You’ve surrendered to the idea that fresh-ground coffee really is better than freeze-dried. But you don’t relish having the coffee ground and bagged at the store, because it’s much better when it’s brewed immediately after grinding. So you’ve decided to wade a little further towards complete immersion in the coffee culture, and buy your own coffee grinder.
What are your choices? There are two.
The less expensive coffee grinder is the blade grinder. Running on the same principle as a blender, its blade processes the coffee beans until you turn it off. The longer you allow it to run, the finer your grind will be.
There are two drawbacks to using a blade grinder. The first is that the size of the grounds will not always be the same, so neither will the quality of the coffee brewed from them.
The second shortcoming of the blade coffee grinder is that, as it runs, it generates heat, and the longer it runs, the hotter it becomes. So you may end up with a burned taste when you drink your coffee.
Blade grinders are fine as a starting point, but if you are really serious about becoming a stay-at-home barista, consider the extra expense of a burr grinder.
A burr grinder operates by crushing coffee beans between a grinding wheel, or “burr”, and a stationary surface. By adjusting the position of the burr, you regulate the fineness of the grind, and the result is a much more even finished product.
You can choose between two types of burr grinders.
The cheaper of the two burr grinders is the wheel burr. Because its wheel spins quite rapidly, the wheel burr can make a lot of noise, and a lot of mess as well.
If you are a more fastidious sort, consider the conical burr. Operating more slowly than the wheel burr, it is both quieter and cleaner. And it is better adapted for coffee beans of high oil content, as it is less apt to clog.
Blade grinders start at about $20, wheel burrs at around $30, and conical burrs run $50 and up.
