Burr Coffee Grinders Versus Electric Blade Coffee Grinders

If you are thinking of purchasing a coffee grinder there are primarily two kinds, the burr coffee grinder and the electric blade coffee grinder.  I will be writing about what each type does and how it operates, so you can decide which is the best purchase for your home.

Of the 2 types of grinders the blade grinder is the least costly.  The electric version was introduced into the U.S. market in the 1950s.This type of coffee grinder is sort of like a little electric blender.

If you are goint to make an espresso drink using this kind of grinder you won’t be able to get the exact grind that is necessary because this type of grinder has no grind settings.

On the other hand blade grinders are inexpensive and quick.In about 25 seconds you can grind beans for regular drip coffee.A drawback for this quickness however is that the flavor of the bean can be destroyed due to the heat from the blades.
The second type of grinder is the burr coffee grinder which is a bit more expensive but will provide a much better grind for specialty drinks such as cappuccino and lattes.

Burr type grinder like the grinder in the Gaggia Titanium SS espresso machine have correctly flake the coffee bean little by little using rough metal plates.The grinder wheels slowly rotate to keep the heat from the friction to a small amount and also the beans are exposed to the most surface area for extracting the oils.

Most quality grinders of this type will have a dosing mechanism that will measure the amount of ground beans to be placed into the porta filter of your espresso machine.

One thing to keep in mind however is that if you use your burr grinder to grind flavored beans that it might flavor the burrs and cause your regular beans to take on a different flavor.It’s nearly impossible to get the burr wheels all of the way clean.

When you purchase an espresso maker many of them will have a burr grinder built right in for example the Gaggia Titanium Coffee Machine 90500.