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chazalpha96
1
Oct 27, 2017
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How bout starting @ the beginning with burr grinder? Folks have good-bad-indifferent experiences with grinders? Baratza seems to be particularly popular....
Oct 27, 2017
Jonovalles
14
Oct 27, 2017
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chazalpha96I have a baratza encore that I have a love hate relationship with. I love the consistent grind and the variation...and for the price I get great grinds for my chemex and French press. As far as espresso, I don't have a machine; I'm old school with the Mika pot lol, but this machine can handle that no problem either! But here's the bad; this grinder needs constant cleaning; for some reason they designed the grind shute with a 45 degree angle that just loves to collect chaff and fines. And the machine develops a bit of static that you'll notice when you pull the hopper out, and if you give it a good tap, you'll make the counter a mess. Through cleaning isn't too difficult and daily maitenance is a breeze, so I take the good with the bad.
But it let me just say that if you are serious about your coffee; your beans and your machine do Not matter if you have a crappy grinder. Before you buy that $1200 machine or that $200 electric kettle, or spend $20 on single origin, small batch, responsibly harvested craft beans, do yourself a favor...invest in a great grinder. Not a good one; a great one. And baratza has a new line of vertical drop burr grinders; I'm saving for one of those!
cheers!
Oct 27, 2017
steverhinehart
24
Oct 27, 2017
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chazalpha96(Disclaimer: I sell coffee equipment, including grinders) I like Baratza, I think they've done a fantastic job at improving the options available to consumers and they have a long track record of supporting their products. I've also heard good things about the Bodum Bistro and Capresso Infinity as budget options. I don't think there's a grinder I'd recommend that's under about $80-90, and many of the "burr" grinders around there perform little better than blade grinders. When shopping for a budget grinder, I recommend sticking to conical steel burr models, as decent flat burrs don't seem to be found until you hit the $300 range. Also, if you're not opposed to grinding by hand, you can often save a bit of money and get great grind quality out of a manual grinder. The Knock Aergrind sounds like it will be the compact hand grinder to beat fairly soon, as it has a fantastic burr set and should be priced around $100 - and it will fit into the plunger of an Aeropress!
Oct 27, 2017
chazalpha96
1
Oct 28, 2017
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JonovallesGreat insight - thanks for sharing.
Oct 28, 2017
chazalpha96
1
Oct 28, 2017
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Oct 28, 2017
kingfisher
Oct 31, 2017
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steverhinehartI’ve been using a Capresso conical burr grinder for years. It works great, but I have to deal with grounds accummulating due to static and the lack of verticality in it’s design. We like dark roast, where the expressed oils don’t help, but I happily do the extra work because the coffee is stellar.
When we are on the road and need to grind coffee, I use a Hario Ceramic grinder. I took the handle off, replacing it with a nut. Then I use a rechargeable electric screwdriver fitted with a socket. Doing the grinding by hand is far too much work! Ritual is ok, but tedium isn’t!
But buying unknown coffee beans on the road is something I try to avoid. So much of the coffee we end up with is not fresh, or just poor quality, or we just don’t like it. That’s why I prefer to grind our favorite beans at home, measure and vacuum seal, and freeze.
Oct 31, 2017
joto
1
Nov 1, 2017
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chazalpha96I have a Zassenhaus hand grinder picked up used on eBay if you want to be involved and also a Gaggia electric when grinding for multiple people both do great jobs on all grinds.
Nov 1, 2017
jkiemele
222
Nov 3, 2017
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chazalpha96I have a Baratza Preciso and have absolutely loved it. While in hindsight the Virtuoso would have been sufficient, the grinder has been great and Baratza customer service is second to none. I got the scale attachment so now I can grind by weight as well. I used a couple other cheap burr grinders before and there is a night and day difference between my Baratza and the cheaper options I previously used.
Nov 3, 2017
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