Forum menu
Thanks for your further explanations, especially to nickc, maccruiskeen and easily. I think I have learned something from all the comments here and am interested to see how it works out when my grinder arrives.
Positing that a blade grinder would produce anything but terrible results is nonsensical; they give no control over grind size and the uniformity of particles is terrible. If you don’t understand why this wouldn’t produce awful coffee then it may be better to stay away from coffee threads.
it may be better for you to stay away from any forums involving other human beings.
Is someone missing a high horse? Sweet jesus.
it may be better for you to stay away from any forums involving other human beings
LOL
Mrs BigJohn and I like different beans. Both from Happy Donkey; I like their Brazilian or Italian blends, she prefers the Costa Rican (although we're both currently drinking peaberry beans we brought back from Costa Rica last month) anyhoo...
We have 2 Iberital MC2 grinders. Fill the hopper and they dispense just the right amount (set by you, quantity and fineness) straight into your filter basket. Simplicity and perfection itself.
I use a Knock hand grinder like a few above. With a V60 filter. I think it produces great results. Aeropress gives you more options but I'm happy with pour-over. I read somewhere that better hand grinders are also easier to use (fewer turns? Less force? Dunno) than the cheaper ones. Anyway I'm happy enough making about 3 cups a day with mine at work but I don't tend to use it if I'd be offering someone else a coffee because it just takes too long. And we have a nespresso machine for that, although the stuff it produces is crap by comparison. Point being, hand grinding a few cups is OK but it could wear thin if you do more.
YMMV on price and quality but I would think if you like good coffee you'd value a half decent burr grinder (hand or electric no matter) over a real cheapie or a blade one. Certainly the <£50 electric burr grinder we had before was noticeably less good.
+1 for Knock.
I’ve used an aergrind for my aeropress for the last couple of years and I couldn’t do with out it now.
MacBeans beans + Knock grinder + aeropress + snow peak Ti flask = contented mh
🤪
Knock have/had "seconds" with cosmetic flaws. I bought one at a considerable discount and I can't spot anything that's wrong with it.
(duplicate post)
I read somewhere that better hand grinders are also easier to use (fewer turns? Less force? Dunno) than the cheaper ones.
I don't know about the physics involved, but it's easier and faster using my Knock grinder compared to the old Porlex one I used to use. On top of that it's way better made, has calibrated fine-ness / or maybe coarse-ness adjustment and has a lovely precision feel to it, whereas the Porlex feels kind of shonky and a bit disposable - plus it has really poor handle / grinder interface which eventually wears the handle to the point where it no longer engages reliably with the grinder spindle.
Anything worse than a reasonable ceramic burr grinder is not worth your time - you may as well just buy ground coffee and buy it more regularly so it is fresh.
The next step up is a Knock - probably an aerspeed, as realistically nobody has the time to hand grind for an actual espresso.
Above that - Commandante, Lido e.t.c can all be had, but if you're into this stuff, then STW is not the place to be asking.
And we're off...
There is only one coffee making process that needs one to be worried about grind size consistency, and that's espresso., for which it's important, and to be honest needs a burr grinder, if you're using a press (aero or french) then it's likely that the grind size you should use for espresso will be too small, and will either require excessive force to push through, or more likely will get clogged in the filter. If you're not making espresso at home* then it's of little to no interest to you at all and by all means grind your coffee to how you see fit, and a blade grinder is a much cheaper option. You'll still get a really nice cup of coffee, anyone who tells you that it's undrinkable is probably the same sort of person who insists on calling a Buffalo a Bison, and should be roundly ignored.
Remember, it's your drink, put milk in it, use other stuff that's not even milk, froth your milk extravagantly, use sugar, syrups, chocolate, sprinkles...do what the hell you want...
* Part of the enjoyment of espresso, for me at least, is seeking out a nice cafe in a square with some sun, a local paper that I can use my schoolboy french or terrible Italian to try to translate, and watch the pretty young things go about their day...I don't need to be-spoil that by trying to recreate it at home.
Brilliant – thanks for a comprehensive and informative set of replies!
I’ve ordered the Hario I linked to, and we’ll see how we get on
I think my Hario's an earlier version of that one and it's been doing a decent job for a few years now. It takes about 160 revolutions to grind 15g of beans to the fineness I use for espresso so for 3 uses a day you'll be doing some cranking! And unfortunately on mine the handle locates onto a five-sided shaft so it tends to slip if I try to use a drill/driver on it.
OP has placed and order and was happy with the responses, we can all sleep soundly (or restlessly as we've overcaffinated ourselves) knowing that thread has come to it's natural resolution and we no longer need to argue about grind and brew methods, we can all stick to drinking what we like 🙂
we no longer need to argue about grind and brew methods, we can all stick to drinking what we like
Eh? How's that supposed to work ?