Grind Options

Blade grinders:

All blade grinders are basically the same. The blades effectively chop at the beans, add heat and the particles are inconsistent in size. A finer grind is achieved by leaving the grinder running a little longer. Blade grinders are minimally acceptable for medium to coarse uses. They achieve an acceptable grind for drip, pour-over and press brewing, but not for Espresso or Turkish.

 Blade grinders are also known to break easily, and to rust. The combination of the heat and the rust can cause the flavour of your beans to change substantially. Due to the chopping motion, less flavour is extracted from the bean. All round, this is not the best way to grind your beans, but it is affordable.

 

 

Burr grinders:

Burr coffee grinders come as electric or manual models. The consistency comes from a moving blade set at a defined distance from a stationary blade so the beans are ground to a certain size before passing to the collection chamber. The blades are either conical or flat.

 When evaluating an electric burr grinder, look for a strong durable motor. The flat burrs run at a higher RPM and, therefore are louder and add more heat.

 Conical and flat burrs are either metal or ceramic. Metal burrs still run the risk of getting hot and changing the flavour of your coffee so ceramic blades are definitely highly recommended. Conical blades generally are good through the smallest of the coarse settings. Flat burrs can take care of all grinds. Most burr grinders also allow you to set your grind size specifically to your brew method.

 A course grind will produce weak coffee unless more is used and it is brewed for longer. A fine grind will produce a stronger coffee and does not require to be brewed for long (more suited for coffee machines using pressure).

*The following affects the strength of your coffee: Ground bean coarseness, volume of ground coffee used, and duration of brewing time.

 When grinding, always make sure the grind level is correct for the brewing method used

  •      Course for French Press
  •      Medium for Percolator / Drip Filter
  •      Fine for Espresso Machine