Coffee Grinder Reviews

Coffee bean grinders are an important part of any real coffee connoisseur's kitchen.  Coffee lovers who have tasted coffee made with freshly ground beans are reluctant to return to brewing with pre-ground coffee.  It's understandable when you consider how quickly coffee ages once it is ground; the oils begin to lose their flavor and richness as soon as they are exposed to air and the aroma suffers as well.

Grinding your own coffee at home before brewing it is not only a sensory experience for the eyes, nose and taste buds.  You get the satisfaction of knowing that you are going to drink the freshest cup of coffee possible made with your own hands.  It is also much less costly than fresh brews from coffee shops.  A freshly ground and brewed cup of coffee at a major coffee chain can cost as much as $2.50 per cup while grinding and brewing your own at home will run about $.15 or less per cup!

Coffee bean grinders come in several different types and lots of price rangers.  Perhaps the least costly is the blade grinder, available for as little as $10 in big box stores.  If you've ever heard the old axiom "you get what you pay for", this is a prime example of it. Blade grinders don't so much grind the beans as chop them.  The resulting grounds are wildly inconsistent, leaving pockets for hot water to pool in and producing heat in the process that scorches the beans and burns the oils that give the coffee its flavor.  A cup of coffee brewed from blade-ground beans is fresh but you are missing most of the flavor and aroma. 

Burr coffee grinders cost more than blade grinders but you will immediately taste the difference!  The first type of burr grinder is the wheel burr grinder. Rather than chopping the beans randomly, this type of grinder consists of a wheel or wheels that grind the beans between its metal teeth and a hard surface.  The grind is consistent, adjustable and there is little heat produced to damage the beans.

Better still is the conical burr grinder, the most expensive type of coffee bean grinders.  A conical burr spins more slowly that the wheel burr, is quieter and doesn't clog up when grinding oily or flavored beans.  The slower grinding produces less heat, leaving the beans with most of their flavor and aroma.

Lastly, there are manual coffee bean grinders.  This type of grinder can be bought as an antique, of course, since many of them still work and will continue to function well due to the craftsmanship invested in their manufacture.  They can be quite expensive, however, so you may want to opt for one of the newer manual coffee bean grinders.  These are quiet; they grind consistently and retain all the flavors and aromas of the beans since there is practically no heat generated from the grinding process.    

Choosing a grinder depends on your means and your needs but you can't go wrong with one of the burr or manual coffee bean grinders available on the market today.  Even blade coffee grinder will give you a more flavorful cup of coffee than if you use already ground coffee.