Mundty Senior Member Joined: 8 Nov 2011 Posts: 3 Location: Pennsylvania Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Tue Nov 8, 2011, 5:36am Subject: Conical Burr Grinder or Burr Grinder
Hi all,
Looking to buy a dedicated grinder to improve the taste of my coffee. Conical Burr Grinders came highly recommended but looking at different reviews there's a lot of mention about espresso. I'm wondering if there's any benefit to buying a Conical Burr Grinder vs a regular Burr Grinder if you're not planning to make espresso? I don't have an espresso maker and I'm not sure I'd ever buy one...
Posted Tue Nov 8, 2011, 6:35am Subject: Re: Conical Burr Grinder or Burr Grinder
The short answer is that you can get a great grinder with either conical or flat burrs. Edit: Actually, most home-use burr grinders will be conical anyway. The flat-burr grinders tend to be the higher end ones that espresso nuts lust for. Where did you read it the other way around?
What's your price range? What grinders are you looking at?
Mundty Senior Member Joined: 8 Nov 2011 Posts: 3 Location: Pennsylvania Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Tue Nov 8, 2011, 6:49am Subject: Re: Conical Burr Grinder or Burr Grinder
JPDyson Said:
The short answer is that you can get a great grinder with either conical or flat burrs. Edit: Actually, most home-use burr grinders will be conical anyway. The flat-burr grinders tend to be the higher end ones that espresso nuts lust for. Where did you read it the other way around?
What's your price range? What grinders are you looking at?
I'm flexible with the price, but I wouldn't want to spend a lot more unless I'd really see benefits in the quality of the grinder. Again, I'm mostly just trying to make a better cup of coffee in the mornings.
aecletec Senior Member Joined: 10 Dec 2010 Posts: 194 Location: Australia Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: Presso Grinder: Faema A6 Drip: Chemex
Posted Tue Nov 8, 2011, 6:54am Subject: Re: Conical Burr Grinder or Burr Grinder
The 'nuts' typically use cafe grinders... the small conical home grinders don't really cut it ;)
Bulk grinders are nearly always largeish flat burr. For those who have used and compared, they are apparently better for non-spro coffee due to a closer to unimodal distribution of particle sizes (e.g. when graphing the range of sizes it produces you get one hump, vs two humps typical for espresso grinders). The really top espresso grinders are mostly conical (but there are also flat burr grinders but they are of a different burr configuration to the bulk grinders) and there's a lot of chatter about such grinders giving benefits for espresso due to particle shape and ease of adjustment...
I personally haven't had the change to meaningfully compare a decent conical vs decent flat burr for coffee.
You will probably get the most benefit from the most convenient to use and largest burr size...
Mundty Senior Member Joined: 8 Nov 2011 Posts: 3 Location: Pennsylvania Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Tue Nov 8, 2011, 6:58am Subject: Re: Conical Burr Grinder or Burr Grinder
aecletec Said:
The 'nuts' typically use cafe grinders... the small conical home grinders don't really cut it ;)
Bulk grinders are nearly always largeish flat burr. For those who have used and compared, they are apparently better for non-spro coffee due to a closer to unimodal distribution of particle sizes (e.g. when graphing the range of sizes it produces you get one hump, vs two humps typical for espresso grinders). The really top espresso grinders are mostly conical (but there are also flat burr grinders but they are of a different burr configuration to the bulk grinders) and there's a lot of chatter about such grinders giving benefits for espresso due to particle shape and ease of adjustment...
I personally haven't had the change to meaningfully compare a decent conical vs decent flat burr for coffee.
You will probably get the most benefit from the most convenient to use and largest burr size...
aecletec Senior Member Joined: 10 Dec 2010 Posts: 194 Location: Australia Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: Presso Grinder: Faema A6 Drip: Chemex
Posted Tue Nov 8, 2011, 8:45am Subject: Re: Conical Burr Grinder or Burr Grinder
If you haven't read it already and even though it's for espresso I'd suggest that you take a look at this thread: Click Here (www.home-barista.com) as it compares low and high cost grinders... I went for a second hand cafe grinder (64mm flat burr) and I found a bargain that just required a bit of cleaning and fresh burrs. All in all pretty much within your price range (just under AUD200). It was a big upgrade for taste (even though it's an espresso grinder) from the hario mini mill I was using, with less bitterness and more body - plus less effort.
Posted Tue Nov 8, 2011, 1:14pm Subject: Re: Conical Burr Grinder or Burr Grinder
The Capresso is commonly short-listed for inexpensive burr grinders. I had a Breville burr grinder that served me well, but would cost significantly more to repair (burrs were quite expensive) than Capresso or Baratza models in the same range.
The Baratza Maestro would be my pick, if you couldn't snag a refurb Virtuoso (I got mine for $140 I think, warrantied by Baratza). The customer service is top-notch, the grinders are excellent and easily serviceable, and it should last you quite a long time. The grind range covers what you're looking for.
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