Budget Burr Grinders

[Chris Hennes]

I got my Capresso Infinity yesterday, and fired it up for the first time this morning. So far, it's excellent, considerably better for use with the french press than my old "budget" Cuisinart grinder. The Cuisinart generated a lot more fines than the Capresso, so I had to be pretty careful when drinking to stop before hitting the dregs. There are still some fines from the Capresso, but probably only 10% of the amount from the Cuisinart. Of course, it cost twice as much...

[Catherine Iino]

Amazon is advertising a Bodum burr coffee grinder for $80. Has anyone had experience with it? The glass parts sound good, and it's good looking. Thanks for any advice.

[Chris Birkett]

The refurb Baratza Maestros were out of stock for a while, but they're available again for $70. Great choice for a entry-level general purpose coffee grinder. I use one at work for pourover almost every day.

http://www.baratza.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=285R

If you don't mind a bit of work, hand grinders can also produce excellent results. The Hario Slim Mill is only $37.

[Catherine Iino]

Thanks, Chris. Since we make drip coffee, I guess I'll stick with our whirly-blade grinder until it dies (which may be soon). I'm tempted by the hand grinder, though. About how long does it take to grind enough beans for about 4 cups of brewed coffee?

[DanM]

Is there anything new in the burr grinder world? The Bodum Bistro has good reviews on Amazon for about $20 less than the Capresso Infinity. Any thoughts?

[minas6907]

I'm also for the Capresso Infinity. I got one when a friend of mine gave me his Coffee Gaggia, and the thing works wonderfully for grinding espresso, also has a wide variety of grind settings.

[larryroohr]

An inexpensive option are some of the manual grinders. I have this one from Orphan Espresso:

http://www.orphanespresso.com/PORLEX-TALL-Japanese-Ceramic-Burr-Hand-Coffee-Grinder_p_2299.html

It's 75$ and makes an excellent espresso grind. Takes about 2 minutes to grind out a double shot.

I converted mine over to a pepper grinder just this morning, amazed at the volume of pepper it cranks out and the top compartment holds a lot of peppercorns, so even if you upgrade in the future there are good things to do with these.

[Catherine Iino]

I just got a Capresso infinity, and it grinds beautifully. My question is, do you-all really clean out the grinder mechanism after each use? I just know that's not going to happen in my house.

[rotuts]

in the past Ive cleaned mine once a week, on the week-ends. The cleaned grinder results in 'brighter' coffee.

[Catherine Iino]

Thanks. That sounds doable.

[Hassouni]

I have a Hario Skerton, which is great, but man, first thing in the morning, I do NOT want to be manually grinding beans. I have a Zojirushi electric boiler, so the water is ready to go when I wake up. I want my beans to be ready within a few seconds, not a couple minutes.

I do not make espresso, so precision fine grinding is not a concern. Is there a decent electric burr grinder in the $50ish range? Most of what I've seen on Amazon in that range hasn't been too highly rated.

[chileheadmike]

I've had my Cuisinart burr grinder for years. I think I paid 50 bucks for it. Works well, no complaints.

http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-DBM-8-Supreme-Grind-Automatic/dp/B00018RRRK

[alanz]

I adapted a battery powered drill/screwdriver to turn my Kyocera (same as the Skerton) grinder.

It's trivial to do it, and makes using the grinder a pleasure.

After I came up with the modification, I saw that someone else had the same idea and had already posted it on YouTube.

I'm taking it one step further, but his mod might give you some ideas. Take a look at his video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xohgxk4sG3A

Edited February 7, 2014 by alanz (log)

[rotuts]

either of these will suit your purposes.

i had a similar Braun a billion years ago

but Ive moved on and roast my own on the Alexia PID:

just keep them clean

at BB$B

20 % off w your coupon:

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/Cuisinart-reg-Supreme-Grind-trade-Automatic-Burr-Mill/1013265020?Keyword=coffee+burr+grinders

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/Capresso-reg-Disk-Coffee-Burr-Grinder/1018700999?Keyword=coffee+burr+grinders

[Hassouni]

That Cuisinart one never seems to get more than 3 stars. But that Capresso one looks interesting...

[jayt90]

My Baratza Virtuoso failed after 6 years of daily use, and it was worthwhile to have it serviced for $100 including shipping two ways.

While it was gone, I used a Zassenhaus manual grinder, but that was too much bleary eyed morning effort, so I tried the VitaMix, and it worked splendidly. 

Despite the extreme power of 4 blades, the coffee was not overheated. It takes 11 seconds for drip, and 14 seconds for espresso. The bowl becomes slightly opaque,  but no matter, everything in my kitchen looks well used. V-M will be my spare grinder forever!