Posted Sun Jan 29, 2012, 2:26pm Subject: Best grinder for all types of coffee?
Hello-
I'm new to coffeegeek. I'm sorry if this has been answered many times before (I searched but did not find an answer), but what is the best grinder for grinding coffee beans for both espresso and french press? I have a Baratza Virtuoso but I can't seem to get a uniform coarse grind for my french press with it. Any thoughts?
NobbyR Senior Member Joined: 10 Jul 2011 Posts: 1,607 Location: Germany Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Poccino Opus One, Ariete Grinder: Eureka Mignon Istantaneo,... Vac Pot: N/A Drip: Melitta Linea Unica de Luxe Roaster: N/A
Posted Sun Jan 29, 2012, 3:07pm Subject: Re: Best grinder for all types of coffee?
The steps of the Virtuoso are too wide to get the optimal setting for espresso sometimes. If you need to switch between different settings regularly, you might want to take a look at the Baratza Vario, for example. With its macro and micro dial it has more than 200 settings, which renders ist virtually stepless, and its relatively easy to re-find a specific grind setting, e.g. for espresso and French press.
*** "This drink of the Satan is so delicious that it would be a shame to leave it to the infidels." (Pope Clement VIII on coffee)
Posted Sun Jan 29, 2012, 5:27pm Subject: Re: Best grinder for all types of coffee?
...or the Preciso, if you're on a budget. Mine does great for both. If your Virtuoso is new (made post-Dec. 2011), it might already have Preciso burrs, and in that case something's wrong if your coarser grinds are uneven.
Posted Sun Jan 29, 2012, 6:44pm Subject: Re: Best grinder for all types of coffee?
Thank you, NobbyR and jbviau both, for your thoughts. I am a bit on a budget, so perhaps will save up for the Preciso. I just checked on Amazon and saw that the Virtuoso Preciso is $299. Ouch.
I've had some pretty good luck with it so far. Fairly consistent (not EQUIVALENT to a $200 grinder but surprisingly good for the price). Fairly fast.
[MUCH quieter than the Cuisnart DBM-8 piece of crap grinder (which I wholeheartedly DO NOT recommend). ]
The Bodum Bistro has a small tendency to retain dust in the grind chamber, but is easily knocked out. Some static in the grounds, even with the glass grounds receptacle (easily resolved by stirring the grounds with a metal spoon before pouring into brewer).
If you have any Delta Skymiles, you can get one for free in the skymiles marketplace with only 30,000 or so miles: https://marketplace.delta.com/r ewardDetail.aspx?RewardId=20418
(you can also get the Krups GVX2, or the Capresso Infinity through there or through amazon, among other places. After inspecting versions of all three in search of a good value, <$100 burr grinder, and looking at quick grind samples on all three, I settled on the Bodum Bistro - I think it's a fair deal.)
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
Posted Mon Jan 30, 2012, 3:53pm Subject: Re: Best grinder for all types of coffee?
fotogrrl Said:
Hello-
I'm new to coffeegeek. I'm sorry if this has been answered many times before (I searched but did not find an answer), but what is the best grinder for grinding coffee beans for both espresso and french press? I have a Baratza Virtuoso but I can't seem to get a uniform coarse grind for my french press with it. Any thoughts?
Posted Mon Jan 30, 2012, 5:21pm Subject: Re: Best grinder for all types of coffee?
Thank you, Netphilsopher,
I've checked out the Bodum but need to do more research on coffeegeek. So far it's sounding possible...
Hello, EricBNC-
Well, I'm now a graduate student. Need I say more? I would like to stay at $100 or less, if possible, with good quality and the ability to grind properly to make a good espresso (though I don't have a nice espresso machine, yet, either) as well as a consistent coarse grind for the french press. Perhaps it's an impossible dream. I looked at the photo of the coarse grind you included in your review for the Krups Conical Burr grinder and the grounds didn't look as coarse or consistent as I would think they should be for french press, but again, I'm very much not as knowledgeable as you all are so please bear with me. I asked the guy who roasts my favorite coffee here in town to grind a couple of Tbsp in his commercial grinder for me to use as an example as I grind my own for french press. Perhaps that's a standard too high for me to reach with any non-commercial grinder?
I appreciate all of these good suggestions and I will peruse the forums/reviews more to help me in my quest. Thank you!
Posted Mon Jan 30, 2012, 5:44pm Subject: Re: Best grinder for all types of coffee?
fotogrrl Said:
Thank you, Netphilsopher,
I've checked out the Bodum but need to do more research on coffeegeek. So far it's sounding possible...
Hello, EricBNC-
Well, I'm now a graduate student. Need I say more? I would like to stay at $100 or less, if possible, with good quality and the ability to grind properly to make a good espresso (though I don't have a nice espresso machine, yet, either) as well as a consistent coarse grind for the french press. Perhaps it's an impossible dream. I looked at the photo of the coarse grind you included in your review for the Krups Conical Burr grinder and the grounds didn't look as coarse or consistent as I would think they should be for french press, but again, I'm very much not as knowledgeable as you all are so please bear with me. I asked the guy who roasts my favorite coffee here in town to grind a couple of Tbsp in his commercial grinder for me to use as an example as I grind my own for french press. Perhaps that's a standard too high for me to reach with any non-commercial grinder?
I appreciate all of these good suggestions and I will peruse the forums/reviews more to help me in my quest. Thank you!
Posted Mon Jan 30, 2012, 6:58pm Subject: Re: Best grinder for all types of coffee?
fotogrrl Said:
Hello, EricBNC-
Well, I'm now a graduate student. Need I say more? I would like to stay at $100 or less, if possible, with good quality and the ability to grind properly to make a good espresso (though I don't have a nice espresso machine, yet, either) as well as a consistent coarse grind for the french press. Perhaps it's an impossible dream. I looked at the photo of the coarse grind you included in your review for the Krups Conical Burr grinder and the grounds didn't look as coarse or consistent as I would think they should be for french press, but again, I'm very much not as knowledgeable as you all are so please bear with me. I asked the guy who roasts my favorite coffee here in town to grind a couple of Tbsp in his commercial grinder for me to use as an example as I grind my own for french press. Perhaps that's a standard too high for me to reach with any non-commercial grinder?
I appreciate all of these good suggestions and I will peruse the forums/reviews more to help me in my quest. Thank you!
Hello back - the espresso part of your request is the difficult grind - the Krups can actually grind espresso fine which isn't common for $100 or less. The best all purpose grinder I have for French press is the Preciso, but that grinder is $300. It is not three times better than the Krups, but it is a bit more consistent and retains less grinds at the finest settings - not sure it is as durable as the Krups though.
For espresso a dedicated grinder works best in the long run so buying the best you can afford for press and then later buying the best you can afford for espresso will give a lot of satisfaction.
I chew coffee beans with my teeth while gargling with 195 F water to enjoy coffee. What is this "coffee brewing" device you speak of?
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