How to choose a coffee grinder for home
When people ask us what to buy first for better coffee at home, the answer is often a grinder, not a new espresso machine. Good beans ground unevenly or worse, too coarse can't make a good cup, however good the machine is. Below is what really matters in a home grinder, from our experience as a roaster and as home coffee drinkers.
What a good home grinder needs to do
- Grind evenly. If particle sizes vary a lot, water over-extracts the fine ones and under-extracts the big ones. The result is a cup that is bitter and sour at the same time.
- Reach the right fineness. Espresso needs a fine grind that many cheap grinders can't reach.
- Have enough steps where it matters. In espresso, a small change in grind changes the extraction a lot. The grinder needs to let you move in small steps so you can dial in properly.
Heat, which people often worry about, is almost a non-issue at home. A home grinder makes a few doses a day, not hundreds like in a café, so it never gets hot enough to affect the taste.
Conical or flat burrs?
Both can grind very well. In our experience, though, it's easier to build a good conical grinder at an affordable price. Flat burrs need a stronger motor and more precise construction, so good flat-burr grinders are usually more expensive, bigger and heavier.
Prosumer flat-burr grinders can give a clearer cup, sometimes even a better one. Their drawbacks are the price, the weight and the space they take on the counter.
Manual or electric?
Good hand grinders grind very evenly and are perfect for travel or an occasional filter coffee. We use them and like them on trips. For 5–6 coffees a day, though, we wouldn't recommend grinding by hand every day; that's where an electric grinder earns its place.
Stepped or stepless?
Stepless grinders let you set any position, while stepped ones limit you to fixed positions. A stepped grinder is a small inconvenience, but if it has plenty of steps you can still dial in espresso well.
New or second-hand?
A second-hand prosumer grinder can be a good choice if you want the results of a big grinder for less money. Think about the space and weight, though, and check:
- the burrs: they wear over time but can usually be replaced, so ask whether parts are available;
- how the motor sounds and whether it grinds consistently;
- how easy it is to clean and how much coffee stays inside between grinds.
If you want something compact to use every day without worries, a good new conical grinder is often the simpler choice.
What we use
For two years we've used an ITOP 40 grinder with titanium conical burrs at home, next to a Gaggia Classic. We've also taken it to events, where it ground without problems for V60, Aeropress and Fellow Aiden. It's a stepped grinder, but it has so many steps that dialling in espresso isn't a problem.
Over time we've also used espresso machines like the Expobar Brewtus and Lelit Anna, and prosumer grinders. On the road we take an Aeropress, a machinetta and a Timemore hand grinder. Our conclusion: there's no "best grinder", just the right tool for each job.
Don't forget the scale
Whatever grinder you choose, a good scale makes the difference. Without weighing your coffee and water, you can't tell whether a grind change helped.
Have an automatic espresso machine?
If your machine has a built-in grinder, you can't change it, but you can choose coffees that grind more easily. Read our guide to specialty coffee in automatic machines.
