Coffee Bean Grinder for Espresso only
 

Lots of threads on coffee, lots of online opinions on the internet, but much of it is out of date

I'm looking for the cheapest possible grinder - only use will be for espresso

I figure a used one will be worn plus it is troublesome to find one.

I found the following low cost burr grinders:

Krups GVX 1 Burr Grinder

Jura-Capresso 559

Cuisinart Supreme Grind

Any experience with them?

I have a cuisinart supreme grind and it's ok. Can grind really coarse too in case you get a wild hair and want to do french press for a while.

Caution: If you get a cheap grinder, you're liable to be unhappy with the product. I tried a couple of lower cost grinders, and didn't stop buying new ones until I found a Mazzer in my price range. It ultimately cost me about $300 for the grinder, but I've had it for 10 years, no problems.

The Krups: A friend of mine uses one much like that, and has for a while. But he makes about one shot a week, and doesn't mind nursing the grinder to get a good grind out of it, slowly, over long periods of time.

I haven't used the JC-559 myself, but it looks to be the same design as the Krups. Looks like WholeLatteLove stocks it, which means that it's likely a better-than-average low cost grinder.

(shrug) YMMV, but the one thing I learned from spending $500 on grinders was that I would have been much better off spending $300 on the right grinder the first time.

Cheers,
Dan

I bought the Mr Coffee off Amazon after reading a shltload of reviews on various models. Like you said, so much information, so many opinions; after a while you sort of just go with your gut. It's a good machine, fairly well built, and it produces a good consistent grind as long as you keep everything clean, and it's easy enough to take apart and clean every sunday night or so. I drink drip coffee every day, and I really wanted a burr grinder, not a blade grinder, but I absolutely didn't have 300 plus dollars to spend on this kind of appliance.

If you want a proper espresso grind and don't want to spend a lot, try one of the manual hand-crank mills.

Hario Slim Mill - Manual - Grinders

$300 for a bean grinder? I had no idea...
Man, I'm on a slow train.

I'm French press only and think I paid around 150 for my Solis burr grinder...don't know how it'd be for an expresso grind however. Might be worth checking out...been happy with mine for years, but I'm not Tabs :)

yeh - I'm not gettin' on that train

I also want to avoid spending 10 minutes crankin' on a box just to put a spike into my veins (things ain't quite the same - sorry Lou Reed)

I found the JC-559 (sounds like it has a turbo) for $15, so it is on the way.

Thx everyone!

I think I spent $20 for the black and decker one I have. It's lasted 13 years. Bean fine enough to snort.

I bought a mini mazzer but I sure wasn't going to pay full price. I bought the shop's demo one for about half price. No box or manual but I would have thrown them out anyway.

We just use a cheapo braun or whatever brand, probably from sears. The kind with the plastic lid, put the beans on, replace the lid, hold the button down until it's ground how you want. The trick is to know when to stop grinding. It took a few tries to get it right, but that was it. I've been using it now for probably 10 years and everyone I make lattes for agrees they're the best. And we don't have a fancy espresso machine either, just a $250 unit, again probably from sears. I think it's much more about the ingredients and technique than the equipment. We do buy very good beans - $16/pound.

mini mazzer is the way to go, sooner or later, you will get one Mazzer Mini Burr Review

That was my gig, too. Found a Mazzer from an espresso shop that was going out of business. Well-used, but it's built like a tank. Heck, I could pass this thing on to my kids, if I had any.

I have a Braun burr grinder, the kind you pour the beans in the top and the grounds come out the side into a container... appears they don't make it anymore... probably because mine is about fifteen years old and still going strong!

If I needed an espresso grinder I would look into the hand grinders, much less $$$ Edit to add, $300-$500 for a coffee grinder!?!

Sorry but hate the blade grinders... no way to get a consistent grind with them.

This is on my wish list:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/f2ff/?itm=kyocera_ceramic_coffee_grinder&rkgid=79820040 2&cpg=omho1&source=msn_home_office

that sounds like a blade grinder - it is illegal to use those to make espresso in Orygun (but at least the Guv. says he will not enforce the death penalty)

I am told that... the grinder really DOES matter - you need a fine and very uniform grind for espresso - I guess it affects the contact time of the hot water (which extracts the flavor compounds from the coffee)

Today, I ran little experiment -

Methods: I had the coffee shop use their multi-thousand dollar grinder to make me an espresso grind. I did not use it within the required 26 seconds, but an hour or so later I did run it thru my cheap espresso machine.

Results: The water definitely took longer to run thru the cuppie-thing*. The coffee powder definitely seemed different visually and when I stroked it with my long, hard digit.... There was more crema too!



* as compared with the coffee I have been grinding up with a blade grinder