I want a coffee grinder because it’s more economical to make a cup of coffee using grinds then it is to use a kcup and I just got a new coffee maker as a wedding gift that does individual cups and a pot.
Because I’m an aspiring “coffee snob” I don’t want to use “stale” grounds but I can’t go through a bag in seven days so I want to grind my beans at work.
Very happy with it. Unless you’re going through multiple pots of coffee each day, I suggest avoiding the large capacity grinders. The coffee grounds just sit around loosing their fresh ground smell and taste.
I drink between 26 and 68 ounces of coffee a day. I was told to avoid a blade grinder because it doesn’t make a uniform grind. I may get a french press later so being able to grind for a French Press is a positive.
I’ve owned the Cuisinart Supreme Grind from your Target list for many, many years and it’s held up well. Unless you’re making espresso, which requires a very consistent, very fine grind, it should more than meet your needs and last you a very long time.
I use a hand grinder when I want a more consistent finer grind.
I have a Capresso burr grinder that I really like, but it’s ~$100 so a little over your desired budget. The Cuisinart burr grinder would be my first choice on your list.
As others have said, whatever you end up choosing, get a burr grinder. Once you try using one, you’ll wonder why you ever put up with a blade.
Even as a coffee aficionado and knowing the supposed advantage of burr grinders, their cost and some aspects of their operation put me off a little.
My Krups oval (now called a Fast Touch, apparently) has served me extremely well for almost 30 years. The oval grinding chamber does a much better job than any round one I’ve used, and with a little English on the technique, I get a very consistent grind. I’d recommend it unless you have the budget and the yearning for a good burr grinder.
The Krups is also cheaper on Amazon, $18 with Prime, and it’s their #1 seller.
I have the Mr. Coffee burr grinder, it has been serving me well for a couple years now. How are you brewing the coffee? A burr grinder is a great help with a french press. I use cone type filters, and they are not fussy at all about the grind being consistent, so a blade grinder worked fine.
The real reason I got the burr grinder is because the blade grinder I had would leave a few of the beans nearly whole unless I shook it while grinding. My girlfriend was convinced this was unnecessary, which strained domestic tranquility. So I got a burr grinder. Then I got rid of the GF. (the grinder thing being the smallest of the reasons)
The reason a blade grinder has inconsistency issues is that it doesn’t do anything about grind consistency at all – it’s all on the user to provide the consistency. A blade grinder can do a great job as long as you’re willing to monitor the grinding process. Every time.
I personally like burr grinders because I want a consistent fire-and-forget grind.
I have and have used the Krups Fast Touch, and it’s good if you’re willing to provide the consistency yourself.
We actually got the Cuisinart burr grinder listed above from Target for our wedding. We killed it in like 4 years of grinding enough beans for a 8 cup pot daily.
We got the Capresso grinder that Troutman mentions, and that thing has been chugging along ever since, and it’s a better grinder by quite a bit as well- more consistent size, easier to use, etc…
This is a good point. Blades are fine for cone filters. I make espresso and french press, both of which require a more uniform grind than you can get with a blade.
That hasn’t been my experience. There isn’t some magic point at which the beans are consistently ground to a good french press size - after 5 seconds, some are still large chunks and some are already powder. Keep going long enough to grind all the larger pieces, and you have too much powder. Stop before that point, and it’s still too coarse.
That looks like it would work for me but I’m limited to Target or Kohl’s because I have to use the gift cards we have. I’m not allowing myself to buy something that is not a necessity when I have a large sum of debt. We had agreed that because she paid for the wedding (except what was given by my mother before he passing towards her additional guests any money we received as a gift will go back into her savings.
The cheap Mr. Coffee burr grinder is what I have. But I tend to use it exclusively for drip or pour over coffee and the occasional french press. The reviews say it sucks for espresso, which I wouldn’t doubt.
What are you planning to brew with mostly? If it’s only an automatic drip, just get the cheapest burr grinder. If it’s espresso, I can’t tell you what to buy, except you should expect to pay a lot more.
I’m going to be using it at work to make coffee in a Hamilton Beach Flex Brew at work so espresso is not something I plan on making but I do have a bag of espresso beans which I will make as “regular coffee”
A blade doesn’t give you grounds with a uniform size, and french press really needs uniformity. Smaller-size grains aren’t trapped by the filter, which makes the coffee cloudy, leaves a sediment in the cup, and can result in over-extracted and bitter coffee.
The specific brand isn’t important. My point was simply that a $30-ish burr grinder from a generic recognized brand is plenty wonderful and plenty durable. It also does just fine for grinding true espresso.
Any additional money you spend to have the label “Cuisinart” or “Emiril” or … attached to something that comes from the same Chinese factory is wasted. Take that extra $40 or whatever & splurge on cute Supergirl undies or something for her.
Is it fair to say that it’s not uniformity per se that I need, it’s just that I don’t want any of the grounds to be less than a certain size? I have noticed sedimentation - I usually just don’t drink the bottom quarter-inch or so of my cup. Bitterness hasn’t been a problem.
