Choosing a Burr or Blade Coffee Grinder: Which is better?
A good grinder can really make or break your gourmet coffee beans.
In fact, fair beans ground properly will make better coffee than the best beans smashed to powder. We know budget is important, but with electric coffee grinders you should really go with a good burr coffee grinder even though they are generally more expensive than the blade grinders. Quite simply, you will like your coffee better when you grind it with a burr coffee grinder, whether grinding beans for a drip coffee maker or an espresso machine.
There are two types of electric coffee grinders: burr and blade. Here is information about blade grinders.
Blade Coffee Grinders
Blade grinders cost less than burr grinders. But they really don’t “grind” your coffee beans. Instead, the blades smash beans into smaller and smaller bits, with two very fast moving blades.
The problem with smashing the beans by chopping them at high speed, is that the beans will be cut into varying sizes. The ground coffee will vary from powder to chunks, and you will never get the best from your special beans. The powder-sized particles especially can clog both French Presses and espresso machines, which can be a big problem. Even for drip coffee makers, the inconsistent grind will change the flavor of your coffee.
Burr Coffee Grinders
Burr grinders actually “grind”, like an old-style millstone. Coffee is ground between two burred plates. The plates, or “burrs”, can be either flat or conical, depending on the particular model. One plate stays stationary, and the other one spins around, and the coffee passes between them.
A burr coffee grinder grinds beans to a uniform size. Having a uniform size particle makes for a better tasting coffee, avoids clogging, and lets you grind beans to the desired coarseness or fineness that is best for the your particular coffee or espresso maker.
For example, you should use a "very coarse" grind when using a French Press. But you should use a slightly finer, or "course" grind for a drip brewer, and an even finer grind for an expresso machine.
Look for a low-speed burr coffee grinder
Not all burr coffee grinders are the same, however. You should shop for a burr grinder that operates at low-speed.
If you grind at high speeds, the beans heat up, which can change their flavor. It can also cause a static charge, which means the coffee beans will stick to nearly anything. That is not as much as a problem as heating up the beans, but it make clean up more difficult.
One burr grinder with all of these qualities, and at a reasonable price, is the Capresso Infinity Burr Grinder [linnk to clicksave].
Manual Coffee Mills
Another option to consider is a manual coffee mill. Be sure to get a new mill, because some of the vintage mills really were built for display, or have been contaminated from years of storage from who knows what. You may want to use the hand mill to for hand crafted ground coffee, on the days when you have the time to sit back and enjoy. We have a separate article about choosing the right hand coffee grinder.
Here is our Coffee Grinder Store to explore various coffee grinder options and price ranges.
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