Posted: 4/11/2006 2:56:30 PM EDT
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I made the mistake of grinding some expresso beans at the local supermarket. When I made the expresso at home it was some of the smooooothest, best tasting expresso that I have ever had. After a few days the coffee loses its fresh ground flavor. I MUST buy a grinder!!! Anybody have one that they like? I've seen $12 blade grinders to $200+ automatic burr grinders. I guess that $40-50 is the most that I would be willing to spend. |
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You get what you pay for. Blade grinders are decent enough if you don't need a consistent grind and you only ever use a flatbottom drip coffee maker. If you want to vary the grind a bit or switch between cone filter, flatbottom filter and french press (the only way to drink coffee, in my mind) or might like to purchase an espresso machine (making homade lattes is a sure good party skill) then you need a burr grinder. An opened bag of unground coffee should be discarded in 1-2 weeks. Ground coffee should be used immediately, but I'll often grind enough for a day or two and it doesn't bother me too much. Grinding only what I will use in the next few minutes is much better though. EDIT: I have a Delonghi Electric Coffee Mill which is a sorta-kinda burr grinder. It's not a true burr grinder but does a decent job, and it only cost ~$50. |
| I have a small, not too expensive blade grinder and it works great. I wouldn't buy a $200.00 grinder. If you haven't made coffee from a french press, do yourself a favor and get one along with the grinder. The press removes the paper filter from the process, and you can taste the difference. |
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I just bought a krups gvx1 for about $50. It is a burr grinder, which is superior to the blade griders, in that it produces a consistent size of particle as the beans pass through the burrs. With the blade grinders, you are constantly reprocessing the coffee, some bits will get smaller than others. The small bits will be overextracted and bitter, so I think the $50 was worth it over the $12 one. It also has an adjustable timer. I have it set to produce about enough ground coffee for 4 cups (coffee pot cups, which equals 2 real cups.) Grind, dump in filter, brew, repeat. |
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A friend gave me a $100 or so grinder that Starbucks sells. I have to admit it does a great job and is going strong after 3 years of daily use. linky |
That's basically the one Starbucks is still selling. Sadly FrankSquid missed a hell of a deal recently. It was on sale for I believe 30% off last month. |
Ditto, get a Bruan. It was "check rated" by Consumer's Report for raising the temperture of the ground beans the least. I think it costs about $25. Don't grind the beans down to extremely fine, because it will release some bitter oils. Store your beans in the freezer, and take the beans from the freezer to the grinder. Oxygen is your enemy to a fresh brew of coffee because it causes odixation, and ground beans exposes it to more oxygen and grind only enough coffee for that brew and no more. |
I have one of these  It has been working just fine for the last 2 years, and was around 15 bux ETA: I grind just what I need each morning. I keep the beans in a plastic container with a lid. It never taste funny. I buy Millstone beans and god knows how ong they have been sitting in the "bulk Bin" |
Bad idea. If you store in the freezer, everytime you take out the beans to get some, some condensation will form on the beans and then re-freeze on them deteriorating the flavor. Store in a dark airtight container at a cool room temperature. Don't you guys watch "good eats" on food network? They just did a whole show on coffee. What I have:  Melita Mill&BREW |
I always thought that oxygen causes oxidation of the oils in coffee especially when the bean is ground into a fine powder where it is more surface area exposed to oxygen. Personally, if a little moisture is on the surface and is frozen probably not a big deal. |
Not if you're going into the bag you're storing them in a lot. If you need to freeze beans or grounds, store it in small packets that you will use for a week or what have you. If you have all your coffee in one bag, each time you open it, you let in moist air which translates to condensation on the beans which is bad for them. You'll do just as well with an airtight container in a cool, shaded or dark place. Or do what I do and roast your beans fresh each week.  ------ As for a grinder, whirlyblades don't do well for anything unless it's a drip like Mauser said. If you can find one, the KitchenAid A9 has gotten decent comments from the folks over at CoffeeGeek. Grinder Reviews Grinder & Espresso Forum Those are where I'd start looking. Good luck! |
Thanks again for all the replies! I needed the grinder primarly for expresso so a blade grinder seemed not to be what I needed so I picked up a Mr Coffee Burr Mill at Target.  I really liked the fact that it has a hopper. Oh, I need to mention that they are on clearance for...$15! Thats 50% off the regular $30 price. ALL of the stores by me are out of them so I bought the display model. I made my wife some fresh Irish Cream flavored coffee for breakfast and I just had an expresso....ah it was smooooooth!
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