CHOOSING A
COFFEE GRINDER











Do you know about... Mazzer?
From the Mini to the Major, these coffee grinders have no equal for the home user. Being "Burr" type grinders, they grind consistently equal grounds with a "stepless" adjustment feature. That is to say, an unlimited amount of settings for the exact grind consistency you are seeking. Sometimes hard to find at auction.





BLADE OR BURR?
A blade grinder is the cheapest coffee grinder commonly found in most discount stores. It uses a blade cutting system. The grinding blade will spin, smacking the beans and breaking them into small chunks. The grind size depends on the duration of the grind, that is, a finer grind is achieved by leaving the grinder on for a few more seconds. Consistency of the grind size makes using a blade grinder for espresso virtually impossible. Regardless of the duration of the grind, the grounds will contain sizes ranging from powder to chunks.

The burr grinder is the grinder of choice. There are two types of burr grinders: flat blade and conical. The conical burr grinder has two cone shaped burrs facing each other at a distance that determine the grind size. Coffee beans are fed between them and crushed into uniform grind particles when one of the burrs rotates while the other is stationary. The flat burr grinder also comes with two flat and parallel disc burrs that provide shearing effect on the coffee beans, thus achieving uniform and larger surface area for extraction.

The next selection criteria is on the different types of burr grinders. Burr grinders can be further categorized based on the speed, dosing capability and the type of grind adjustment available. In terms of speed, there are (direct drive) high speed, gear-reduction low speed and direct-drive low speed grinders. The entry level to burr grinders is the high speed direct drive grinder whereby the high speed motor is connected directly to the burrs. Though high speed, it give rise to heat that affects the quality of the end grounds, noise that is not so pleasing to the ears, and the static that will lump the grounds into chunks that can adversely affects the packing of the coffee cake in the portafilter when making espresso. Nevertheless, with these disadvantages, these grinders will still do its job into producing uniform grinds at a low price point.

The gear-reduction low speed and direct-drive low speed grinders are the best grinders around and commonly used in commercial setups (such as cafés) and at home of coffee enthusiasts. They offer little or no static, much less or no heat, and quiet operation. all these owing to the low RPM (revolution per minute) of the grinder burr.





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