Grinders

[Black Dog]

I've been using a blade grinder for my coffee beans for about 10-12 years (I'm on my third one). Since reading up on home roasting lately I've noticed that everyone recommends a burr grinder for more consistent grind and less heat build up during the process.
The grind consistency I can understand. I do get a mix of larger granules and some powdery coffee that makes "mud" in the bottom of my pot. It's the heat issue that puzzles me. It the build up really that great from a blade grinder? It doesn't even feel remotely warm to me when I check it immediately after grinding.
The mud itself doesn't really bother me but if I can get better flavor with a burr grinder I'm game.
How about you veteran home roasters and coffee afficianados out there? What kind of grinder do you use?

 

[allanf]

I've had both, for the past five or so years i've used burr...Its ok, works fine. But when i was using blade it seemed easier, i knew that the grinder held enough beans for one pot of coffee. now i have to measure. :-(

 

[56Tweed]

I have a Mr Coffee blade grinder. I find it easy to use, and its nice that its just big enough for a full pot. I haven't noticed any heat issues, but there are always some larger chunks in there that aren't ground as fine.

I haven't seen a burr... anyone got a link?

Mike

 

[Black Dog]

Here is one of the popular models of burr grinder:

http://www.coffeebeancorral.com/detail.asp?product_id=SolBG

 

[Mad Dawg]

I have a Solis Maestro Plus - and I DON'T recommend it! It's a very well-built unit, but the design of the top of the burrs is fundamentally flawed, and beans just won't feed easily into the burrs. In fact, really big beans like maragogypes won't feed at all and have to be manually poked down into the burrs. NOT good! I understand this is not the case with ALL SM Plus models, but it is with mine and it pisses me off every morning.

FWIW, I've never heard this complaint with the Solis Maestro you have linked. That one should be a winner.

 

[Mad Dawg]

As a follow-on, the c-mill ("whirly-blade") grinders work OK for filter drip brewing, but a burr grinder is a necessity for press pot or espresso.

 

[stogies&hoagies]

I have the Capresso burr grinder. I bought mine on the recommendation of some FOG's. I love mine. I bought a "refurbished " one which saved about $20. I try to remember the web site. It may be www.capresso.com

BTW, I bought the model 551.

 

[Black Dog]

That 551 looks like a good deal! I didn't see any refurbished ones but I just took a quick peek at their site. I'll take a closer look when I get a chance, although the price doesn't look bad compared to some of the others I've looked at. I'm not quite ready to spend the big bucks that some of them run.
Thanks S&H!

 

[Greg]

bump

I need info on a good burr-type grinder for my Black Dog coffee. I am using a french press and the whirl-blade grinder I have leaves too much sediment and the grind is too inconsistant.

 

[Wasch_24]

I have been pretty happy with my Capresso

There are other good suggestions here, http://www.botl.org/community/forums/showthread.php?t=4428.

 

[Greg]

Todd, do you have the conical-burr model?

 

[Wasch_24]

No, I don't think it has a conical burr...just a regular burr type grinder.

 

[Kingston]

Take your time and do some research, getting a good grinder is probably one of the most important parts of making good coffee.
If you're fealing the need for some serious geeking:
http://www.coffeegeek.com

 

[djs134]

Have to agree. The Grinder is the most important part of the process. The better the grinder, the more uniform the grind and the more uniform the extraction of flavor. I started with a whirly and then bought the Capresso Infinity. I now have a Macap M4.

 

[DocLogic77]

Very good info here...Im checking out that geek site.

 

[pdonlin]

Good top, looks like that coffeegeek site has some decent user reviews.

 

[caudio51]

I missed this thread, thanks for the bump