Coffee grinder __ recommendations please

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Thanks, Andy

It says all the right things … but it doesn't exactly look compact

… or is that a very small coffee-cup beside it ?

Give me a clue … what diameter is that lovely burr grinder insert ?

MichaelG.

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Edit: __ it’s O.K.  I found the dimensions: 

• Size: 19 x 14 x 27 cm

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 16/09/2022 21:21:50

Oh dear, it's put on a lot of weight, or at least bulk, since they made mine, even though it does seem to be the same thing under the skin

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So perhaps my mission is to find an older one in good condition.

MichaelG.

I'll put a photo up tomorrow to give an idea of what it looks like, and the size

Just been trawling ebay … which reminds me why I asked for recommendations !

This little thing appears to tick a lot of my specification boxes : **LINK**.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/352989608878

I wonder if it’s actually any good ?

MichaelG.

Boundary Mills off Sheffield Parkway used to sell various grinders . May be of interest if you are within reasonable travelling distance.

I recently inherited a Trösser rather like this from my mother, I think she purchased it when we lived in Germany about 1964. As a youngster it was good fun grinding the beans although I was not a coffee drinker as a child. I shall have to give it a clean up and give it a try with some beans, it had an adjustment for the grind preference. It has not been used for many years but it used to have a lovely coffee aroma.

Mike

Michael, I've used one of these for donkey's years, the grind is so fine I have to scrape it out with a spoon. The sticky-uppy thing is a cleaning brush. The only time it fails is when a bean gets stuck in the microswitch, a quick prod with a table knife soon clears it. But switch off first, obviously.

John.  [Sorry I can't post as a hyperlink]

https://www.delonghi.com/en-gb/kg49-kg-series-grinder/p/KG49?_gl=1*fdap99*_up*MQ..&gclid=Cj0KCQjwvZCZBhCiARIsAPXbajvxKxf4b8lFlynGamf6CzZCTEVTbwq5bZJ0N1AeQJWgHPJXuY4HdfwaAlMREALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Edited By OldMetaller on 17/09/2022 05:28:47

When to pick coffee cherries
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D8zuY7W1QY&t=3s

Well done on successfully germinating and growing a plant UK.

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Thanks for : **LINK**

https://www.delonghi.com/en-gb/kg49-kg-series-grinder/p/KG49

Note: the rest of that URL is just tracking how you arrived there

Interesting to see a blade-type grinder that’s adjustable … how does that work ?

Edit: __ it appears to be time based : https://www.delonghi.com/medias/KG49-170556

MichaelG.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 17/09/2022 09:51:12

to anyone thinking of getting a hand grinder, don't! unless you have muscles like Tarzan.

It takes so long to get a fine grind, I have run out of desire for a coffee and want something stronger!!!!

They are a real pain in the a**e to use and need constant adjustment.

Go elextric unless you are a glutton for punishment.

The oither cheaper alternative of course is to buy the coffee already ground........

Drat … the link in my last edit doesn’t work

.… and drinking water is cheaper still

But this was a simple technical question on an engineering forum

MichaelG.

Mine is the conical burr type - much more durable than the spinning blade kind; herewith some pics:

I'll have to try growing a coffee bush, don't think I'll bother with the civets though (still, don't knock it till you've tried it).

By the way, bought coffee is never ground fine enough for commercial espresso machines - the spring generates pressures of 9 - 10 bar when the handle is released, enough to blast the water straight through coarse ground coffee. To get optimal results you have to adjust the grind for individual samples of beans, and be ready to whip the cup out from under the spout before the bitter "tails" come through at the end, i.e. you have to be geeky about it, but then if you weren't, you wouldn't be reading this forum...

Edited By Andy Stopford on 17/09/2022 17:11:31

Great … thanks for taking the trouble, Andy

Incidentally, that little hand-cranked one that I linked has ceramic conical burr

… and there are burr sets on ebay, from China for just over £4

albeit everything is of unknown quality.

MichaelG.

C'mon guys and gals. This is an engineering forum. Surely the answer is a pair of good quality fine knurling wheels and a little ingenuity!

Coffee grinders are very popular here in France. Starting at about £12 for hand wound models up to silly money. This looks like a good compact model at a good price:

Coffee grinder at amazon.fr

Russell

The Spong machine (whilst not compact perhaps) does have lugs which allow it to be attached to the wall, if you have space.

I think they can still be had on eBay &c at reasonable prices. Mine, although ancient, certainly produces a finer and more consistent grind than I've been able to achieve with spinning blade coffee grinders.

For grinding spices (because I don't want to pollute the Spong) I have have the blade grinder attachment for my Bamix stick blender. For an extra £15 (!) you can buy the 'powder disc' which is just a piece of plastic which sits above the blades:

I was sceptical but it does work - even tough stuff like coriander seed is reduced to a powder rather than just bouncing off the blades, So maybe that's an engineering answer to improving the performance of blade grinders - constrain the 'free volume' in which the seeds/beans have to move about. I suppose that's why burr grinders work better - they can't escape.

Robin.

Edited By OldMetaller on 18/09/2022 08:33:24

Russell … Thanks for another budget candidate with the right features

[ difficult to know how its performance would compare with the one I linked ]
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Robin … I had never seen that disc before … your hypothesis seems good to me [it confines the ‘grindee’ into a smaller space, where the blade is more likely to hit it] … seems an excellent idea for use with appropriate quantities.

I lust after a wall-mounted Spong; but there is even less available wall space than work-top space in this little galley kitchen.

I hoped I had posed a very simple question, which would produce an obvious winner … but reality is more complicated than that. The strong consensus is that grinders work better than spinning blades, so I will probably buy a new little hand-cranked one for now [as proof of concept] and keep an eye open for ‘perfection at an affordable price’

Thanks all … I think we’ve done this

MichaelG.