The life of a coffee grinder

[Tricia]

I think our coffee grinder is dying,

After reading a post by Ron from an old thread I thought....

"Fair view" espresso in steamboat springs makes a supreme latte. (That's my house).

Hmmm instead of just buying a new coffee grinder, I should get some advice and see if there is something better out there that we should consider.


Backstory.
We received a Capresso coffee grinder for a wedding gift from @Noofus and @Luvbug in 2012. We quickly fell in love with fresh ground coffee and bought a second one to take with us on our ski trips if we're staying in a ski house. We also have a pourover set up to make coffee.
Photo of our set up at home.

 

[BLiP]

It takes some dedication, but I love my Handground grinder for pour overs and higher end coffee: https://handground.com/handground-precision-coffee-grinder

For day to day, the Breville Grind Control makes excellent drip coffee

 

[jmeb]

If you're ready to go into a deep hole, check out James Hoffman's youtbue channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMb0O2CdPBNi-QqPk5T3gsQ

If you want a reasonably priced, long-lived grinder with easily sourced, user-replaceable parts buy a Baratza Encore: https://baratza.com/grinder/encore/ . Though its "entry-level" it's a step up from the capresso setup and will work for any type of coffee except espresso.

 

[Jersey Skier]

Been using a Baratza Virtuoso for years. It's been a high maintenance appliance. Thankfully they sell all the parts on their website with complete directions on how to fix and diagnose these things because I've had to replace motors, switches and some other parts.

 

[James]

Another hand one that was developed by a guy who used to rebuild espresso machines. 48mm Swiss Burrs. The catch can is now stainless. The grinder isn’t light. This one isn’t really for espresso either, there’s other Orphans. Btw, I’m amazed at the explosion of hand grinders from a few years ago.

LIDO 3 Manual Coffee Grinder - Travel

This one is relatively nee. Bit different, not for espresso. It’s tough to evaluate some of the reviews. About $300. Single batch, up to about 90 gms.

https://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/fellow-ode-coffee-grinder

 

[Ron]

If you're ready to go into a deep hole, check out James Hoffman's youtbue channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMb0O2CdPBNi-QqPk5T3gsQ

If you want a reasonably priced, long-lived grinder with easily sourced, user-replaceable parts buy a Baratza Encore: https://baratza.com/grinder/encore/ . Though its "entry-level" it's a step up from the capresso setup and will work for any type of coffee except espresso.

Baratza's make great grinders for drip and press. Both, the Encore or virtuoso are very good grinders. They can even do a decent job on espresso.

GRINDER TIP: the grinder burrs need to be cleaned about every 6 months or whenever you hear a change in tone or notice the grinds are "off". They gum-up with the coffee oils. this is especially true with espresso.

@Tricia

 

[scott43]

I used to do hand-ground..I'd rather drill holes in my head with a manual drill.... God love the coffee nerds..man..

 

[Ron]

oh, im a total coffee geek but I use a Mazzer Mini Doser. No way am I going through all that trouble and still not get a grind as good.

 

[Scrundy]

Switch to Tea, I did and never looked back. Would leave you with more counter space too

 

[Ron]

Switch to Tea, I did and never looked back. Would leave you with more counter space too

such blasphemous speech!

 

[James]

Tea = pow skis on hard pack. They do work…

 

[Tony S]

oh, im a total coffee geek but I use a Mazzer Mini Doser. No way am I going through all that trouble and still not get a grind as good.

Never a good sign when no price is specified.

 

[Tony S]

Tea = pow skis on hard pack. They do work…

Terrible analogy. Lets do: Tea = Cross Country. It's a different thing.

 

[Tony S]

I have a manual grinder. After one use with arm power I figured out how to run it with my cordless drill.

 

[jmeb]

Yet another reason I need to go up to @Ron 's place..... At least now I know I can just bring him a bag from one of the very good roasters in Denver.

 

[Ron]

Never a good sign when no price is specified.

Mazzer Mini

Mini Mazzer coffee grinders have become the grinders used by the best coffee bars around the world. When it comes to small grinders, look no further!

www.chriscoffee.com

I bought mine about 15 years ago.

 

[Ron]

Yet another reason I need to go up to @Ron 's place..... At least now I know I can just bring him a bag from one of the very good roasters in Denver.

Dragonfly or Corvus? I use Corvus Dead Reckoning as my daily espresso bean.. this is an excellent blend. I pull at 201*, 18/36 for 28-30 seconds.

Dead Reckoning • Colombia & Ethiopia • Vibrant Flagship Blend

Dead Reckoning is consistently ranked one of the best espresso blends in the US by coffee reviews. We source coffees from the best Guatemalan coffee and Ethiopian Coffee farms for this chocolate and berries like coffee. Good for drip coffee brewing too.

www.corvuscoffee.com

 

[Tricia]

Baratza's make great grinders for drip and press. Both, the Encore or virtuoso are very good grinders. They can even do a decent job on espresso.

GRINDER TIP: the grinder burrs need to be cleaned about every 6 months or whenever you hear a change in tone or notice the grinds are "off". They gum-up with the coffee oils. this is especially true with espresso.

@Tricia

I do clean it regularly, but this time it changed noise pitch and is not improving with cleaning.

 

[jmeb]

I currently just have a manual grinder as I sent my mother my Encore since I was tired of drinking crappy coffee on vacation. Making myself grind for each brew helps limit my caffeine intake that got a bit out of control during initial COVID times. Herbal "teas" (especially fond of roasted barley) helps when I want to drink something but have hit my daily limit.

Dragonfly or Corvus? I use Corvus Dead Reckoning as my daily espresso bean.. this is an excellent blend. I pull at 201*, 18/36 for 28-30 seconds.

Love both, but brew mostly with beans from the closest roaster to me -- https://huckleberryroasters.com/ . No espresso at home -- I prefer infusion brews so its either Aeropress or Clever dripper when it's just me (e.g. most of the time) or my massive french press when camping/sharing.

 

[James]

Terrible analogy. Lets do: Tea = Cross Country. It's a different thing.

Nordi’s are a different thing…