Finding The Best Type Of Coffee Grinder

There is a huge price difference between blade and burr coffee grinders- so is spending the extra money worthwhile?

Cheaper bur grinders weigh in at around thirty or forty dollars. The best conical bur grinders cost up to one hundred and fifty dollars. A simple press and hold, blade grinder is closer to fifteen dollars.

So what are these colossal price difference all about? Is it worth spending big on a coffee grinder?

Here are a few facts to help you decide.

How the Different Grinders Work

Blade Grinders

In the kind of blade grinder that we’re all familiar with, a blunt metal blade spins at higher speed and smashes, cuts or pulverizes the roast beans. It’s an effective way to get ground coffee quickly. The problem is, there is no way to control the size of the ground coffee particles accurately. The mix of coffee grounds is often called ‘dust and boulders’.

Controlling the size of the coffee grounds is the key to controlling the strength of the coffee and also getting the best from it flavor-wise. Larger particles will not really yield up their full flavor unless steeped for a long while. Very good particles will give as well high a proportion of the bitter oils that dissolve much more gradually in water.

Differences in particle size also lead to problems when the coffee is filtered, an issue discussed below.

A final problem with blade grinders is that the higher speed grinding process can overheat the coffee making it taste burnt.

Burr Grinders

A burr grinder crushes beans between spinning wheels. The wheels spin at higher speed so the process is loud. It can also be messy if you not careful- never open a burr grinder when it is in operation!. The result, though, is coffee ground to a consistent, selected size. Most bur grinders on the market will let you choose a dozen or more grades of coffee grounds ranging from extremely fine to extremely coarse.

Conical Burr Grinders

A conical burr grinder works at slow speed. The grinders are always precision made and will mill with small heat and small clogging of the moving parts, Some machines have anti-static features to reduce the tendency of the more greasy coffees to stick to the mill. The resulting coffee is beautifully and reliably graded without noise, fuss or mess.

How you Make Your Coffee determines the Grinder You Need.

French Press Coffee Making

If you are intending to use a French Press coffee maker, there is no way that you can make fine coffee with blade ground coffee. Any coffee that has been reduced to dust will pass through the metal filter in the plunge pot and our coffee will look like the worst type of river water. It won’t taste much much better, either.

Drip Coffee Making

If you are using a drip coffee maker, the situation is not so bad. Unreliable particle size will mean you can never be sure how strong your coffee is going to be and the coffee dust may clog your filter, perhaps leading to an overflow. On the other hand, the filter will remove the dust and your coffee will be clear.

How do You Like Your Coffee?

If the answer to that question is ‘warm and wet is fine enough for me’, you can probably get by with a blade grinder. If you are fussy about coffee and like to get the best taste every time, you’ll need a burr grinder.

Jack Arthur is a professional writer with a heavy personal interest in coffee- especially first thing in the morning.

The author has written more about delonghi coffee grinders and briel coffee grinders on his sites, check them out: delonghi coffee grinders and http://www.delonghicoffeegrinder.com/briel-coffee-grinder.