Coffee Grinder Importance

Having a grinder that can reliably deliver consistent results every time is ideal to ensure you're achieving the best tasting experience with your morning coffee ritual. In this article, we will go over the importance of the grinder you choose to get you through you your brew-tine!

What variables are important to consider when choosing the right coffee grinder for you?

1. Achieving consistency
2. Meeting your brewing needs
3. Quality
4. Price-point

Achieving Consistency

Inconsistent results may lead to constantly dodging under, over, or uneven extraction. Consistency refers to both the predictability of the outcome of the coffee you're grinding, as well as consistency in grind size amongst the coffee grounds themselves.

Having a grinder that will retain fewer grounds is ideal to ensure you can weigh without needing to adjust too much and all the grounds to be brewed are fresh. If there is coffee being retained in the machine, specifically finer grounds, these fine grinds can make their way into your next brew.

And finally, consistency in grind size is important to achieve predictable results, including the ability to avoid or easily adjust from under/over-extracting the coffee grounds.

Meeting Your Brewing Needs

When meeting your brewing needs, you will be faced with variables such as grind size range for different brew types, burr type, dimensions, manual/analogue/digital options, variable speed options, different materials featured, attached hopper/single dose, etc.

Consider the variables above, and seek a grinder from a company, like Baratza, who has mastered the art of durable, consistent, and easy-to-use home coffee grinders. Other factors like Quality and Price-point will also fall within this category.

Quality and Price-point

While burr grinders will offer significantly better results over blade grinders, not all burr grinders are created equal. Burr grinders that fall within $100 may be adequate to get the job done and have a decent consistency compared to blade grinders, but you will often be sacrificing longevity, durability, and reliability.

If you're just intending to brew for percolators, pour-overs, batch brews, and French presses, then a great starting grinder that will last you many years is the Baratza Encore which starts at $149.95. Quality grinders that have espresso grind options will often be available above $200. All this is to say that you don't need to spend $500+ for a grinder that's going to offer long time dependability. 

Check out our article that goes over Our Favorite Grinders to Pair with Your Ratio!

The Cons of Pre-ground Coffee and Blade Grinders

What pre-ground coffee and blade grinders have in common is that they limit your ability to dial in your morning brew. This is because with pre-ground coffee the grind size is set, and you have to rely on changing other variables to improve the quality of the extraction. For blade grinders, you will have a mix between coarse and fine grinds, and every time you grind your coffee you will achieve different results, which will lead to guaranteed uneven extractions. Avoiding these is ideal, if possible.

Whole Bean Coffee + a solid Burr Grinder = Good Coffee is Ahead.