Monday, December 5, 2011

Best Coffee Grinder: The Secret To Awesome Coffee At Home

Coffee Burr Grinder

If you want an awesome cup of coffee at home, no matter what flavor, you absolutely must use the best coffee grinder. How your coffee is ground affects everything about the brewing process. You could own the most fantastic coffee machine on the face of the earth but if your grind is inconsistent, the final results can be disastrous.

Coffee Burr Grinder

There are basically 2 different types of electric coffee bean grinders you need to look at. They are blade grinders and burr grinders. After we take a look at both, you'll understand why this is such a big deal and you'll be on your way to the best cup of coffee you've ever had at home.

Coffee Burr Grinder

Blade Grinders

Coffee Burr Grinder

Blade grinders are the most commonly used type in the household because the are the least expensive. But blade grinders really are not grinders at all when you look closely at how they work. They use a metal blade to cut up the beans.

By cutting the beans instead of grinding them, the grounds are usually uneven and will give you a poor brew quality. You can make your grind finer, but this requires you to leave the beans in the grinder longer. The longer you leave the beans in the grinder, the hotter the blade gets and this can completely change (or ruin) your brew. And because the blade can get so hot, your grind can end up having a burnt flavor.

I have to be honest here, I'm one of those folks who has used a blade coffee bean grinder for years. Call me silly if you want, but I have always thought my choice was either a manual coffee grinder or a electric blade. Now I know better.

Next we'll go over burr grinders. There are two basic types. The wheel burr and the conical burr.

Wheel or Disc Burr Grinders

Burr grinders grind the beans rather than cut them like the blades do. How you position the burr is what regulates the size of the grounds and gives you a much more consistent grind. The burr coffee grinders produce less heat than the blade coffee grinders, so it does not change the taste. This makes for a much better brew and there are no worries about that burnt taste.

Conical Burr Grinders

The conical burr coffee bean grinder is hailed as the best grinder. These are the ones that are used by professionals that own those over priced coffee shops. The burrs spin slower than the wheel burr types, giving you an even better grind.

The Secret To Awesome Coffee At Home

The grind is the key to awesome tasting coffee. The blade type will give you coarse and uneven grinds. The brew you get from this can either be very strong or very weak. (the later is more common in my experience). This is called over extraction or under extraction. One is bitter and one has very little taste.

The flavor of your coffee is made (or lost) in the grinding process. If you seriously want awesome coffee at home without paying outrageous coffee shop prices, get yourself a burr grinder.

Best Coffee Grinder: The Secret To Awesome Coffee At Home

Coffee Burr Grinder

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