Burr Coffee Grinders

[seabee1999]

As I have searched and researched online and at previous threads here, I’d like to ask for a recommendation and your thoughts on electric or hand burr grinder.

Here’s my situation, I’ll be starting a new job here fairly soon and I maybe waking up well prior to everyone else in my home. I’d like to get a quieter grinder than what I currently have which is a blade grinder. My hope was to find a good hand crank grinder. However, the cost of the one that I saw was rather high relatively speaking. I then began to look at the Oxo and Baratza electric grinders as they would be more convenient.

I’m still up in the air about which to get. In the end, I’d really like to get something that is economical, quiet and produces a grind better than the blade grinder I currently have. Thanks for helping me through this process.


Edit to add: primary brew method is pour over.

 

[Lightcs1776]

I would skip a manual grinder, nless you find one of those older large hand crank ones. I tried to like one I had (I don't recall the brand now, but it had good reviews), but it just ground way too slowly. I purchased it for work, as I felt an electric grinder would be too loud. Now I deal with ground coffee at work and save the beans for home.

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[Atlantic59]

I like to just grind a small batch in advance, so there's no need to deal with it in the morning.

 

[Tirvine]

The electric ones are all noisy. I had a hand crank Spong years ago that was excellent.

 

[MaineYooper]

My wife bought me a Capresso electric burr grinder 12 years ago or so. It does what I need for French press, pour over, and drip coffee makers. I, too, am up before others. My trick is to wrap a hand towel around the unit, acting as a muffler. While still loud seeming in the kitchen, my wife says she hears nothing in the bedroom (so it doesn't wake her up).

 

[aldomarino]

We have a Capresso Infinity which has worked flawlessly now for at least six or seven years. We are very finicky about kitchen gear and are very pleased with this unit. I wouldn't describe it as quiet,,,nor loud, really. Good piece of gear.

We keep only a cheap blade grinder at our cottage. The difference between the blade grinder and the burr grinder is, frankly, not really all that noticable, however. The beans themselves, the water temperature and the timing seem to make more difference than the grinding method.

 

[aldomarino]

My wife bought me a Capresso electric burr grinder 12 years ago or so. It does what I need for French press, pour over, and drip coffee makers. I, too, am up before others. My trick is to wrap a hand towel around the unit, acting as a muffler. While still loud seeming in the kitchen, my wife says she hears nothing in the bedroom (so it doesn't wake her up).

We do exactly the same if anyone is sleeping.

 

[jdp93]

I'm not sure there is an electric burr grinder that is quiet, but as far as performance is concerned, I highly recommend the Baratza Encore. We use ours multiple times a day for Aeropress, pourover, and french press.

 

[TexLaw]

If you're brewing French press or pour over or drip, look at a Hario Skerton or Mini (aka "Slim"). My Slim, my French press, and I get along very well together. I also like that Skerton, but it's more difficult to hold, and you pretty much need to get a mod kit for it.

For a French press grind, I grind 30g in right about a minute in the Slim.

 

[global_dev]

Capresso infinity was my choice for over a decade until i got deeper into espresso and then broke the infinity accidentally.

 

[garyg]

I've had two powered grinders - earlier the standard whirly-gig blade type and for at least 5 years a Baratza Encore. Neither can be described as quiet, I'd be hard pressed to say there's a difference in the noise. I also have a Hario that gets a workout when the power is out, takes a couple minutes to grind my normal 80g ..

If the quality of the grind from your blade grinder is acceptable, no need to spend money to get roughly the same amount of noise (and a lot more wasted counterspace). The hand grinders are obviously much quieter, but probably would get old if you have anything else you'd rather be doing while the grinder is working ..

I'd rank the grind the previous night as least attractive option from a taste standpoint. As for wrapping the machine in a towel, never tried it but it should be a cheap experiment. If the towel wrap quiets your blade grinder sufficiently it should do the same for the bigger burr grinder such as the Encore.

 

[Steel2It]

I recently bought an Oxo; it's excellent but does make some noise. The muffler idea is good.

 

[sternej]

I only brew pour over coffee too. I buy coffee from Costco. I used to grind the bag with their Burr Grinder. Since COVID-19 they shut the grinders down. I went back to my blade grinder and I discovered the taste with the blade grinder IMO is really superior. I would agree with the posters here that whatever grind method you chose, small batch off hours grinding might suit you better.

 

[seabee1999]

Many thanks everyone for your input and suggestions. I really appreciate it. In an effort to help bring some context, I’ve had my blade grinder for about 5-6 years now. It’s a great grinder; however, the coffee grounds that I get are vastly inconsistent. I do a pulse grind, about 6-8 pulses and that helps with consistency but is still get whole or half beans quite frequently. It’s difficult to get a true course ground.

This is inconsistency is what really is leading me to get a burr grinder. I really like the suggestion of using a towel as a sound muffler and I think that would work great for my application.

In regards to pre-grinding a small batch, I’ve done that a time or two before and won’t go down that road again. The brewed coffee I got was worse than anything I ever had in the field with the military.

I really enjoy fresh ground coffee, probably too much now to return to pre-ground coffee again unless that is all that I have.

I will look into all the grinder options suggested here. I have a few that I am leaning towards. Personally I don’t my hand grinding. I did that in the Philippines at a coffee bar and it added to the coffee experience of being there. It actually made me appreciate the pour over more, kind of like making lather with a brush and bowl.

 

[Lightcs1776]

Many thanks everyone for your input and suggestions. I really appreciate it. In an effort to help bring some context, I’ve had my blade grinder for about 5-6 years now. It’s a great grinder; however, the coffee grounds that I get are vastly inconsistent. I do a pulse grind, about 6-8 pulses and that helps with consistency but is still get whole or half beans quite frequently. It’s difficult to get a true course ground.

This is inconsistency is what really is leading me to get a burr grinder. I really like the suggestion of using a towel as a sound muffler and I think that would work great for my application.

In regards to pre-grinding a small batch, I’ve done that a time or two before and won’t go down that road again. The brewed coffee I got was worse than anything I ever had in the field with the military.

I really enjoy fresh ground coffee, probably too much now to return to pre-ground coffee again unless that is all that I have.

I will look into all the grinder options suggested here. I have a few that I am leaning towards. Personally I don’t my hand grinding. I did that in the Philippines at a coffee bar and it added to the coffee experience of being there. It actually made me appreciate the pour over more, kind of like making lather with a brush and bowl.

Worse than military coffee? Now that must have been bad, at least compared to Army coffee in the field. Once you get the grinder situation decided, look into roasting green beans. Then you will really be spoiled.

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[Atlantic59]

...In regards to pre-grinding a small batch, I’ve done that a time or two before and won’t go down that road again. The brewed coffee I got was worse than anything I ever had in the field with the military.

I really enjoy fresh ground coffee, probably too much now to return to pre-ground coffee again unless that is all that I have.

Oh dear, my suggestion seems to have upset your tender sensibilities!

You have got to be joking. Grinding a few grams of coffee and putting in a sealed glass container a few hours before using it is not going to make much difference.

Compared to some of the swill coming out of office coffee machines, this is paradise...

 

[seabee1999]

Worse than military coffee? Now that must have been bad, at least compared to Army coffee in the field. Once you get the grinder situation decided, look into roasting green beans. Then you will really be spoiled.

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I’ve actually wanted to roast my own beans for quite some time now. Just haven’t pulled the trigger quite yet on a roasting method.

Yeah, I’ve had some bad coffee while in the field and on a ship too. Definitely not the best.

 

[Lightcs1776]

I’ve actually wanted to roast my own beans for quite some time now. Just haven’t pulled the trigger quite yet on a roasting method.

Yeah, I’ve had some bad coffee while in the field and on a ship too. Definitely not the best.

I recommend looking into the cast iron skillet method on a BBQ grill, if you already have one. It let's you try it out without a lot of investment. From there you can go really off the rails with roasters.

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[seabee1999]

Oh dear, my suggestion seems to have upset your tender sensibilities!

You have got to be joking. Grinding a few grams of coffee and putting in a sealed glass container a few hours before using it is not going to make much difference.

Compared to some of the swill coming out of office coffee machines, this is paradise...

Personal preference and I’ll leave it at that.

 

[TexLaw]

Many thanks everyone for your input and suggestions. I really appreciate it. In an effort to help bring some context, I’ve had my blade grinder for about 5-6 years now. It’s a great grinder; however, the coffee grounds that I get are vastly inconsistent. I do a pulse grind, about 6-8 pulses and that helps with consistency but is still get whole or half beans quite frequently. It’s difficult to get a true course ground.

This is inconsistency is what really is leading me to get a burr grinder. I really like the suggestion of using a towel as a sound muffler and I think that would work great for my application.

In regards to pre-grinding a small batch, I’ve done that a time or two before and won’t go down that road again. The brewed coffee I got was worse than anything I ever had in the field with the military.

I really enjoy fresh ground coffee, probably too much now to return to pre-ground coffee again unless that is all that I have.

I will look into all the grinder options suggested here. I have a few that I am leaning towards. Personally I don’t my hand grinding. I did that in the Philippines at a coffee bar and it added to the coffee experience of being there. It actually made me appreciate the pour over more, kind of like making lather with a brush and bowl.

When I realized that it took longer for my water to heat up than it did to grind my coffee with the Hario Slim, I happily relaxed into hand grinding and enjoyed the experience.