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COFFEE GRINDERS
There are significant differences in grinders. Having discussed the differences between blade and burr grinders in the "Choosing a Grinder" page, we should briefly cover the differences in burr type grinders - the type needed for producing espresso coffee.
Burr grinders range in quality and price. Beginning at about $50 for the least expensive to around $1500 for the top of the line. Of course these top models are aimed at the coffee houses that require huge volumes of grinds being produced daily and the prices reflect MSRP. The average consumer can often find a mid-priced grinder at significant savings by purchasing a used grinder and spending a few more dollars in refurbishing it.
Grinders come "stepped" and "stepless." Stepped grinders are adjusted to change grind consistency through pre-set points. As you make any adjustment the unit will "click" into that set point. Stepless grinders (most often found in commercial type grinders) allow an infinite amount of settings for grind consistency. There are no preset "clicks" restricting your desired consistency. These stepless grinders are always more expensive than the stepped types and are the most valuable when it comes to making proper espresso.
Often, stepped grinders can be modified to make them stepless, as can be found with instructions on coffee sites, but be aware that modifications made to equipment will void any warranty. Know too, less expensive grinders use less expensive parts. Burrs dull faster and often motors or gears fail. Remember that you get what you pay for.
As with espresso machines, the best source of information is coffee forums. Chat rooms of coffee community sites wherein the consumers and owners of machines discuss a variety of coffee topics - including their pleasure (or displeasure) with a machine they own. Should you continually read postings from people loving a machine and its' capabilities, you have the best information available to you. Such information is far more informative than any advertisement or review by someone who operated the machine for only a few hours to write a "professional" review. My personal suggestion would be to visit coffeegeek.com. Another site is home-barista.com. There are others, but these will get you started.
Below is mixed sampling of the many coffee grinders available.
To narrow the selection, use the navigation bar at left. We have narrowed the choices for you by the manufacturer. At the top of each page you will find information on each company. Just another service we provide and a way for us to say, "Thank you" for visiting us.
