Coffee Grinder

mattyb240

mattyb240

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1,714
Hey coffee fanatics,

I'm looking to expand my coffee horizons. I can't afford a new coffee machine at the moment! So I think a nice change would be some beans. With that in mind I need a cheap and cheerful grinder. I don't mind if its hand or electric as long as the results are good and preferably less than £75. I've had a look at some at John Lewis which look quite good with a two year gaurentee?
 
Sub £100 electric grinders don't grind fine enough for espresso but they should be good enough for cafetiere.

The de facto standard entry level grinder for espresso is the Iberital MC2 from Happy Donkey.
 
antdad said:
Sub £100 electric grinders don't grind fine enough for espresso but they should be good enough for cafetiere.

The de facto standard entry level grinder for espresso is the Iberital MC2 from Happy Donkey.
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I agree with that for the Espresso grinder, this is the one I have and it is excellent.

However the fact you state that you want it for both Espresso and Cafetiere this may not be the best option as once you have the grind set up correct for Espresso, it is not he easiest grinder to change the setting on to make it more course for Cafetiere.

I would suggest then that you might want to consider either 2 grinders, which you can have set differently, or a grinder that is easily adjustable between the 2 different grind settings. I don't know of one to recommend that is easily adjustable.

In my personal experience now I have the Espresso set up working properly I never use the cafetiere as it just can't compete when it comes to the quality of the coffee produced.
 
Yeah changing between settings is a chore but a grinder that'll do both easily is way beyond your stated budget...scour the UK coffee forum and ebay for second hand professional grinders as they come up fairly often.
 
Several of us run Dualit grinders - this one . Look around on-line a bit and you'll easily find it much cheaper than Amazon and certainly John Lewis.

It is easily adjustable for any grind - just turn the bean hopper a little more one way or t'other. I bought mine as an 'entry level' but after a couple of months see no reason to spend more on another grinder. What could a more expensive grinder do that mine doesn't - genuine question for the baristas.

I took advice in that cheaper grinders are not burr grinders and you need a burr grinder to get good grinding. The Dualit is a burr grinder, in your budget and I thoroughly recommend one. I think I paid £69 - maybe £61 - there is a thread about them somewhere - here - which was a follow on from an 'Aquisitions' post. If you go this route, wash the grounds bin in fabric conditioner periodically to remove static electrical charge - which sends grounds floating about in the air.
 
Bechet45 said:
Several of us run Dualit grinders - this one . Look around on-line a bit and you'll easily find it much cheaper than Amazon and certainly John Lewis.

It is easily adjustable for any grind - just turn the bean hopper a little more one way or t'other. I bought mine as an 'entry level' but after a couple of months see no reason to spend more on another grinder. What could a more expensive grinder do that mine doesn't - genuine question for the baristas.
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You need better quality burrs, adjustment and housing to produce a fine enough grind for optimum extraction, your machine won't be able to grind finely enough for a genuine espresso machine using an unpressurised basket. If the OP is using a pressurised basket then it might be acceptable and it'll certainly be fine enough for a french press or mocha.
 
The Dualit goes down to 'dust' - how fine do you need to go for espresso? I use it on Blob 4, ranging from 1 to 10, and that is pretty damn flour-like.

It occurs to me that the Dualit might not stand up to 'coffee addict's' usage - it may, I don't know, but I wouldn't test mine that far - but it is absolutely fine (pun) for breakfast use - two mugs of strong, strong coffee or having a few guests.
 
Bechet45 said:
Several of us run Dualit grinders - this one . Look around on-line a bit and you'll easily find it much cheaper than Amazon and certainly John Lewis.

It is easily adjustable for any grind - just turn the bean hopper a little more one way or t'other. I bought mine as an 'entry level' but after a couple of months see no reason to spend more on another grinder. What could a more expensive grinder do that mine doesn't - genuine question for the baristas.

I took advice in that cheaper grinders are not burr grinders and you need a burr grinder to get good grinding. The Dualit is a burr grinder, in your budget and I thoroughly recommend one. I think I paid £69 - maybe £61 - there is a thread about them somewhere - here - which was a follow on from an 'Aquisitions' post. If you go this route, wash the grounds bin in fabric conditioner periodically to remove static electrical charge - which sends grounds floating about in the air.
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That looks great Carl, thanks for the link. Seems very reasonable to, managed to find it for £61. I'm curious about it not being able to do espressos? I only have a cheap coffee machine so it's nothing fancy at all and currently using pre ground coffee in there designed for caffitierres without issue.
 
+1 for the Dualit Burr-style grinder... think I've got an earlier version that has been reliably chugging away for a good few years now.
Don't know if I'm a coffee addict, but I tend to go for quality over quantity. Usually have three cups (well... mugs really) a day... including an Americano made in a Bialetti mokka pot. The grinder is on max for this... and it's pretty much reduced to dust as far as I can see. I certainly wouldn't go for one of those blade-whizzer style grinders.
 
mattyb240 said:
I'm curious about it not being able to do espressos?
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Barista Tony says it won't but I think he has no experience - for all I know - of this machine and I have no experience of using its grounds in an expresso machine - but the dust/powder it can produce must surely be good enough for espresso?

Before I bought this grinder, I used ready ground coffee - actually, I'm still using it up in my Bialetti stove-top - and all brands were/are far coarser than the Dualit produces on Blob 4 setting. All the packets for the ready-ground say 'good for espresso' - maybe they lie, maybe they don't.

What I do know is that Blob 4 grounds make coffee in a cafetiere that is superior to many/most UK High Street espressos. I use bog standard £4 - 5 for 250g beans and though I have a few favourites by now, I'm still casting around looking for more/better - to my taste. Maybe I shouldn't say 'bog standard'' as a lot of effort hasa gone into producing them - I mean 'readily available''.
 
I'd rather you didn't speak for me Carlos as you neither know of my experience or use an espresso machine and anyone can make coffee dust with a ten quid bladed grinder pack it into a bialetti or cafetiere and make something that really shouldn't taste better than genuine high street espresso. However thats more an inditement of your high street coffee rather than your skill as stovetops or cafetieres don't choke when the grind isn't right or the beans are too fresh for instance.

No, my then two week old Dualit was donated to a grateful sibling who like you is happy with cafetiere and thinks its the best thing she ever tasted until of course she comes round and tastes my espresso.
 
Ok, Tony - now you've given me a waggy finger will you please tell us how fine the grounds need to be for espresso, or whatever it is that grounds need to be for espresso?

Beans being too fresh is a surprise, for instance. I had thought beans needed to be as fresh as possible for good coffee.

If we put your espresso at 10 on a scale of 0 to 10, where would you put Nespresso coffees. I like the purple ones - Argeggio. Trying to get a handle on what 'good' espresso is. I like what 'the Italians' - broad generalisation - whack out at a rate of knots in their stand-up bars. Never been disappointed in many Italian cities and towns.
 
+1 for a burr grinder.
I have a kitchen aid one. Factory settings not fine enough for espresso, you need to set it up, but plenty of advice on t'interweb. oh and it's bomb proof.
 
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