Coffee Grinders

[Jenise]

Bob bought us a Cuisinart burr grinder for coffee some 10+ years ago, and I noticed this morning that it seemed to take forever to grind the prescribed amount and when it was done there wasn't enough in the hopper for the two cups I planned to make. God forbid I'd actually been planning to make a whole pot. It's probably been heading downhill for a long time, it's just that I/we don't drink as much coffee as we used to. I prefer tea nowadays. Bob doesn't, but he won't make coffee for himself, so coffee is pretty much a weekend thing now.

Anyway, I'm guessing the blade isn't replaceable and that we just need to buy a new grinder. Any recco's?

Bob bought us a Cuisinart burr grinder for coffee some 10+ years ago, and I noticed this morning that it seemed to take forever to grind the prescribed amount and when it was done there wasn't enough in the hopper for the two cups I planned to make. God forbid I'd actually been planning to make a whole pot. It's probably been heading downhill for a long time, it's just that I/we don't drink as much coffee as we used to. I prefer tea nowadays. Bob doesn't, but he won't make coffee for himself, so coffee is pretty much a weekend thing now.

Anyway, I'm guessing the blade isn't replaceable and that we just need to buy a new grinder. Any recco's?

Looking at the Cuisinart web page I see that their warranty for current grinders is only 18 months, and parts and accessories do not show replacement blades. However, here is an 800 number where you might get better information. 1-800-726-0190 Is yours an electric grinder, or a hand operated one?

[Jenise]

Bob bought us a Cuisinart burr grinder for coffee some 10+ years ago, and I noticed this morning that it seemed to take forever to grind the prescribed amount and when it was done there wasn't enough in the hopper for the two cups I planned to make. God forbid I'd actually been planning to make a whole pot. It's probably been heading downhill for a long time, it's just that I/we don't drink as much coffee as we used to. I prefer tea nowadays. Bob doesn't, but he won't make coffee for himself, so coffee is pretty much a weekend thing now.

Anyway, I'm guessing the blade isn't replaceable and that we just need to buy a new grinder. Any recco's?

Looking at the Cuisinart web page I see that their warranty for current grinders is only 18 months, and parts and accessories do not show replacement blades. However, here is an 800 number where you might get better information. 1-800-726-0190 Is yours an electric grinder, or a hand operated one?

Electric. I too found that new blades aren't an available option. But I kind of hate it anyway--it has a slide bar for telling it how much to grind, which is impossible to use with precision because the amount of effort it takes to shove it to the next higher or lower setting usually results in one going way past it. As a result, once we found the perfect setting to make enough for one French Press cup, we never changed it but would operate the machine several times over if we needed a larger amount. That's crazy. And as it is, someone moved the slide anyway about two months ago and we've been unable to find that exact sweet spot again. We either get too much or too little--or the blade's just not cutting as much as it used to. But either way, setting it's a bitch. Would much prefer a dial.

After visiting coffeegeek.com and wholelattelove.com, I thought maybe I'd found something better in the same price range, $100ish, but after looking at these reviews on Amazon.com I'm now scared off:

http://www.amazon.com/Baratza-285-Maestro-Conical-Grinder/product-reviews/B0000DDVS2/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

I looked at the Consumer Reports web page and they seemed to think that the $50 Burr grinder did a good job and was a recommended buy, and it has an 18 month warranty. Find it Here:

http://www.cuisinart.com/products/coffee_bar/dbm-8.html

For twice the money this might be a better choice, and it has a 3 year warranty.

http://www.cuisinart.com/products/coffee_bar/dbm-8.html

[Jenise]

I looked at the Consumer Reports web page and they seemed to think that the $50 Burr grinder did a good job and was a recommended buy, and it has an 18 month warranty. Find it Here:

http://www.cuisinart.com/products/coffee_bar/dbm-8.html

For twice the money this might be a better choice, and it has a 3 year warranty.

http://www.cuisinart.com/products/coffee_bar/dbm-8.html

The first is the one I have, and I wouldn't buy it again. It still has that damned slide.

[David M. Bueker]

I've never spent more than about $20-$25 on a generic burr grinder. The coffee is still delicious. My current one has been in use for 7 years.

We picked up a Breville grinder a little over a year ago. It's worked very well for us for our daily pot of drip coffee. You can take a look at it here on Amazon.

Jenise,

What are you using to make coffee? Matching the grinder to the method of preparation will lead to a better cup in my experience.

Ours wore out and just bought one a couple of weeks ago, got a Baratza Maestro for a hundred bucks as a 'buy it now' from eBay and like it a lot. It has good reviews BTW.

[Jenise]

Jenise,

What are you using to make coffee? Matching the grinder to the method of preparation will lead to a better cup in my experience.

Greg, for our daily coffee, we're French Press users.

[Jenise]

Ours wore out and just bought one a couple of weeks ago, got a Baratza Maestro for a hundred bucks as a 'buy it now' from eBay and like it a lot. It has good reviews BTW.

That's the one I mentioned above having decided on before getting scared off by the reviews on Amazon. You haven't had any clogging problems, apparently?

[Jenise]

I've never spent more than about $20-$25 on a generic burr grinder. The coffee is still delicious. My current one has been in use for 7 years.

David, do you mean the little blade grinders? What I saw yesterday suggests that the cheapest burr grinder on the market is the $50 Cuisinart.

[David M. Bueker]

I've never spent more than about $20-$25 on a generic burr grinder. The coffee is still delicious. My current one has been in use for 7 years.

David, do you mean the little blade grinders? What I saw yesterday suggests that the cheapest burr grinder on the market is the $50 Cuisinart.

Yup. Perhaps they have shot up in price since I bought my last one.

Jenise,

What are you using to make coffee? Matching the grinder to the method of preparation will lead to a better cup in my experience.

Interesting. How so? That's a bit hard for me to fathom, but I saw reviews for three and four hundred dollar models (too rich for my blood!) yesterday that suggests a lot of coffeeheads think so too. For our daily coffee, we're French Press users.

The really expensive ones are for those who have espresso machines that require a very fine and even grind to produce a perfect cup. You have to spend a lot to get a grinder that will do that.

Jenise,

What are you using to make coffee? Matching the grinder to the method of preparation will lead to a better cup in my experience.

Greg, for our daily coffee, we're French Press users.

I find french press relatively unforgiving of the grinder. With drip through a paper filter, fines are more effectively trapped. In a french press, the screen allows fines through, consequently a very even grind is preferred. If the grind is uneven, such as from a blade grinder or a less expensive burr grinder, the fines that move through the screen remain in the coffee and continue to extract after you have plunged. This is OK for the first cup, so for a one cup French press, it is not a big problem. But I find if I brew a pot with a multi-cup french press, anything after the first cup takes on off flavors from the continued extraction. This can be addressed with the right grinder.

I primarily drink espresso, which is the least forgiving of all brew methods to my experience and have matched my grinder to that need, which then works for all other brewing methods, including French press. So my recommendation is to buy a grinder that will work for your most difficult brewing method and it will work for the others.

I will post some grinders for you to consider for French press brewing, if that is your most demanding brew method.

I thought I would be able to be more helpful, but after polling coffee nerd friends, their recommendation in grinders for which they have hands on experience in brewing French Press coffee, are well out of your price range. I am afraid the best I can offer is the link below which reviews, in one place, many of the available grinders. If you haven't already been to this site, it may be helpful to you.

http://coffeegeek.com/reviews/grinders/?SeeAll=1

[Jenise]

Mike and Greg: makes sense. Never looked into that because I don't brew espresso at home.

We bought the burr grinder back when we used drip method only. French pressing came into our lives in the meantime, and the flavor difference was immediately impressive. I've always wanted coffee to taste the way the beans smelled, and French Press finally closed that gap. It was amazing to me back then how drip coffee, from the beans and the coffeemaker I was used to, almost immediately became distateful, like the difference between drip coffee and percolator coffee had been years before. (My parents were percolator people, and that was all I knew--hated coffee until I had freshly ground beans brewed in a Melitta filter.) Anyway, though I was long past the point where I could stand the taste of coffee that had been standing for even 15 minutes, that first cup from the just-brewed pot always tasted fine. Once I went to French Press thought? Couldn't stand it. Nowadays if I wander into a coffee place wanting a longlasting cup of coffee vs. the quick snort that is my beloved short dry cappucino, I order Americanos. But back the French Press--we do one cup at a time. Bean preference: medium roast.

[Jenise]

I thought I would be able to be more helpful, but after polling coffee nerd friends, their recommendation in grinders for which they have hands on experience in brewing French Press coffee, are well out of your price range. I am afraid the best I can offer is the link below which reviews, in one place, many of the available grinders. If you haven't already been to this site, it may be helpful to you.

http://coffeegeek.com/reviews/grinders/?SeeAll=1

Yes, Greg, I found that place yesterday and read up on many models. That's what, in fact, pointed me in the direction of the Baratza that Shel has.

We tend to go simple and buy the little Braun buzz bombs - use a whirling knife like a food processor. Great for doing double duty as a spice grinder, although we keep two as using the coffe grinder to grind spices can make for ...different coffee.

[Jenise]

We tend to go simple and buy the little Braun buzz bombs - use a whirling knife like a food processor. Great for doing double duty as a spice grinder, although we keep two as using the coffe grinder to grind spices can make for ...different coffee.

I keep one just for spices, too. Would be interesting to taste, side by side, coffees made from the same beans where each was ground in a different grinder just to see what difference we could detect.

I've been using a Capresso conical burr grinder for the last several (6-7?) years that works very well. It grinds at a slower rate to avoid overheating the grounds. It also has a nice weight to it that keeps it from moving across the counter while running.

Mike and Greg: makes sense. Never looked into that because I don't brew espresso at home.

We bought the burr grinder back when we used drip method only. French pressing came into our lives in the meantime, and the flavor difference was immediately impressive. I've always wanted coffee to taste the way the beans smelled, and French Press finally closed that gap. It was amazing to me back then how drip coffee, from the beans and the coffeemaker I was used to, almost immediately became distateful, like the difference between drip coffee and percolator coffee had been years before. (My parents were percolator people, and that was all I knew--hated coffee until I had freshly ground beans brewed in a Melitta filter.) Anyway, though I was long past the point where I could stand the taste of coffee that had been standing for even 15 minutes, that first cup from the just-brewed pot always tasted fine. Once I went to French Press thought? Couldn't stand it. Nowadays if I wander into a coffee place wanting a longlasting cup of coffee vs. the quick snort that is my beloved short dry cappucino, I order Americanos. But back the French Press--we do one cup at a time. Bean preference: medium roast.

I agree with you on the quality of press coffee, Jenise. It is definitely a step up over drip. For me, though, the convenience of using a semi-automated system to get the morning started outweighs the decrease in quality. We still have a press, though, and I'll use it as a backup for the coffee maker or if I just want a cup of something extra-good.

[Jenise]

I agree with you on the quality of press coffee, Jenise. It is definitely a step up over drip. For me, though, the convenience of using a semi-automated system to get the morning started outweighs the decrease in quality. We still have a press, though, and I'll use it as a backup for the coffee maker or if I just want a cup of something extra-good.

So yours is on a timer, and you wake up to the smell of brewing coffee? It's hard to beat that for getting a body out of bed, but aromatics aside I have to say that the double-hulled steel french press mugs one can buy at Starbucks does not lack for convenience, especially if one has an instant hot water tap (that little gizmo may be the #1 best thing about my new kitchen.)

especially if one has an instant hot water tap (that little gizmo may be the #1 best thing about my new kitchen.)

Yes - VERY handy beasts.
The temperature isn't as high as you get boiling a kettle, so tea purists will still want to go traditional, but if you want to dissolve a stock cube, or make a quickie cup of soup, they are indispensable. Oh wait - if they were really indispensable, I guess nothing would come out of the tap....er......