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Need advice picking my next grinder (lemmy.world)
submitted 10 months ago by to c/coffee@lemmy.world
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Hi,

I've been using a blade grinder for years and just recently realized how badly it affected the brew (took me a while, please don't hate haha).

So I started looking for a better alternative, with burrs, and from what I gathered, a good manual grinder will beat any fancy electric one, so I guess I'll be grinding my beans myself now.

I still need your help picking the right grinder for me, so here is my situation :

  • I mostly use a moka pot and a dripper, and more rarely a French press, for lack of a proper espresso set up
  • I'm also an espresso guy but I will probably end up investing in a decent espresso set up sonif the grinder could manage all of these that'd be neat! (I haven't started benchmarking for a proper setup yet because enjoying a good ristretto from time to time is fine by me for bow, but any advice on a a machine that is not too pricey is welcome too!)
  • most of the time I grind approx 20g of beans
  • I buy my beans from a local roaster, in small quantities (by 250g), dunno if this is any relevant

So far here is a list of grinders I've seen recommended on this sub :

  • 1ZPresso JX pro
  • Commandante c40 (but there are different burrs and I don't know which one I'd pick)
  • Capresso Infinity
  • Hario mini mill

Haven't bern really checking the the last two though. There seem to be quite we difference in prices range, so I need your help picking the right model (and size?). I don't want to spend too much, but I'm okay for a little pricey one if it makes a great deal of difference and it'll last! Also I'm open to look for second hand grinders unless you thinks it's a bad idea ?

Cheers and thank you for your help,

Edit : kingrinder's P & K series are also seemingly a solid choice, if any of you guys have an opinion, I'm interested!

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[–] 14 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Honestly, I'd skip the manual grinders and get the Baratza Encore. The manual grinders on your list are $50 to $100, and you can find a used Encore on eBay for that much. It's more than capable of giving you the grind you need for a moka pot, drip, or French press, and if you open it up and adjust the grind settings, you can just push it to a fine enough grind for real espresso, should you ever get a proper machine.

Hand grinders are great, but they can be finicky and tedious, and they're the last thing you want to deal with when you just want a cup of coffee. They have a lot of range for relatively little cost, but it's not like you're regularly making Turkish coffee and cold brew. You're mostly grinding in the medium to medium-fine grind range, and a good entry-level electric burr grinder will do that for you.

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  • [–] 4 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    This was my reasoning as well. I have the encore esp and it works great, but it is not quiet.

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  • [–] 2 points 10 months ago

    Yeah, it's pretty noisy, but I use mine for my Moka pot, drip coffee, French press, and even cold brew. It struggles on the ultra-fine grinds, but it's pretty versatile for it's price point, and will more than do what the OP needs it to do. I just don't want to see someone drop $300 on a Commandant only to realize they hate manual grinding and don't need that kind of grind range.

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