Grinders

[ericpmoss]

Today being July 4, if anyone needs independence from their paycheck, here is a luxury hand grinder.

Edit: sorry, it's a pepper mill. They make coffee grinders, so I assumed this was for coffee. It may still be usable as such (?).

[Tim Porter]

Further down the rabbit hole:

I posted in the espresso machine thread that I bought my wife a second Olympia Express Cremina for her retirement, with our 30 year old Cremina covering coffee duties elsewhere. Sadly , after 65 years of being a tea drinker, I succumbed to the blandishments of the cappuccino siren and now have an occasional caffe. As overall coffee administrator in the house, I've found it difficult to get any pre-ground espresso to work consistently in the Cremina except by random luck. So, for my birthday a couple weeks ago, we added the Olympia grinder to the team. It's pretty magical; once I experimented through a few tries, it's dialed in and makes some really nice espresso. The combo of the grinder and the Cremina's steam wand makes it really easy to crank out a couple cappuccinos quickly.

[IMG][/IMG]

[j44ke]

Heart be still.

[drietz]

Hey folks, rather than starting a new thread I figure I'd ask some related but slightly adrift questions here...

I'm looking for a manual burr grinder that is most of all durable and second of all capable of a fine grind.

I'll be honest - it's going to do double duty grinding spices, and I'm not really a HUGE coffee aficionado, but I appreciate things made to last and that I can service myself.

[funcrusher]

Porlex Coffee Hand Grinders – Porlex Grinders

you want a porlex...i've had good luck with the mini...perfect size for aeropress

[dashDustin]

Porlex FTW

Mine is going on...4 years old? Quite capable of a solid espresso grind.

[arcadian]

If you can spend more an Orphan Expresso Lido is better than a Porlex. There a number of really nice manual grinders theses days.

OE LIDO E Manual Coffee Grinder

[mwynne]

If you can spend more an Orphan Expresso Lido is better than a Porlex. There a number of really nice manual grinders theses days.

OE LIDO E Manual Coffee Grinder

Seriously? Until a few weeks back I lived just down the road from their HQ in Troy and had no idea... Damn, a wasted opportunity.

[j44ke]

I like this one.

[Wisco]

Not sure why anyone hasn't yet mentioned the Commandante C40 Nitro .:: COMANDANTE Coffee Grinder | Expect the best. They are built like tanks and provide an amazingly consistent grind from Turkish to French Press.

[ericpmoss]

I like this one.

That's the one I have. It took a while to seat the burrs -- 10lb of rice did the job, but I got a bit tired of rice pudding. Totally worth it for doing espresso. Kind of a PITA for coarser grind, as it grinds very evenly, but the funnel only holds on with 4 undersized magnets, and at coarser settings, the funnel gets nudged off too easily. If they have fixed that since the 2015 version, then I'd highly recommend it.

[MikeS]

bunn.jpg

Bunn grinder from my local Rosauers.

[jtferraro]

Hey gang,
I have a Baratza Encore for drip, French Press, Aeropress and Chemex and a Vario for espresso. I recently ordered an Eureka Atom Specialty 75 but have yet to receive it. I cannot wait to taste the difference in the cup going from 54 to 75mm burrs, coupled with 800 watts of power. It will replace the Vario for espresso and I'm considering swapping out the Vario's stock ceramic burrs for the steel replacements (more conducive to coarser grinding) and repurpose it as the Encore. I've been very pleased with my Baratza grinders and would definitely recommend them.

[ericpmoss]

So, I ended up buying one of these. It is improving my grip strength. It is also producing perfect espresso draws right out of the box, no adjustments, even. With my weak-ass arms, it takes a while (but still under a minute) to grind 19g into espresso. For any of you, it would be plenty fast enough unless your coffee routine is literally done on the run.

[WayneJ]

Hey gang,
I have a Baratza Encore for drip, French Press, Aeropress and Chemex and a Vario for espresso. I recently ordered an Eureka Atom Specialty 75 but have yet to receive it. I cannot wait to taste the difference in the cup going from 54 to 75mm burrs, coupled with 800 watts of power. It will replace the Vario for espresso and I'm considering swapping out the Vario's stock ceramic burrs for the steel replacements (more conducive to coarser grinding) and repurpose it as the Encore. I've been very pleased with my Baratza grinders and would definitely recommend them.

JT - have you had any issues with the drive belt system on the Vario? I’ve used a Gaggia MDF and a Rancilio Rocky (doserless version) over the last 20 years. Both are good and rock solid in the reliability department. At espresso grind settings, both grinders produce some clumping but it’s manageable. Recently, I’ve been considering the Vario. It has a solid rating, but I wondered about belt life.

[jtferraro]

JT - have you had any issues with the drive belt system on the Vario? Recently, I’ve been considering the Vario. It has a solid rating, but I wondered about belt life.

Hey Wayne,
Fortunately, I haven’t had any issues with the drive belt system on my Vario. I’ve had it for years but it’s exclusively used for espresso now and I only typically make espressos on the weekends. Initially I was using it for both espresso, drip, and occasional French press. Baratza has great customer support and they sell the belt and pulley replacement for only $8:
Vario Belt & Pulley - Baratza
For the value, I feel the Vario can’t be beat. I bought the grinder when I still had a single boiler espresso machine and it allowed me to make decent drinks. Years later I upgraded to an E61 HX, which is obviously more temperature stable and consistent, and allows me to simultaneously steam & brew. The Vario continues to meet my needs but I’ve gotten to the point in which I’m really looking for more taste in the cup (larger burrs). Speaking of which, how big are the burrs in that Gaggia MDF?

[WayneJ]

Speaking of which, how big are the burrs in that Gaggia MDF?

The burrs on the MDF (and Rocky) are flat 50mm. The burrs on cut left hand on one grinder and right hand on the other (can’t remember which). The reason is one grinder is direct drive and the other has a gear reduction. I think the MDF has the gear reduction because it grinds a little slower than the Rocky. I’ve read that the MDF doesn’t heat the beans as much, but I can’t taste it in the espresso. Both grinders do well throughout the range from French press to espresso (except the small clumping issue previously noted on the fine end).

[maunahaole]

This won’t be relevant to most here, as it involves an entry level burr grinder. We just got an OXO burr grinder after our Cuisinart failed. We have only used it for a couple days, so no ideas as to long term durability. It is only used to make drip on a medium grind. On the positive side, it is quiet. It has a stainless grounds cup that supposedly is grounded (it uses a three prong plug) to dissipate the static buildup. It seems to work quite well in that regard. Very few grounds stick to the cup and it only takes a light tap on the counter to knock them free. Grounds pour smoothly from the cup to the filter basket. This is a huge plus, we use a Moccamaster and it is very easy to clog the works with loose grounds and make a mess. On the negative side, I don’t like the timer setup. It only will grind for 30 seconds at a go. You get approximately one gram of ground coffee per second of run time and a full pot, per mfr recommendation takes 68 grams. So, we need to push the button twice and get around 60 grams. Still tastes good. In an ideal world I’d prefer a one push to grind deal.

[tanghy]

2nd for either lido or commadante, very good for filter coffeees

[froze]

I happen to like the JavaPresse grinder, yes I know, it's inexpensive but it seems to work great for me, it has a very large variety of grinds from powder (which is finer than Espresso) to course. Maybe it won't last as long as a $250 grinder, but for $250 I can buy a lot of $25 JavaPresse grinders, and I doubt I would need to buy that many over the course of my lifetime.