Why a quality coffee grinder makes all the difference
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One thing that many coffee drinkers don’t realize is that a quality brew comes down to more than just the beans. And while your beans can certainly be the difference between a swoon-worthy sip and something you’d rather spit out, the gear you use to prep that cup of joe can also impact how it turns out, especially when it comes to the grinder.
“A coffee grinder is a mechanism that is used to break down coffee beans in preparation for brewing,” explained Serena Lerner, owner and founder of SkyTop Coffee. Coffee grinders are used for brewing all types of coffee, and they are one of the key components to creating high-quality brewed coffee, she said. “A grinder is literally the most important piece of coffee brewing equipment you can buy,” added Jiyoon Han, a certified Q grader coffee sommelier of Bean & Bean Coffee. “I can brew great coffee in just a mason jar with a filter, if I have a good grinder.”
SKIP AHEAD The best coffee grinders
Related: I didn’t know what my coffee was missing until I invested in the Breville Milk Café.
Why a coffee grinder matters
Simply put, a coffee grinder breaks down coffee beans into little pieces so you can brew coffee. “Inside that little bean, there are tons of soluble compounds of equal [big] flavor,” explained Han. “If the coffee is not broken up correctly, we will not be able to coax these yummy solubles to come out of the bean and end up in our cup. Or, you allow the not-so-good bitter-tasting flavors to end up in the cup.” The size and shape of these little pieces have a major effect on which and how much of these solubles end up in your cup — and therefore, what your coffee will taste like.
Types of coffee grinders to shop
According to Han, there are two primary types of grinders on the market:
Blade grinders. These are most associated with spice grinders — the medium is placed in the receptacle and a blade spins at high speed to chop it up, explained Lerner. Although they are both ubiquitous and easy to use, they also aren’t recommended by any of the experts we interviewed. That’s because though these grinders are often much cheaper, they are also much less reliable at producing that uniform grind size, noted Sumi Ali, CEO and cofounder of Yes Plz Coffee. “Spinning blades cut beans unevenly and tend to produce a large number of boulders and dust, making it hard to nail that perfect grind.”
Burr grinders. These work much like pepper mills, in that you have two metal “burrs" (or discs) that spin when grinding, allowing the beans to break down into even pieces as they pass through, explained Han. The pieces end up being more uniform in size and shape, therefore helping with an even extraction. “Basically, this means each piece of coffee is able to give you the same amount of the same kinds of flavors,” she said. “The result [is] a much better and more consistent cup. Grinders are important and burr grinders are the best for consistent, yummy coffee.”
There are two different types of burr grinders: flat burr grinders and conical burr grinders.
Flat burr grinders. “Flat burrs are horizontally mounted with the coffee flowing down into them,” Lerner explained. She said that these are the highest quality burr grinders, though she noted that they can be expensive and can sometimes produce heat if you are making a lot of coffee in a short period of time, “which can affect the taste of coffee.”
Conical burr grinders. In a conical burr grinder, the burrs are mounted vertically. These are more common and also work quite well, especially for espresso, explained Han. “They are often less expensive both in the initial purchase as well as when you need the burrs replaced, which will eventually need to happen,” she said. However, Lerner noted that although these are better than blade grinders and less expensive than their flat burr counterpart, they can still be pricey while offering “a fair amount of inconsistency in ground particle size.”
Hand grinders also use conical burrs. According to Drago Tomianovic, director of coffee at RAKO Coffee, they “are more home-friendly since they’re less bulky and take up less counter space, but they usually require a decent amount of elbow grease after the first few uses.” Han uses a hand grinder at home, and she noted that “the price point is often approachable” and that the machine “works great.” The downside, she said, is that it takes work. “You have to physically grind the coffee you want to brew,” she explained. “So if you make coffee for three people everyday, well, expect a morning workout.”
Related: All coffee drinkers should keep a French press in their kitchen. Here’s why.
Best coffee grinders to shop
Before checking out different coffee grinder models, Lerner recommended budgeting more money for a grinder than you expect. “Most folks invest in brewing equipment and then purchase an inexpensive grinder,” she said. “This can lead to a sub-optimal final product and you will miss out on all of the nuance and complexity of a coffee.”To help guide your shopping experience, we’ve compiled the best grinders across categories based on expert input.
Best overall grinder: Baratza
Baratza Virtuoso+ Conical Burr Coffee
This grinder has commercial-grade conical burrs, 40 grind settings to let you pick your perfect size and a clear grounds bin backlit with LEDs. “Baratzas are the most common home specialty coffee grinder and there is a reason for that — they are wonderful, [and] their tech support is helpful if you are having issues,” said Han. “They are reliable, last and grind coffee well at a pretty reasonable price point for purchasing one grinder that can last you a whole lifetime.”
Baratza Virtuoso+ Conical Burr Coffee
Baratza Virtuoso+ Conical Burr Coffee $249.00 at Amazon
Baratza Virtuoso+ Conical Burr Coffee $249.95 at Williams Sonoma
Baratza Virtuoso+ Conical Burr Coffee $249.00 at Crate & Barrel
Best splurge grinder: Baratza
Baratza Forté BG Coffee Grinder
In addition to a digital scale and timer, this powerful steel flat burr grinder also has three programmable presets for one-touch grinding as well as 260 grind settings. It also has a polished metal body and a shut-off hopper that holds 300 grams of coffee, making it easier to switch between different types of beans without a mess. “It’s the best of the best home/commercial grinder [that] incorporates all the features you would want for an incredible home brewing experience,” said Lerner.
Baratza Forté BG Coffee Grinder
Best style grinder: Fellow
Ode Brew Grinder
Tomianovic recommended this grinder, which has 31 grind settings and 64-millimeter professional-grade flat burrs, for its “beautiful, minimalist design and auto stop.” He also appreciates how quiet it is and how easy it is to clean, but noted that it isn’t ideal for espresso. This sleekly designed option is also Lerner’s top pick as it’s styled after larger commercial grinders. “It's not all looks, though — this grinder cranks out super consistent particle-sized coffee and allows for simple adjustments to optimize your brew,” she added.
Fellow Ode Brew Grinder
Fellow Ode Brew Grinder $299.00 at Fellow
Fellow Ode Brew Grinder $299.95 at Williams Sonoma
Fellow Ode Brew Grinder $299.99 at Crate & Barrel
Best budget-friendly grinder: Baratza
Baratza Encore
This consistent, conical burr grinder has 40 individual grind settings and a hopper that can hold 8 ounces of whole beans. “These grinders are known to be bulletproof and Baratza has amazing customer service,” said Ali. But in his opinion, the Encore is best suited for drip or French press and can't get fine enough for espresso. “The other downside of this grinder is that the body is all plastic so it probably won't be the most premium appliance in your kitchen,” he added, also noting that the grinder is “a bit on the loud side.”
Lerner also recommended this grinder, highlighting that it’s versatile, consistent, durable and economical. “In my professional opinion, it’s the best entry-level grinder on the market,” she said.
Baratza Encore Grinder
Baratza Encore Grinder $139.00 at Crate & Barrel
Baratza Encore Grinder $139.00 at Blue Bottle Coffee
Best basic hand grinder: HARIO
HARIO Ceramic Coffee Mill Skerton Plus
This is a classic, entry-level burr hand grinder with a washable ceramic mill, according to Han. “I used one for years,” she said. “[It] works great [and] grinds a decent amount of coffee with a nice little storage jar for your grinds.” Although “it’s nothing fancy,” she noted that “it’s dependable and works with a non-slip rubber base.”
HARIO Ceramic Coffee Mill Skerton Plus
HARIO Ceramic Coffee Mill Skerton Plus $57.50 at Crate & Barrel
HARIO Ceramic Coffee Mill Skerton Plus $57.50 at Williams Sonoma
HARIO Ceramic Coffee Mill Skerton Plus $59.95 at Sur La Table
Best overall smart grinder: Breville
Breville Smart Grinder Pro
The grinder that Ali recommends the most is the Breville Smart Grinder Pro, and it’s also what he personally uses every day. “The Smart Grinder Pro is super easy to use and can handle a range of grind sizes from espresso to French press while looking great on my countertop,” he said. “It isn't cheap but I am confident that this grinder will stand the test of time coming from Breville.”
What makes this model stand out for Lerner is that “the unit features Breville’s ‘Dosing IQ’ which gives the user control of dosing time just like commercial espresso for precise brewing recipes.”
Breville Smart Grinder Pro
Breville Smart Grinder Pro $199.95 at Breville
Breville Smart Grinder Pro $199.95 at Williams Sonoma
Breville Smart Grinder Pro $199.95 at Crate & Barrel
Best splurge smart grinder: Baratza
Baratza Sette 270 Conical Burr Coffee Grinder
This grinder has a built-in scale so you never grind too much or too little coffee and programmable buttons with grind time settings within 0.01 seconds. “Its features include options for preset weights (you can set to grind 30 grams if you press one button, and 80 grams for the next button) and it’s set up to hold a portafilter if you use it for espresso as well as a container if you are using it for other brew methods,” said Han. “It has many grind size options and also makes it easy to switch back and forth between each grind size.”
Baratza Sette 270 Conical Burr Coffee Grinder
Baratza Sette 270 Conical Burr Coffee Grinder $399.00 at Bean & Bean
Baratza Sette 270 Conical Burr Coffee Grinder $249.00 at Crate & Barrel
Related: A Nespresso VertuoPlus single-serve coffee maker is easy to use, easy to clean, compact and stylish.
Grinder features to shop
Anytime you buy a coffee grinder, there are a myriad of factors to consider, explained Tomianovic. These include size, effort required, price, noise level, retention, the type of coffee in question and the type of burr.
Grinder Type. When it comes to the type of grinder, there are two options for coffee drinkers to choose from: electrical grinders and manual or hand grinders. “In general, a decent hand grinder will be cheaper than a decent electrical grinder,” Tomianovic said. “High-end [electric] grinders will allow you to grind everything from espresso to French press, while some electrical grinders can grind only specific types of coffee.” However, some coffee grinders can cover both espresso and filter coffee, although most tend to be filter- or espresso-specific.
Size. The size of a coffee grinder matters since some home kitchens can accommodate only a smaller-sized manual grinder. “The downside of a manual grinder is that some aren't able to grind more than 25 grams at a time,” he said. “On top of that, after several uses, manual grinders tend to require a bit of elbow grease to get the ball rolling.”
Price. When it comes to price, flat burrs tend to be more expensive than conical burrs. However, Tomianovic noted that “flat burrs tend to yield more consistent results, which is important since the optimal cup of joe will have grounds that are consistent in size.”
Noise. Conical burrs, though not as consistent as flat burrs, are less noisy. “And quite frankly, [they are] friendlier to people who don't want to hear their coffee grinder hissing loudly at 6 am,” Tomianovic added.
Speed. Fancier, pricier coffee grinders will grind coffee more quickly, which offers more convenience in terms of time and also limits the amount of time you’ll have to listen to the noise the grinder makes. “If your grinder is particularly loud but only runs two to three seconds, it’s likely not a dealbreaker,” he said. “Low to moderately-priced grinders, on the other hand, are slower and louder.”
Retention. Another component to consider when shopping for a grinder is buying one with low retention. “Anytime you grind, say, 25 grams of coffee, you'll seldom get the full 25 grams back in actual grounds, since some will get lost after you dump the coffee into the grinder,” Tomianovic explained. “Pro tip: To up your grinder's retention ante, mist a small amount of water on your coffee before you begin to grind it.”
Adjustability. Some grinders have different features for adjustability of weight and grind size. “If you want to really ‘dial in your brew,' you want a good amount of options for grind size and clear lines marking your adjustments,'' explained Han. “This will help you move around more easily between particle sizes.” For example, if you want to make cold brew, you’ll need a coarse grind — but if you also like to make pour-overs, you’ll then need a finer grind. Some grinders also have options for grinding based on time or weight. “In other words, the grinder will give you a set amount of coffee per grind,” Han said. “Grinding by weight is ideal in many ways, whether you choose to buy a scale and weigh the beans ahead of time or you decide to splurge and buy a grinder with a built-in scale.”
Hopper size. Different grinders allow you to input different amounts of beans in the hopper, the container where the beans are held before being ground. Hoppers can hold anywhere from 30 grams of beans to 1 pound. “This is something to keep in mind,” said Han. “If you choose the hand grinder route and consistently brew a chemex for three people, you are probably going to have to reload it three times.”
Single dosing. Another thing that's important to consider is single dosing: If you single-dose your coffee (or weigh out the amount of beans you need every morning), you'll want a single-dosing grinder to avoid aged coffee that's sat in a hopper for days on end. “Unfortunately, hopper grinders aren’t designed for single dosing and will popcorn grounds and generate inconsistent grounds,” Tomianovic said.
Auto stop. This offers you more convenience and allows you more time to prep the grinder while it’s waking up.
With so many coffee grinders out there, it can be easy to get caught up in all of the different bells and whistles. But above all else, Learner said to keep this in mind: “The most important aspect to look for when purchasing a grinder is uniform grind size, which helps coffee brew evenly during the extraction process.”
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