come. I’ll be sure to share updates as I explore more of their burrs.
