recommended burr grinder for French press ??

[Thebigspendur]

I bought a Rancillo over ten years ago and have been very pleased with it. You can change the grind with amazing precision from extra coarse to extra fine. Other than cleaning it, I have done nothing to it. The bur grinders are the originals.

The Roncillo's are great grinders but so is the price. The ones I've seen are north of 300 bucks. I've had a maestro for about 6 years and it does everything I need in a grinder.

 

[netsurfr]

The Roncillo's are great grinders but so is the price. The ones I've seen are north of 300 bucks. I've had a maestro for about 6 years and it does everything I need in a grinder.

I am sure you are right in today's market. It has been so long that I just do not remember how it compared in the market 10 years ago.

 

[OldSaw]

I have a Cuisinart Supreme Grind™ Automatic Burr Mill. It is very inexpensive (I paid $35) and works fine for me.

So what am I missing? What does a $200 mill do that this one won't?

I brew with vacuum pot, Capresso drip maker or French press.

 

[Jasonian]

I have a Cuisinart Supreme Grind™ Automatic Burr Mill. It is very inexpensive (I paid $35) and works fine for me.

So what am I missing? What does a $200 mill do that this one won't?

I brew with vacuum pot, Capresso drip maker or French press.

Your Cuisinart "burr" grinder doesn't cut the bean, but rather, crushes it.

Precision in the uniformity of grind particle size is what accounts for the price difference among burr grinders.

If you take a look at your grinder's burrs, you will notice that there is nothing sharp about them. Sure, it reduces whole beans into lots of smaller sized particles, but have a look at the grounds under a magnifying glass, and you'll see quite an inconsistency.

Inconsistent sizing of grind particles means inconsistent rates of extraction. The tiny "dust" particles will end up over-extracted, and the larger "boulder" particles will end up under-extracted.

Getting a uniform extraction rate requires uniform grind particle sizing. (or, at least as uniform as possible)

Other factors then play roles, such as heat dissipation, grind speed, dosing accuracy, and models with timers, and on and on.

In the domestic market of grinders, really, there isn't a whole lot of variance in quality at any given price-point, but the variance in quality between price-points is mostly huge.

 

[Jasonian]

bodum makes an exceptional burr grinder. what ever you do don't buy anything that starbucks carries. Cheap manufacturing

This is not universally true.

While the Bodum Antigua is an okay grinder for home use, you could do better for the same price.

I would also like to say that Starbucks has carried some decent machines and grinders in the past, and continues to do so. Granted, not every grinder hey sell is of high quality, but there have been some that will do a decent enough job.

My beef with the Starbucks items is the pricing. They mark up everything to well above market value. Of course, they'll put their name on it first.

The old Proteo Romanza starbucks espresso machine was really a rebadged Gaggia Coffee (which is in the best "bang for your buck" category for domestic espresso machines).

I recently saw a Baratza Virtuoso at Starbucks at an inflated price.

Where an item is bought is not nearly as important as what that item is.

 

[Thebigspendur]

I think in the machines approaching $200 you have a good combination of quality and performance. To pay more than that gets you a heavier machine with stainless steel and a heavier motor and heavier grinders. I think its overkill for home use unless your someone who has to have the best. From what I've seen to go much cheaper especially below $100 gets you a machine that is lacking in the performance area.

 

[OldSaw]

Your Cuisinart "burr" grinder doesn't cut the bean, but rather, crushes it.

Precision in the uniformity of grind particle size is what accounts for the price difference among burr grinders.

If you take a look at your grinder's burrs, you will notice that there is nothing sharp about them. Sure, it reduces whole beans into lots of smaller sized particles, but have a look at the grounds under a magnifying glass, and you'll see quite an inconsistency.

Inconsistent sizing of grind particles means inconsistent rates of extraction. The tiny "dust" particles will end up over-extracted, and the larger "boulder" particles will end up under-extracted.

Getting a uniform extraction rate requires uniform grind particle sizing. (or, at least as uniform as possible)

Other factors then play roles, such as heat dissipation, grind speed, dosing accuracy, and models with timers, and on and on.

In the domestic market of grinders, really, there isn't a whole lot of variance in quality at any given price-point, but the variance in quality between price-points is mostly huge.

Thanks, that was very informative. Are there any pictures posted anywhere, like on coffee web pages, that illustrate the differences in the grind.

 

[Jasonian]

This is a picture of grounds from a blade grinder.

Notice the variation in particle sizing. Some are huge. Some are tiny.

This is a picture of grounds from a high end domestic burr grinder.

Clearly, the particles are not 100% uniform, but they are a heck of a lot closer.

Absolute uniformity is almost a myth, but getting as close as possible is the goal (unless we're talking about espresso. That changes things a bit).

 

[tclevela]

Have the shop where your buy your week's worth of beans from grind them for you. Then store your week's worth of beans in an air tight container.

I've never had any problems with this rule of thumb.

 

[Jasonian]

Have the shop where your buy your week's worth of beans from grind them for you. Then store your week's worth of beans in an air tight container.

I've never had any problems with this rule of thumb.

Hmm...

[snip]... but fresh-ground is certainly better than pre-ground, even if it's ground on the sidewalk with the heel of your boot.[snip]