Coffee Grinder

Ive done a search but it seems more talk about the espresso machine than the grinder, what grinders do people use for their coffee?

Many thanks

Jon

Dualit for me

I’ve got a cheapo (£25) one made for whittards by russell hobbs I think. Its ok for filter / cafettierre but its not up to the job for espresso.

A krups burr grinder. Cheap, chearful, does what it says on the tin and can be had for around 30 notes.

Use a liquidiser – does a brilliant job.

Does the Krups grind find enough for a macahine? Anyone tried anything like the gaggia MDF, been impressed with the Gaggia machine so far

I use a white marble and guardanium pestle and mortar with a secret compartment for Yak saliva.

Depends what espresso machine you’re using… (my new Rancilio Silvia is rather demanding to put it mildly so the grind has to be perfect). In any event, spend the extra on a burr grinder which will grind consistently (which will be important for any espresso machine).

Currently using a Gaggia Classic if that helps, and tempted to spend tax rebate on a nice grinder

I have a Krups grinder. Used everyday since I got it. I even take it on holiday with me. It grinds fine enough for machines and coarse enough for a French Press. (It’s a burr grinder by the way not a blade grinder, about 50 quid)

Elektra MXC. It’s pretty good.

I’ve got a one of these as well, good value for money.

I’ve got a Krups one and a Gaggia Classic. No problem getting a fine enough grind with it. If you’ve got cash burning a hole in the pocket though plenty of people recommend spending a bit on the grinder. Rancilio Rocky is one that I’ve heard is good?

I have a classic and use the Dualit burr grinder – very happy with it.

What shape burrs? Conical or flat? Really, your burr grinder should be around the same price as your espresso machine.

Zassenhaus are worth a look for a manual grinder. Conical burrs and a good piece of engineering. Not particularly cheap.

What real world differnce does the burr shape make?

Better coffee.

Rancillo Rocky grinder here Bought a Gaggia MM first and it was crap

I use a Gaggia classic expresso machine

Answer to the above question a good grinder is the key to a good coffeee

I have just upgraded my Rocky to a Mahlkonig Pro M the Rocky is no E bay if you are interested.

I had a fantastic wall mounted, hand cranked burr grinder given to me by my Mum, now languishing in an ex’s shed in Harrogate but the need for the grinder is not as great as the need to avoid contact with her. Damn.

I picked up a Mazzer Super Jolly from Ebay. Ditch the hopper and put the beans straight in the top.

I’ve also had:-
Dualit(also *$ rebranded) – pretty damn good for filter/stovetop (with a bit of tweaking), not up to proper espresso machines.

Isomac Granmacino. Great little machine – dispenses straight into the portafilter, but the grind adjustment is stepped, and each step is too big an adjustment. The mazzer is not actually much better given it’s 3 times the size, but it does have stepless adjustment.

Used with a Gaggia Classic, although I’m looking to upgrade that soon(ish).

The grinder is WAY more important than the machine for making good coffee. Has to be burr based. The blade ones just mash the beans, and all too often overheat them too.

I put off buying a grinder for years as I was convinced that all the fuss and mess would mean I drank less coffee.

But then I found the perfect one. Iberital MC2 from Happy Donkey

It grinds and dispenses straight into the filter holder, so you don’t have any going stale, or over the worktop.

Mrs BigJohn likes hers a little weaker than me so I set the dispense so it’s 2 grinds for her and 3 for me. The grind settings can make it as fine or as coarse as you like. You tend to alter this with different beans which tend to grind differently.

A 100% improvement over pre-ground, and absolutely no faff or drawbacks.

£137 plus postage, and their own beans are rather good too.

And the machine I use is a Gaggia Classic.

I have a wall mounted Spong, seems to make tasty coffee but can’t grind as small as some.

I use a Dualit for my Gaggia. Grinds fine enough, and it doesn’t cost too much.

I have a leprechaun at the bottom of the garden who’s convinced I’ve got his pot of gold in the loft. His job every every day is to eat coffee beans and shit them out the other end, then grind them by hand using hand selected granite from off the Atlantic coast of Ireland. It’s actually lovely coffee but everyday, I take a sip, and shake my head at him to signify that it’s not quite good enough yet. Poor bugger – and I don’t even have his bloody gold.

I use an Ascaso iMini with my Silvia, as worktop space is limited, (used to use a Dualit). If all you’re grinding is for espresso machine, then something like the iMini or Rocky etc will be a massive improvement over the Dualit. There’s no way it can get the grind fine enough.

One problem with the iMini, the grind adjuster has about 30 turns from one end to the other, so it’s basically impossible to use it to grind for espresso one minute & plunger or stove top the next. I still use the Dualit for those.

I use an Ascaso iMini with my Silvia, as worktop space is limited, (used to use a Dualit). If all you’re grinding is for espresso machine, then something like the iMini or Rocky etc will be a massive improvement over the Dualit. There’s no way it can get the grind fine enough.

It must depend on the espresso machine – my Dualit grinds fine enough for my classic, with a shot taking about 25 seconds.

i use an ascaso i-steel with my classic. will grind fine enough to choke the machine (so good enough if i upgrade to a more professional twin boiler machine) very fine adjustment for tweaking between batches of beans. i usually end up with +/- 1-3 quarter turns when dialling in a new batch.
very well made and good value too.

The dualit (if we’re thinking of the same one) burr grinder is sold under different brands – including Starbucks Barista. Here’s a good guide on moifying it slightly so that it grinds much finer. I did this and it made a big difference. Obviously no warranty afterwards!

http://www.ineedcoffee.com/07/hack-starbucks-grinder/

We now have one of them happy donkey ones mentioned above and its also good – physically bigger and a bit noisier.