Pre-ground coffee can never be as good as coffee that you grind at home using a home coffee grinder.  When the coffee is pre-ground and packaged, the ground coffee is exposed to air and starts oxidizing.  This results in much of the wonderful coffee flavor being lost.  If you are serious about a great tasting coffee brew, you definitely need to buy the coffee beans whole and grind them yourself.

There are basically 3 types of electric coffee grinders which you can buy for home use.  They are the blade coffee grinders, burr coffee grinders, and the conical burr coffee grinder.

Blade Coffee Grinder

The blade type of coffee grinder is the cheapest kind of electric coffee grinder of the 3 types.  It works by chopping the coffee beans using blades.  Grinding coffee using a blade coffee grinder usually results in a more bitter tasting coffee.  This is largely due to the fast moving blades creating unwanted friction, causing the coffee to heat up and changing the taste.  Blade coffee grinders also cannot grind the coffee in a consistent manner and size and thus cannot be used for espresso, which requires a consistent grind of a certain size.

Wheel Burr Coffee Grinder

The wheel burr coffee grinder is one step up from the blade coffee grinder.  These work by grinding the coffee beans between a burr wheel and a non-moving surface.  The speed of the grinding wheel is slower than that of a blade grinder, and is able to produce more consistent grinds.  The burr coffee grinder also produces less heat than the blade coffee grinders, so it does not change in taste by much.  These are more expensive than the blade coffee grinders but is well worth it if you are serious about your coffee.

Conical Burr Coffee Grinder

The conical burr coffee grinder is regarded as the best type of coffee grinder.  These are used by the coffee shops and other people who are serious about brewing the best coffee possible and extracting every ounce of flavor from premium quality coffee beans.  The burrs spin slower than in the wheel burr or blade coffee grinders and are able to grind the coffee into a consistent size.  This is the only type of grinder you should be using for espresso or Turkish coffee, which requires a very good consistency.

Why You Need One

If you are serious about drinking the best tasting coffee, stop buying pre-packaged coffee beans from the shop and switch to grinding your own coffee using a conical burr coffee grinder.  If the flavor of the coffee is lost in the grinding process, you will just be left disappointed.  Taste the premium coffee taste – just like in the coffee shop, right in the comfort of your home.  I’m sure you’ll be more than satisfied.

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Pros:

1. Maximum flavor. Conical burr grinders are hands down the best coffee grinders available.  They are well known to retain the maximum flavor of the coffee beans throughout the grinding process by not heating up the beans.
2. Flexibility. Conical burr grinders usually have the widest types of settings and so you’ll be able to grind a wide variety of coffee types for the various types of brewing methods.
3. Best Construction. Conical burr grinders are used to grind the best premium coffee beans and are purchased by the world’s most serious coffee aficionados.  Their construction is usually top notch, with features such as a die-cast housing coming as standard.  This ensures that the coffee grinder will last a long time.

Cons:

1. Coffee overkill. If you just have a simple drip coffee maker, and are not particular with the quality of the coffee, you might be happy drinking coffee made from pre-ground beans.  There is the additional effort to grind the beans before brewing, and you may not want to go to the trouble if convenience, and note taste is your top priority.
2. Price. Conical burr grinders are considered the most premium of all coffee grinders.  Correspondingly, the price is also higher than the other types of coffee grinders.  The good news is that good conical burr grinders these days can be bought for less than $100 inclusive of shipping, and comes packed with features.  Still, this might be more than some of you might be willing to pay at the current moment.

Conical Burr Grinders – There Is No Substitute For The Best!

At the end of the day, it all boils down to whether you prefer having the convenience of having the coffee pre-ground but tasting just normal, or you are willing to pay for having that premium taste by investing in good conical burr grinders.  For coffee lovers such as myself, there’s no substitute for having my own conical burr coffee grinder to grind the best coffee beans in the world.

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1. Conical burrs – The Capresso Infinity is a conical burr coffee grinder, which means it’s designed specifically to cater to the needs of gourmet coffee lovers.  The commercial-grade conical burrs ensure that you get the maximum taste out of your premium coffee beans.

2. Grind settings – The Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder has 16 different grind settings in 4 different categories.  This means that this coffee grinder can produce grinds from the very coarse to extra fine.  This is very flexible as you are able to use the coffee to grind beans to be used in french pressed coffee, espresso or even Turkish coffee.  An extra fine grind setting is rare in home conical burr grinders and this is definitely a plus point for this grinder.

3. Zinc die-cast housing – The Infinity burr grinder is designed with a heavy-duty zinc die-cast housing for excellent durability.  You can expect such a sturdy construction to last a long time.

4. Timer – You don’t need to hold down any buttons while the coffee is grinding, as the Capresso Infinity conical burr grinder comes with a built in timer for unattended grinding.

5. Support – Capresso is a major player when it comes to coffee grinders, so you know that they will provide the best support and excellent designs.

6. Cost – After discounts, the Infinity burr grinder is available for less than $100 (and often much less) at most online retailers.  This is a steal when you consider all the features the Capresso Infinity conical burr grinder has.

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1. Variety of grind settings

A large range of grind settings on the conical burr coffee grinder means that you will be able to grind the coffee beans very coarsely or very finely, depending on what you want to brew.  Having the flexibility of the large variety of grind settings means that you can make french pressed coffee, espresso or even Turkish coffee, depending on your tastes.  Good conical burr grinders have 15 or more grind settings.

2. Capacity

The average capacity of the bean container of good quality conical burr grinders is about 8 ounces.  A bean container that can hold about 8 ounces of beans is quite sufficient for home use.  Depending on your needs, you might need a bigger bean container but the average size is definitely good enough for the home.

3. Timer

Most modern electric coffee grinders have a timer, so that you don’t have to hold down a button to continue the grinding process.  Do check that your preferred grinder has a timer.

4. Safety

Does the conical burr coffee grinder have any safety features that you might want?  For example, a good safety feature to have is so have the grinder to automatically stop the grinding process if the bean container suddenly comes unlocked.

5. Brand

Conical burr grinders are a premium product, and you should insist on a well established brand when buying such a coffee grinder.  Good brands include Capresso, Breville and Krups, amongst others.  An established brand will also be more likely to provide better support just in case of any technical difficulties with your grinder.

6. Price

Price is still a factor in any purchase, but in my opinion, good conical burr grinders are a very worthwhile investment as it’s only a one time payment for what may be years of good tasting coffee.  The good news is that a good conical burr coffee grinder doesn’t cost as much as before, and online retailers like Amazon offer good discounts off the list price, with free shipping thrown in as well.

I hope this post will help you choose a better coffee grinder and improve your coffee drinking experience!

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Different kinds of coffee makers and brewing methods require different kinds of coarseness when grinding the coffee.  A cheaper electric coffee grinder usually do not have such a wide range of grind settings and thus limit the types of coffee which can be brewed.  A conical burr coffee grinder is more expensive, but usually has a wider range of grind settings.  Here are some grind settings and some recommended ways to brew the coffee in each case:

Coarse

Coarse ground coffee is suitable to be used in percolators and in a french press.  A coarser grind is required because a french press is filterless, and too fine a grind will allow too much of the ground coffee to seep through the press.  When that happens, you’ll end up drinking lots of sediment (definitely happened to me before).  French pressed coffee is very easy to prepare and is typically stronger than most drip type brews.

Fine

Finely ground coffee is suitable for the drip coffee makers.  Drip coffee makers are probably the most common types of electric coffee makers.  Most of them come with a cleanable cone filter.  Most pre-packaged and pre-ground coffee you can get at the supermaket also are finely ground (unless you happen to be a shop that sells gourmet coffee).

Extra fine

Extra finely ground coffee is suitable for making espresso.  Espresso machines are usually designed to be used with extra finely ground coffee and using coffee of any other fineness would result in badly tasting coffee.  The extra fineness of the coffee allows the hot water in an espresso maker to pass through the coffee in the most optimal time, resulting in the best espresso brew.

Be sure to buy a coffee grinder that can grind the coffee beans to the required fineness (or coarseness), depending on what kind of coffee brewing method you want to use.  I would recommend a good conical burr coffee grinder which has the best versatility and results in coffee of the best taste.

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