A Guide to Coffee Grinders
When you're looking for the best coffee equipment, don't overlook coffee grinders. While espresso machines get a lot of attention, the right grinder can make all the difference to your final brew. However, where do one really start? Are there any differences between those huge grinders and the small ones? What are burrs? Which is better?
In this blog, we will guide you through the different types of coffee grinders, the components, and how you can select the best grinder depending on your own setting. We'll keep it as simple as we can, so you won't feel overwhelmed reading this!
Espresso, Filter and All Purpose
To start off, there are 3 types of grinders that grinds for different purposes respectively. Think of it as getting a car; you would get a sports car because you know it is built for speed, or a regular sedan if it's for a daily drive, and so on. Same concept applies to coffee grinders as each type is meant to grind specifically for different cups :
Espresso Grinder
Clearly, an espresso grinder focuses on grinding your coffee beans more on the finer size (espresso grind size), which is crucial when brewing with an espresso machine. Espresso grinder typically highlights more on the body and sweetness of the beans.
Filter Grinder
A filter grinder is built for pour overs. It grinds more on the coarser side (much coarser than espresso) to allow water to pass through with little restriction as compared to espresso. It typically highlights more on clarity and flavour of the beans.
All Purpose Grinder
An all purpose grinder can grind both espresso and filter. It works really well if you're switching from an espresso to a filter on a regular basis. However, as the saying goes "Jack of all trades, master of none" means there are a few compromises to an all purpose grinder.
On Demand vs Single Dose
Single Dose
A lot of home baristas today prefer to go for single dose grinders, which involves leaving your hopper empty, weighing out each dose of beans as you need them, and grinding them into your portafilter. It also allows you to store your coffee beans in an airtight container instead of the hopper, keeping it fresher for longer. Single dose grinders also gives you more room to experiment around with different beans and they tend to leave little to no retention (leftover coffee in chamber).
On-Demand
On-demand grinders are great for high-volume situations because they allow you to store large amounts of coffee beans in the hopper. It's easy to just grind the beans on demand, as needed. The main drawback is that you have to keep an eye on the hopper so that the coffee doesn't lose freshness if it sits inside too long (because hoppers are not airtight).
Time-Based vs Grind By Weight
The key to consistent brewing is accuracy, and to achieve that you have to weigh your coffee beans regularly. It is similar to baking, where you need to weigh every ingredient to make sure you get the right measurement. And when it comes to grinders, it is done either using a time-based or gravimetric (grind by weight).
Time-Based
A time-based grinder will grind coffee for a certain amount of time that you have set. For example, if you wish to get 18 grams of coffee out, you would have to set the time and grind until you discover the grinding time for your desired weight. Dialing in involves a lot of trial and error, can be a bit time consuming and uses a lot of coffee beans, but time-based grinders are known to be robust, reliable, and reasonably priced.
Grind By Weight
Gravimetric, or grind by weight grinders (GBW) will grind coffee based on the weight that you have set. Dial in 20 grams, and the grinder will grind and dispense 20 grams out. This is achieved by a built-in scale that is installed in the grinder. It saves a lot of dialing in time and is very accurate, but they tend to be on the pricier side.
Burrs
Burrs are made up of two revolving abrasive surfaces (plates with teeth) that grinds coffee beans in between them. Burrs are the most crucial component of a coffee grinder as it is responsible to grind your coffee beans to the desired grind size (coarse or fine).
Size
They range in size but typically for home grinders, they are always smaller (about 64mm and below) than commercial burrs (usually 65mm and above). Bigger burrs also grind faster, simply because the bigger surface area means lesser friction between the burrs when grinding.
Conical vs Flat
The two types of burrs are conical burrs and flat burrs. Just like the name, conical burrs are shaped like a cone while flat burrs are flat. You would normally see conical burrs in hand grinders due to it being more compact, while flat burrs are almost always used in electric grinders.
Conical burrs also produce a more blended and complex flavor, and they tend to have more body and sweetness. Flat burrs can replicate similar flavors but are inclined on producing a cup with higher clarity.
Coating and Material
Most burrs are made of hardened steel or iron cast material (and ceramic for some hand grinders), but most brands have their own version of coating on the burrs that differentiates one from the other. The most common would be titanium coating and Red Speed coating. Knowing what kind of coating the burrs have is important as it can reduce friction and heat buildup. This enables them to last longer, grind consistently, and reduce overheating.
Speed
The speed of grinding, or the RPM depends on the motor of the grinder. Lower RPM grinders are said to have less heat buildup (which is good, as heat takes away the aroma and flavour of the coffee) but are slow at grinding. Higher RPM grinders on the other hand, grinds fast enough that it gives less time for heat to be transferred, and of course, it grinds fast which is always great when you're in a busy setting.
These are the fundamentals that baristas (home or cafe) should know. There are other factors that should be taken into consideration as well (cost, interface, burr geometry, user-friendliness, size, etc) but they can be subjective and vary on your situation.
So, after all the reading, which grinder should you choose?
Well, it really depends whether you're using it for home or for your cafe. Beginner/no-frills home baristas can try for an on demand, time-based grinder without researching and spending too much on the other components (unless you're a coffee geek).
Cafe owners can opt for a similar grinder but with bigger and better burrs, especially if you have a high-volume business that requires back-to-back grinding. Bigger burrs can speed up grinding time, and with the right coating, the burrs can take the beating during rush hours.
If you have a slow bar, or a home coffee geek who values accuracy with a lot of time to spend experimenting, you can never go wrong with single dosing or GBW grinders. You can also minimise wastage as single dosing grinders have minimum retention, while GBW grinders mean you only grind the exact weight of the beans you want.
Or you can just drop by our showroom, and our retail specialists will be more than happy to assist you with all your inquiries! We hope you enjoyed reading the blog, and hopefully you'll have a better understanding of how coffee grinders differ from one another.
Still unsure of where to begin researching for a grinder? You can check out some of our recommendations below :
Top 4 Recommended Home Grinders
1. Eureka Specialita
2. Eureka Single Dose
3. Mahlkonig X54
4. Fiorenzato AllGround
Top 4 Recommended Commercial Grinders
1. Eureka Atom 65
2. Mahlkonig EK43S
3. Fiorenzato F83 E Pro
4. Mahlkonig E65S GBW
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