The best Burr Coffee Grinders: Reddit reviews

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

The Capresso Infinity is $92 on Amazon right now.

Good on you for getting a "grinder" so you can prepare with fresh coffee.

You will eventually want to get a conical burr grinder

Do remind your BF that nutribullet uses a BLADE grinder, and is thus relatively useless for good coffee. You can get cheap burr grinders even in the $50-80 range (e.g. https://www.amazon.com/Capresso-560-01-Infinity-Conical-Grinder/dp/B0000AR7SY), but others in the forum can recommend more expensive and capable ones.

Edit: Many people here are giving pro advice, but if his goto right now is to take preground coffee and occasionally buy beans, a cheap burr grinder in my mind is good enough, I would not spend more than $100 to be honest. You can upgrade later if this becomes a habit.

He is literally just recommending the cheapest things he would use to still obtain a "ballpark level of quality". The Hario burr mill is the cheapest burr grinder you can get for the most part, so that's what he recommended. If you don't mind paying a bit more, and/or waiting, I am personally pretty happy with my Capresso Infinity automatic burr grinder. I just waited and used CamelCamelCamel to buy it for ~$80 on Amazon. It's currently $92, and I'd still buy it at that price.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000AR7SY

Suitable grinders range in price from about $150 to $3500. So you need to give us a budget. It is also necessary to know what brew methods will be used.

At the low end of that range, the Baratza Encore is very popular. But if you want a higher quality grinder, you can spend much more.

Questions like this should be posted in the Daily Question Thread, and your post will probably be removed by the mods.

Café de Altura is my go to. Probably not going to find it in every grocery store, but I have good luck at the pulperías near me. The grind is too fine for a French press, so I grind it myself. I use an automatic grinder, that I bought from Amazon.

Second the coffee grinder. We use this "burr" grinder from amazon

French press is good coffee, but for everyday use we're still using a cheap 5 cup automatic coffee machine we got for like $15 from Wal mart.

You'll find you can enjoy
A: making the coffee -- so you'll get into all the different ways to brew and grind coffee and have fun with that
B: adding to the coffee -- so you enjoy adding chocolate or spices or rum or making your own flavors up
C: not making coffee at all and you stop by Mcdonalds to grab a $1 caffine fix

or any combination.

I got a Mr Coffee burr grinder (this one to be exact https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004T6EJS0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_9XMIFbZY1RFY2). My only complaints with it are that the coffee gets staticy and makes a damn mess after it's ground (hoping this will subside over time though). But it's miles better than my old half broken metal blade grinder that I had for years.

There's a stabilization mod you can buy or the tape mod, but essentially, you get what you pay for with grinders.

Check it the Timemore C2 or some of The 1zpresso grinders for better budget hand grinders.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Coffee/comments/4nnpgo/hario_skerton_upgrades_and_hacks_makes_a_perfect/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Horse-Products-KI-100-Skerton/dp/B012HDKKQ6

It's supposed to be a link to a Mr. Coffee burr grinder on amazon, but I clipped the url when I chopped off all the tracking stuff.

Here you go: https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Coffee-Automatic-Grinder-BMH23-RB-1/dp/B004T6EJS0/

Baratza encore gets recommended a lot. Its $130 though

Bodum bistro is comparable, though the customer service is not as good I hear. I wouldn't know, I've never had to call. Its around $85

I have the bodum bistro. Its terrific. It doesn't do espresso well, but t will do great for pour over, aeropress, drip, cold brew, and French press. If you don't do espresso its the one I would recommend

https://www.amazon.com/Bodum-Bistro-Electric-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B0043095WW. Bodum bistro is 89.84 on amazon currently

The Wave is good. Other easy methods for beginners would be the Aeropress or the French Press.

More importantly I would find a local roaster from which to get fresh beans. Quality beans will be a huge difference in flavor for you regardless of brewing method (though drip maker is still not recommended over other methods mentioned). I know you said you are frugal, as am I, but I found myself drinking LESS coffee when I was spending more on quality not because it was more expensive but because the flavor was so much more intense and fulfilling. I savored it more and instead of drinking 1200mL of store bought drip I was enjoying 700mL of Chemex (similar pour over method) tremendously more.

If you are anything like me you will take your time to build your equipment and slowly buy more. I enjoyed doing it this way because I could move as my tastes evolved. As you mentioned, investing in a good burr grinder should probably be the most important thing. I think my Baratza Encore is worth its weight in gold. After that I slowly added more brewing methods and this Hario scale. The weighing of your water and coffee is so much simpler when it comes to make a consistently great cup of coffee.

I know this is a long reply and a list of stuff but it is three years worth of accumulation, mostly thanks to Amazon gift cards at Christmas time! Most importantly, just enjoy yourself and your coffee! If you like a method others don't or don't like weighing things then don't. Your taste is yours, enjoy it.

The Breville smart grinder pro is the deal of the day on amazon canada for 180$ CAD, which is equivalent to 141$ USD. Is this as good a deal as it seems?

Also, do we know anything about the durability of the smart grinder pro? Thanks!

I have the Bodum Bistro Burr Grinder, the black one is currently (like at this moment and can change at anytime because Amazon) just $62 https://smile.amazon.com/Bodum-Grinder-Electronic-Continuously-Adjustable/dp/B0043095WW/

I like this one because it doesn't require a lot of cleaning. It is, I don't think, good enough for an espresso machine, but for cold brew and French Press brewing it is really good.

It's a rebadge of a Cuisinart grinder. The Cuisinart gets fairly poor reviews from the folks I trust, and I wouldn't expect that the knockoff/relabel is going to do much better.

A lot. She has a coffee subscription that she custom orders her coffee from and we stop by new coffee shops for her to try all the time. From my quick research this is the one everyone recommends.

Not sure where you can take coffee to have it ground, but I've got this grinder at home: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004T6EJS0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_UoWkFbH7H3PHE It's affordable and has been going strong for 4+ years now!

Yes a moka pot is acceptable, but the hot ticket is a used entry level pump espresso machine and some kind of used grinder. Bottomless options are a plus. Most of your money should go to the grinder. You will not make amazing espresso, but you will make espresso that is ok. You will could do it by spending $199 maybe, if you find some good deals.

Edit: Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007F183LK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_PqljFbKCN4XAW

Spend the other $50 on a crappy used espresso machine and you will at least have some fun.

This is a little more expensive than the other recommendations, but the Baratza Encore is the go-to entry burr grinder. It's pretty highly recommended on a lot of coffee sites and /r/coffee.

If you have a drill, rig up a wing nut or something to tighten the chuck around (or use a nut and socket) and grind the beans with it. Don't go real fast to avoid heating the beans though. I haven't bought a good electric grinder because none under $100 get consistently good reviews for making coarse grinds and not getting tons of static etc. I'm looking at buying a Hario Skerton, upgrading the lower bearing on it with the kit from orphan espresso and using my drill to do the work for me.

Currently, I use a cheap Mr. Coffee Blade grinder/chopper. Super inconsistent, but good enough for drip. Not so much for my french press. If you're dead set on electric, I would consider the Bodum Bistro for the glass catcher. For a cheaper option, the Cuisinart DBM-8 is well reviewed online but you get the plastic catcher/static issues.

First off, the quality of a grinder is mostly based on if the grinder has burrs or not. A cheap electric grinder uses blades, which grind the coffee without any real consistency. A bur grinder will produce a consistent and adjustable coffee grind.

The grind of the coffee is very important. A consistent grind will ensure the coffee extracts evenly. I use a hand grinder because it grinds the beans pretty darn consistently for a low price. Cons of a hand grinder are that it takes a while to grind your coffee. Down the road you could upgrade to an electric burr grinder. (Bodum makes a decently priced electric burr grinder).

My brew time for the chemex is 3 to 5 minutes based on how much coffee I am making. It also takes me a few minutes to grind my coffee as well. By now though, I try to grind my coffee as my water heats up in my kettle, so by the time the water is ready, my grinds are ready.

I just now ordered the Bodum Bistro for $91 on Amazon, new.

Sidebar equipment list seems to like it more than the Encore

Bodum Bistro Electric Burr Coffee Grinder, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0043095WW/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_q4H7vbBNBH285

I just upgraded from a Cuisinart grinder to the Breville Smart Grind Pro (the newly released one). With over 600 grind settings and some really neat features (above what Baratza offers for nearly the same price). I really love it so far.

I am in the same boat as you, in hoping to get a decent espresso machine in the next couple of years, but it's pretty much Chemex until then. Oh, and Turkish is up next too, once I get an Ibrik :)

Thanks. What makes that machine different, or special, and worth more than twice this cuisinart? Just curious.

Also, if i am grinding my beans as i brew, does that mean i now would need to start weighing them prior to grinding, as opposed to grinding too much, and measuring by scoop? (Which would inevitably lead to leftovers.)

It's really not too bad. I've also heard of some people using a power drill on their grinder... Although I'm sure that isn't too great on the grinder.

The Baratza is about 130 USD, but I think the capresso is more like 90 USD.

If you can find an Infinity, that'll probably be a bit more affordable.

I'm gonna hijack this to ask a question. I have this grinder. I think it works fine except for maybe a some more fines than I would like (I use it for a French Press). I've never seen it or any other budget grinder recommended on /r/Coffee, so I want to ask why?

I second a Chemex. You will eventually want to get a gooseneck kettle and a burr grinder as well. Arguably, I would say you should get a nice grinder before replacing your brewing method. A consistent grind will make a world of difference in your cup.

I know a lot of people are super into Baratzas and Krups grinders... but I have had a Cuisinart for several years and it has been great to me. They are often pretty cheap, too.

I have been very happy with my Baratza Encore. It produces a very even grind. Only issue I have with it is that it is quite loud.

Check the sidebar for the coffee gear suggestions, there are quite a lot of good options out there depending on your price range.

You want this kind of burr, but I think the model you have uses a roller burr or disc with nubs or teeth on it which nibbles at the beans. They don't produce uniform sized grounds and produce more fines than conical or flat burrs. The Capresso Infinity (560) is usually the minimum recommended grinder here, but the price is a bit higher than normal at the moment. It can usually be bought around $80. Using a coupon at BB&B can get you a better price.