Orphan espresso Apex User Manual

Adjustment Lever

Hopper Cover

Back Cover

Bean
Hopper/
Body Cover

Handle

Knob

Planetary
Gear Box

Grounds Chute

Inner Frame

Catch Glass

Silicone
Base Cover

IMPORTANT

Read Before Grinding:

The OE Apex is unlike other hand coffee grinders.

It uses a Planetary Gear System to provide the needed speed for efficient grinding.

One turn of the handle turns the burr 4 times.

Burr speed is essential to provide the power to grind the beans.

We recommend a handle turn speed of about 120 turns per minute.

As you turn the handle, you are turning the Planetary Gear - NOT the burr.

Unlike direct drive systems found in most hand grinders where 1 handle turn equals 1 burr turn

BRUTE FORCE does not work with the OE Apex Grinder.

If the grinding action stops DO NOT PUSH HARDER ON THE HANDLE.

Just reverse direction of the handle to reposition the beans, and start again, spinning up to your target RPM.

The burrs are bi-directional, and reversing does not affect the burrs or the grind consistency.

In the box:

-- OE Apex Manual Coffee Grinder

-- Hand Made Glass Catch Jar

-- Silicone Base Cover

-- Handle with knob

-- Parts Bag containing:

-- Handle Screw

-- 6 Silicone Reusable Sticky Gel Pads

-- 3 L-Key Hex Wrenches: 2.5mm, 3mm, 4mm

-- Anti Static Brush

Set up for use:

Attach the handle using the provided screw, and the large (4mm) hex tool. The handle to shaft
fitting is quite tight - make sure you have the handle aligned to the shaft before pushing it down all
the way. Insert & tighten the handle screw.

From experience with manual coffee grinding, we have found that the ‘holding hand’ does much more
work than the ‘turning hand’. The OE Apex is no different than any other hand grinder in this regard ­holding the grinder in place is the larger challenge. Depending on the beans you use (roast level, age,
fineness level of the grinding) and your worktop, various approaches can be used:

1. As-is: 4 Silicone feet already in place will stabilize the grinder under many circumstances, in particular
grinding darker roasts (soft beans) and in mid range grind settings. This method requires the most work
with the holding hand, pushing straight down on the grinder to hold it in place while you grind.

2 If using on a smooth worktop or counter, install the 6 reuseable non-marking sticky gel pads on the
bottom of the grinder. This method requires moderate holding hand pressure to hold the grinder in place.

3. Affix the OE Apex to a worktop, or HEAVY cutting board, using bolts or screws through the 4 provided
holes in the metal base. This method provides total stability, and in general, one hand operation.
No holding hand required.

RIGHT hand view

Coarse

-

Adjustment Lever

Fine

Center mark of range

Setting the Grind Size:

Your OE Apex arrives set up for right hand operation... When facing the grinder the handle is on your right

- in this position the finest grind setting is at the front, the coarsest is at the back. There are 20 steps
available for the grind range. From the finest setting to the coarsest setting the burrs will open a total
of 1.5mm. The range is set at the factory and can not be changed by the user. The raised mark on
the outer housing is halfway in the range. Once the burr is loaded with beans it is difficult to move the
grind setting in a finer direction, so set before grinding the beans!

For Left hand operation please see the appropriate section of the manual, and the video
available to show you how to re-wrap the auger spring.

Using the OE Apex:

As mentioned in the cover page “Important Read This” section, maintaining an adequate & consistent
handle speed is important for the efficient & satisfying use of the grinder. Depending on your worktop
application, using the grinder is as simple as setting the grind, and grinding the beans.

Here’s a few tips & observations:

When you first begin to grind the beans there will be a short lag of a few turns while the burrs load with
beans and grounds - this is normal.

Our target burr speed is about 500 RPM. Turning the handle about 120 RPM will provide that speed.
There are Metronome videos on Youtube which are VERY helpful to get a feel for this - or you can use a
real life Metronome!

As a rule of thumb, if your grinder is continually stopping you aren’t turning the handle fast enough.

If and when your burrs stop while grinding just reverse the handle direction - 1/4, or 1/2 turn is enough to
reposition the beans, and get a fresh start on your speed. You will get a feel for this fairly quickly!

If the burrs stop, and feel ‘stuck’, rock the handle back & forth to dislodge the beans. The burrs are
bi-directional, and will cut through.

Once again - BRUTE FORCE IS NOT HELPFUL for grinding coffee beans with the OE Apex.

The handle motion can best be described as ‘spinning’ the handle. You’ll find it to be generally effortless
with little feeling of resistence except for the finest, and coarsest settings. This is because on the finest
settings the burrs are fully loaded as you grind, and much of the work of the burrs is expelling the grounds.
On the coarsest settings the number of beans broken per revolution is very high resulting in an increased
feeling of resistence while grinding.

If your worktop installation & beans require the use of your ‘holding hand’ it is best to place your hand in
the center of the grinder body - not on the heel of the grinder. Your hand should cover approximately
the lower half of the hopper cover.

OE Apex Mechanicals

Parts first! The construction of the OE Apex is such that all of the mechanical components are
contained in one main part of the grinder - the Chassis. The Chassis is a die cast aluminum frame
with roller bearings on each end. A precision stainless steel axle is mounted in the roller bearings.

Chassis

Roller
Bearings

The Keyed Sun Gear
of the Planetary Gear Box
is press-fit on the end of the axle.

OE Apex Triangular Prism Tooth Burr Set