Coffee Grinders Articles | coffee

By: Andrew Mills

Coffee beans, like any other food product, will oxidize when exposed to air. The coffee grounds experience more oxidization due to the increase in surface area caused by the fact that they are ground up.  You can avoid some of this oxidization by grinding coffee beans at home, because the coffee grounds are not exposed to the air for as long and this will result in much fresher coffee grounds. Also because you only grind what you need for one pot of coffee this alsomeans the grounds are only fresh and have not been sitting around for weeks, this increased freshness makes for a better cup of coffee.

Keep in mind nothing is without cost.  Grinding your own coffee is somewhat time consuming and messy, so if you choose to grind your own coffee beans then take the time and pick the best coffee grinder you can afford.

Coffee grinders fall into three categories - burr, blade and crusher.

The third type of coffee grinder is some sort of crushing device, and often resembles a mortar and pestle. These grinders crush the beans, which is difficult and produces a very uneven sized granule. this type of grinder is not recommended and the other two types of grinder would be better.

The blade coffee grinders don't actually grind the coffee bean at all, they actually chop it. A spinning blade slices the beans into small granules until they look something like a small grain. one problem is the grains are inconsistent in size and range from large to small.

Because the size of the granules varies so does the surface areas of the coffee granules, and this causes varying amounts of flavor oils to be released during brewing, and results in a different cup of coffee each time.  Another side effect of slicing the coffee bean is it often produces excess heat, due to friction. The friction created causes the grounds to be warmed, and this warming releases some of the aroma, and alters the flavour.

The first type of coffee grinder is the first choice. Burr coffee grinders have a pair of motor driven plates with pyramid shaped teeth that grind the beans to a consistent, granule size that you can adjust. Not all models allow for adjusting but the better models allow adjusting of the size usually from fine grinds, medium tocoarse grinds,.

Being able to adjust the size produced is important in order to 'fine tune' the coffee grounds to allow the desired brew strength.

There is two different types of Burr grinders - the conical burr grinder is preferred by real coffee aficionados. This type of burr grinder is noisier, but they allow more control over coffee grain size and speed.

Good quality conical burr grinders can rotate as slowly as 500rpm. In comparison other burr grinders spin at 10,000rpm or higher, blades between 20-30,000rpm. That allows very fine control and little heat. The fine coffee grinds are important for Turkish style coffee brews. Some grinders have a continuous dial, others have a series of up to 40 steps to adjust the granule size.

The home barista will want to look for good solid construction, ease of cleaning and low noise levels.  A cleaning brush and removable upper burrs is essential. Different materials used can also affect how much static electricity is produced - that causes the grains to stick to the burrs and container.

It is always a good idea to read reviews and do your research before you decide on the coffee grinder that best suits your needs.  You will berewarded with a great cup of coffee if you take the time to find the best grinder for you.