#1 – Blade Grinder
There is a huge debate among coffee fanatics about the validity of a blade grinder. Many people say that using a blade grinder can negatively effect the flavor of your coffee and I would tend to agree with them. Mainly because of blade grinder’s grind consistency. When you are brewing coffee consistency in grind is really important. If a portion of your grind is off you can get an over or under extraction of the coffee which can both negatively impact the flavor of your coffee. We do however have an excellent tutorial for people that currently have a blade grinder or can’t afford to lay down the cash some of the more expensive grinders. The blade grinder that has been catching my eye lately is the Mr. Coffee Electric Coffee Grinder because of it’s overall consistency and Chamber Maid cleaning system.
#2 – Mill Grinder
We are taking it back to the ‘oldschool’ with this one. This is a hand crank grinder. Many coffee aficionados love this grinder and use it even to grind their espresso into fine powder. There are many choices when selecting a hand grinder but the highest reviewed and most respected one that I have seen has to be the Zassenhaus Manual Mill which is available in short supply on ebay and other sites. Mill grinders are also great to have on hand when the power goes out.
#3 – Burr Grinder
Ask almost any coffee connoisseur what kind of grinder you should get for everyday use and they will tell you to get a burr grinder. The overarching reason is it’s consistency over the other grinding methods and it’s ability to grind for anything from french press to espresso. I have been asked many times over the past few weeks which burr grinder I recommend. The Capresso 560 Infinity for the quality and the price point is currently my favorite for the average coffee drinker looking to increase the enjoyment of their coffee ten-fold.
#4 – Espresso Grinder
If you have gotten to the point of selecting an espresso grinder you are taking this coffee thing really serious. The selection process of this type of grinder comes down to two key factors: 1) What is your price range? 2) What type of espresso machine do you have?
With these two factors in mind I am going to recommend the Rancilio Rocky because it is a great model at a great price that can get the job done for almost any moderately priced, high quality, home espresso machine.
#5 – Commercial Grinder
This one is for the pros. Commercial grinders are the cream of the crop in the coffee world and they have the price tag to prove it. If you have one of these in your home you are the ultimate coffee geek and you should hold your head high. For those of us that do not the burr grinder is going to be your best comparison to this grinder.
What type of grinder do you have at home? How often do you use it?
photo by Noema
For my French Press I still use my Breville Conical Burr Grinder. Overall, it’s not bad, and has done a decent job at giving me good coffee every morning. Eventually I will upgrade to something better.
For espresso, I purchased a Nemox Lux Plus and it’s been fantastic at giving me the grind size I need to make espresso shots. The only down side to it is it’s expensive price tag at $200.
$200 is really not that bad for a good grind on espresso, Thanks for sharing!
I use a GVX 2 Burr Grinder 3 or 4 times a week and find it does a good job for my stovetop espresso maker. No complaints at all.
I would eventually like to get a Rancilio Rocky or Mini Mazzer (along with a Rancilio Silva)…
Now that sounds like a killer setup. Would love to hear from you when you get it and hear you thoughts on the setup.
I use a Baratza Maestro plus burr grinder several times a week.
looks like a nice grinder, how does it do for espresso?
I saw a new blade grinder at Walmart last night, made by GE, that actually had 4 blades instead of the usual 2. My coffee geek brain is curious as to how that might affect the grind consistency and flavor, while my coffee geek soul is telling me it doesn’t matter since it isn’t a Hario, or Baratza.
I saw that as well. did you buy it? if so please let us know how you like it. We were going to review it soon.
We finally purchased a new burr grinder to replace our little Krups blade grinder. We went with the Capresso Infinity 560 and are very pleased with it. We use it daily for our french press.
I have a Krups blade grinder that is propbably on it’s last leg. Ill have to look at the Capresso Infinity.
Thanks for the tip Judy!!!
I would second the Baratza Maestro Plus. It does fine for most espresso machines that are entry level (pump kind, not the steam toys) but I use mine daily for pour overs, aeropress, and french press, and cupping, if that’s a separate category. I have the Solis branded machine, but it’s the same thing essentially. Almost 5 years of service and never a problem.
I really wasn’t sure where to post this question, but grinders seems like a decent place. When you do your tasting, do you clean your grinder before doing an official tasting? Or do you think that small amount of grounds and residue won’t change the flavor profile enough to call for a cleaning? Personally, I clean mine every time I’m trying a new coffee for the first time, or if I’m switching from a dark roast to a lighter roast. I’d like to know your thoughts on this. And just to be clear…I’m not talking about regular cleaning (mine is weekly).
I love the Baratza line of grinders, and personally own the Virtuoso. It gets use daily, but on the weekends, I enjoy using both my Hario hand grinders i.e., the Skerton & Mill Slim. Truly enjoy “manual” brewing on the weekends!
I like coffee, which that fast and easy to prepare?
Great overview of the types of coffee grinders available. Goodness knows I already have enough trouble steering friends away from those cheap $20 ones as it is.
I do not like the capresso. The fine grind is still pretty coarse. Only thing i like about it is that it is easy to clean. BTW Mr Coffee has an extremelly cheap bur grinder. I wonder how is it. Also i m thinking a out breville 800xl grinder… Xmass is comming
I have a Hario Skerton which I use for all my coffee grinding.
Easy to clean, grinds (in my opinion) consistently enough, and most importantly, it works even in a nuclear fallout.