Coffee grinder __ recommendations please

Sorry for putting this in The Tea Room, but there isn’t a Coffee Bar topic available

Can anyone recommend a compact coffee grinder that works well ?

… by that, I mean one that grinds beans into a fine powder.

I currently use a Bodum 5678, which is about the right size, but doesn’t produce a good powder unless I wave it about to re-distribute the beans !

It is also ridiculously heavy … being a flimsy little machine wrapped in a shiny die-cast shell and is difficult to empty into my small cafetière. [no, I don’t like it much]

The size and capacity are about right for my needs, but the performance and handling are not.

MichaelG.

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P.S. __ the current equivalent [sans the heavy overcoat] is probably this:

**LINK**

https://www.bodum.com/gb/en/11160-01uk-3-bistro

… so don’t bother recommending that one

I have one almost identical but under a different name.

That type of grinder will NOT produce a fine powder, despite what the advertising says, it is ok for coarse or medium grind but that type of blade grinder cannot produce a fine grind, for that you need the type that uses ceramic grinding wheels.

If, as you say, you are using a cafetiere then you do not need a fine grind, medium grind is ideal.

The pressure type of coffee machines (the ones used in cafe's etc) does need a fine grind, in order to extract as much coffee flavour out of the beans.

When using a cafetiere, the strength of the coffee beans is more important, I try for a high strength rating of 5 or more if used to produce cappachino or latte style coffee, anything below that strength and you don't get a full flavour coffee - all my opinion of course, others may differ.

Agreed - fine is best reserved for for espresso.

How about an old-fashioned, hand-cranked Spong? No electrickery bits to fail, and the built-in failure time limit must be a century, at least!

Howi

I am only using the cafetière to economise on space in a very small kitchen

I drink my coffee at ‘espresso’ strength, but am obliged to improvise: I usually pour one small shot and leave the rest to go cold, thus extracting all I can from the [excessively] coarse grind.

… I am currently using too many beans

MichaelG.

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Edited By Michael Gilligan on 16/09/2022 10:05:35

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Which gets us back to the opening question …

Can anyone recommend a compact coffee grinder that works well ?

… by that, I mean one that grinds beans into a fine powder.

MichaelG.

I did! Spong!

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Thanks .. but how compact are they ?

… It’s O.K. that was just a rhetorical question; I will investigate.

MichaelG.

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Mmm __ even the Robert Welch one might not fit the available space 

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 16/09/2022 10:36:35

Something sold as a spice grinder or coffee and spice grinder should give a finer grind. Coffee is a personal thing but I gave up bothering with bean grinding or high strength variants or even long duration perculation etc. Currently quite happy with the rich flavour of Lidl Kenyan with a short stand time in cafetiere.. can always increase amount. It's economical is excellent IMO and the grind stays fresh so long as well folded over and a decent bulldog clip.

Even more kitchen space saved?

I find Nescafe very good, no mess, nice taste

mmmmmm

Mortar and Pestle?

regards Martin

as said above a blade type grinder is no use for a fine grind. i use a mallita mollino which can be adjusted to suit and has grinding wheels. it is about six years old and still working great. when i started looking for a good grinder i got a shock at the cost of some of them. good luck michael.

I've had a Nemox Lux for several years, which I picked up cheaply off eBay as it was an unbranded machine. Same factory, but no brand name on it; I'd highly recommend one, but the footprint might be a bit large, as well as the price.
I've just been looking for an advert, but was a tad surprised that this is the cheapest, with the full price being £200(ish)
https://storam.co.uk/product/nemox-muhle-lux-kaffeemuhle-edelstahl/

On a more reasonable budget, as well as having a smaller footprint, I picked up an old KRUPS GVX231 Expert Burr Grinder from a local charity shop for a couple of quid to use in the workshop.
https://www.krups.co.uk/COFFEE-GRINDERS-AND-FROTHERS/COFFEE-GRINDERS/KRUPS-GVX231-Expert-Burr-Grinder-Black-/p/1500813215

I'd be happy enough to buy a brand new one if I was in the market for another machine.
The disadvantage for me, is that it grinds into its own little caddy, which I then need to transfer to the espresso scoop.
Currently on offer via Amazon though other sources are obviously available.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Krups-GVX231-Expert-Burr-Grinder/dp/B0002H2IOM/ref=asc_df_B0002H2IOM

It's a Burr grinder, rather than blade, and does go fairly fine, though I'd say not as fine as I'd prefer for a Turkish/Greek/Syrian Cezve pot. For the latter, I still use an old cylindrical brass hand grinder Jane's mum got somewhere in the former Yugoslavia in the '70s; it was new at the time and take cardamom pods in with the beans OK. I bought one in Syria, but its burrs are well worn now, so another workshop project on the shelf for another day.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Solid-Brass-Pepper-Handmade-Greece/dp/B06Y19Z6GP/ref=asc_df_B06Y19Z6GP

Bill

Agree with PGK.

Thanks for the Krups reference, Bill

MichaelG.

I've found that cheap blade grinders are perfectly capable of producing a dust-fine grind if that's what you want. My objection to them is that the friction of the blade through the grounds locally overheats them and 'darkens' the flavour.

Nevertheless they're cheap, widely available, and able to produce a drinkable grind if you run them in bursts with a couple of seconds' cooling-rest between, and stop when the biggest grounds are about sugar-grain sized.

I'm unhappy with the length of time this takes, but unwilling to pay the higher price for a burr-grinder until I can see one that works to my liking - but it's very rare to see one in a shop rather than online, less still at a sensible price. All of which means that up to now I've more-or-less decided it's easier to live with the blade grinder.

So many things in engineering end up being a compromise...

Guess that's because nothing is ever perfect, nor can it be.

Edited By Mick B1 on 16/09/2022 16:33:51

Currys list quite a few, including the Krupps one I mentioned earlier, but not sure how many are displayed in store, rather than delivered to store for collection.
https://www.currys.co.uk/appliances/coffee-machines/coffee-accessories/coffee-grinders

Bill

My SPONG & CO works well still probably 80 plus years old!!

Off grinder topic coffee comments.

I almost bought a Jamaican coffee plantation (as in had the documents and decided not to sign). Although that was low slopes Red Mountain growing Robusta rather than the purist high blue mountain Arabica. Jamaica has widened the areas they consider Blue mountain for higher yield. There used to be one small independent high blue mountain grower one could order from directly but most goes to the government intervention buying.

For folk old enough to recall tins of Lyons ground coffee - they no longer make that but do sell coffee bags. My wife favours 'Go-Joe' in compostable bags (but non-recyclable individual outers).

Presumably real aficionados who can't afford Kopi Luwak might consider swallowing coffee cherries and straining their faeces....

Douwe Egberts Instant comes in useful jars. The lids fit my small ride-on mower tank as a replacement lid. Removal of the nylon seal allows the jars to be used as easy kitchen storage (lentils, nuts etc). With the seals they work quite well as jars for making flavoured gins (currants, damson etc). The trick is to remove the seal. apply it first deforming it to extract as much air as possible before refitting the glass top. That brand is occasionally available as double-sized adding to kitchen storage options (pasta etc)

pgk

I have an older version of this:

https://www.dualit.com/products/coffee-grinder

Pricey, but still going strong after 20 years' daily use. It's a burr type and produces the fine grind required by my commercial espresso machine.

I use a similar Dualit to Andy, again with an espresso machine. I found the spinning blade grinder to be too unpredictable - the Dualit is a "press the button and it's done" thing. And anyway, I broke the blade trying to grind something too hard for it. Must admit, though, I'm not really a coffee gourmand - just someone who drinks a lot of the stuff!

On a related topic - I have a coffee plant in my hall that is absolutely covered in coffee berries, but I have no idea when they are supposed to be picked. Would like to brew my own-grown and roasted coffee at least once, just to say I had done it!