• Hi Guest - Come check out all of the new CP Merch Shop! Now you can support CigarPass buy purchasing hats, apparel, and more...
    Click here to visit! here...

Burr grinder - worth it?

obmike

obmike

Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2009
Messages
497
Location
Rochester, MN
My wife loves coffee. I bought her a blade grinder two years ago to grind her own. She said it was a big difference. Last year I bought her a french press. She said that was a big difference. This year I bought her 10 pounds of green coffee beans and an air popper. She loves that. She says the coffee is now as good at home as it is at her favorite little coffee place.

I'm thinking ahead to next year. Does a burr grinder make that much of a difference over a blade grinder?
 
YES!!! I unloaded all of my espresso gear this fall (about $2000), but made the commitment to myself that I would buy a good burr grinder for my french press and Chemex. I ended up with a Baratza Virtuoso, which may seem like overkill to some...but with the versatility it has...I'm getting the best coffee I've ever had.
 
YES!! You/she will notice a tremendous difference. Do a Google for Baratza, as they, generally, have deals on re-built units.

A nice EVEN grind makes for a much better cup of coffee. and if she likes her French press now, wait until she tries it with beans that have been ground expressly for it. Well worth the investment.


(edited for my bad spelling!)
 
At the risk of being told to go search, what is the difference between a blade grinder and a burr grinder?
 
mmburtch said:
cabaiguan juan said:
At the risk of being told to go search, what is the difference between a blade grinder and a burr grinder?
Click to expand...

A burr grinds the beans to a uniform size. A blade grinder inconsistently "shatters" the beans until you decide they're what you want.
Click to expand...

Some also say blade grinders, because the blades spin at a very high speed, can heat up the beans while they do their business. Excess heat can change, or damage the flavour of the coffee.
 
Yes. I recently bought one a Costco. Told the wife the blade grinder was broke.

She walks up to me later that week " honey shouldnt we throw this blade ginder away?"
I gave her that deer stare. Oh OH I got it working again honey!!!! LOL
 
Big Stick said:
Yes. I recently bought one a Costco. Told the wife the blade grinder was broke.

She walks up to me later that week " honey shouldnt we throw this blade ginder away?"
I gave her that deer stare. Oh OH I got it working again honey!!!! LOL
Click to expand...

If you can clean it up really good, you can use the blade grinder for spices. They work great for that too.
 
Shamrocker said:
Big Stick said:
Yes. I recently bought one a Costco. Told the wife the blade grinder was broke.

She walks up to me later that week " honey shouldnt we throw this blade ginder away?"
I gave her that deer stare. Oh OH I got it working again honey!!!! LOL
Click to expand...

If you can clean it up really good, you can use the blade grinder for spices. They work great for that too.
Click to expand...

Throw flake pipe tobacco in there!!!! :D I also got the capresso at costco. For the price it has been great..certainly a step up from a blade grinder. Cant speak the virtues of those top notch burr grinders.
 
Blade grinders are wonderful for a medium/fine grind, I use one everyday for my pour over pot with a cone filter. They DO NOT get the grounds to hot, the grounds are not in the grinder long enough to matter.

Burr grinder is a NEED TO HAVE, I've got four of them three at the store and one at home. If you get a cheap one it'll last a year or two...remember, you get what you pay for. Try to locate someone in you area who repairs and services espresso machines, odds are he'll have a pro model for $300-400 which would cost $1,000+ new. You'll thank me later.

Have fun!
 
Shamrocker said:
Some also say blade grinders, because the blades spin at a very high speed, can heat up the beans while they do their business. Excess heat can change, or damage the flavour of the coffee.
Click to expand...


MrJerry said:
They DO NOT get the grounds to hot, the grounds are not in the grinder long enough to matter.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification. I was quoting only what I'd heard/read and not experienced.
 
It looks lie I am headed down the slippery slope too. I just got a French press. Changed my life!!!
I found myself looking at the burr after watching my favorite TV food guy Alton Brown....
 
beyond the band said:
It looks lie I am headed down the slippery slope too. I just got a French press. Changed my life!!!
I found myself looking at the burr after watching my favorite TV food guy Alton Brown....
Click to expand...

I watched that episode about espresso, and man did I learn a lot!
 
have you ever tried an aero press to make the coffee? They are cheap, $25 or so on amazon and make outstanding coffee, I only use the aero press now, nothing else.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top