Decent Coffee Grinder?

**Edcculus** · 10-10-2008, 08:52 AM

Can anyone suggest a non-blade grinder for under $50? I want a more consistent grind and less mess. I'm ready to retire my blade grinder as a spice mill.

**JBHoren** · 10-10-2008, 09:04 AM

Originally Posted by Edcculus

Can anyone suggest a non-blade grinder for under $50? I want a more consistent grind and less mess. I'm ready to retire my blade grinder as a spice mill.

You can pick-up a perfectly good, previously-owned, manually-operated, conical-burr grinder within your price range on eBay (I did); just search for "coffee grinders".

**Wisdom** · 10-10-2008, 09:22 AM

I use the Gaggia MDF.. it's a nice burr grinder with a wide range of grind settings. It's relatively easy to clean the Bean Holder and Burrs with Quickrice, but ground coffee tends to get in the dosing mechanism and the doser doesn't always clear all of the ground coffee out of the tray. The noise level and footprint is about average.
-\Visdom

**Odsman** · 10-10-2008, 10:47 AM

I have a Black and Decker bur grinder I got at Wal-Mart for about $30.00. Works like a champ.

**Confuzius** · 10-10-2008, 11:53 AM

I picked up one of these
http://www.presidentschoice.ca/House...id/293#reviews
on sale for $15

I'm still holding out my opinion on it for a while, but $15 for a burr grinder, even if it's crap I can abide for abit.

**Suzuki** · 10-10-2008, 11:56 AM

Originally Posted by Confuzius

I picked up one of these
http://www.presidentschoice.ca/House...id/293#reviews
on sale for $15

I'm still holding out my opinion on it for a while, but $15 for a burr grinder, even if it's crap I can abide for abit.

Not the best or most durable grinder (brittle plastic parts) (I have one), but it works just fine and you can't beat the price.

**Edcculus** · 10-10-2008, 11:59 AM

Originally Posted by Confuzius

I picked up one of these
http://www.presidentschoice.ca/House...id/293#reviews
on sale for $15

I'm still holding out my opinion on it for a while, but $15 for a burr grinder, even if it's crap I can abide for abit.

It says it massages the beans...you can't beat that!

**Confuzius** · 10-10-2008, 12:01 PM

There's nothing quite like a good bean massage to end or start the day!

**Suzuki** · 10-10-2008, 12:15 PM

Originally Posted by Confuzius

There's nothing quite like a good bean massage to end or start the day!

I'm not touching that (or your beans for that matter) with a 10-foot pole!

**Edcculus** · 10-10-2008, 12:41 PM

Originally Posted by JBHoren

You can pick-up a perfectly good, previously-owned, manually-operated, conical-burr grinder within your price range on eBay (I did); just search for "coffee grinders".

How well does a manual grinder work? I don't mind putting in some elbow grease, but if its hard to turn that probably won't be a good thing at 7 in the morning.

**Confuzius** · 10-10-2008, 12:43 PM

I've also got one of these manual grinders for turkish coffee, but it takes about half an hour of furious spinning to get a 4 cup pot out of it.

**Trius** · 10-10-2008, 01:12 PM

Originally Posted by Confuzius

I've also got one of these manual grinders for turkish coffee, but it takes about half an hour of furious spinning to get a 4 cup pot out of it.

I have one of those too. For my Brikka 2-shot pot, it's fine; two measures of beans take about 2-1/2 minutes or less to grind. But for more coffee, I wouldn't use it. The nice thing about those grinders (besides the price and heavy duty construction) is that once you set the grind fineness, it stays put.

The reviews on the PC grinder were pretty brutal.

**JBHoren** · 10-10-2008, 01:25 PM

Originally Posted by Edcculus

How well does a manual grinder work? I don't mind putting in some elbow grease, but if its hard to turn that probably won't be a good thing at 7 in the morning.

Mine works quite well. All I do is place three SCAA scoops of roasted beans into the hopper, close the lid, and turn the crank in a clockwise direction for about 70-90 revolutions (peaberry takes fewer, MNEB takes more). No "elbow grease" required. Adjust the grind to suit your brewing method.