The best spice grinders

James BrainsJul 7, 2020, 03:21 IST

Freshly ground spices brighten just about any dish, so if you love to cook, you may want a versatile spice grinder.
The Secura Electric Coffee & Spice Grinder is our top pick with its strong motor that is resistant to overheating and two bowls for chopping and grinding.

The idea of grinding your own spices may seem like a hassle when it's just so easy to pick up pre-ground options at the grocery store. Yet, taste test after taste test reveals that freshly ground spices produce dishes with a superior roundness of flavor, vibrancy, and aroma. Therefore, a good spice grinder provides a fairly simple way to step up your culinary chops.

We looked at dozens of different alternatives while researching the best spice grinders. The grinders included in our guide are highly rated by buyers and experts alike because of their ease of use, consistent performance, and how painless the cleaning process is.

Here are the best spice grinders:

Best overall: Secura Electric Coffee & Spice Grinder
Best manual spice grinder: Kuhn Rikon Ratchet Grinder
Best electric grinder on a budget: KRUPS Electric Spice and Coffee Grinder
Best manual grinder on a budget: Bazaar Anatolia Turkish Grinder

Prices and links are current as of 7/6/20. We added a product showcase at the top of the guide to make our picks easier to see at a glance.

The best spice grinder overall

Secura

The best manual spice grinder

Kuhn Rikon

The best electric grinder on a budget

KRUPS

The best manual grinder on a budget

Bazaar Anatolia

The best pepper and salt mills

Peugeot/Business Insider

Manual vs. electric grinders

There are two main styles of spice grinders: electric and manual. Electric grinders are excellent because they make quick work of a variety of spices. Most can also do double duty chopping nuts and grinding grains and coffee beans. But, they can only be used for a few seconds at a time before the motor starts to heat up. , and many models are difficult to clean. Also, electric grinders obviously require the use of electricity, and environmentally-conscious people may have trouble justifying using one when there are several suitable manual options.

Manual grinders take the cake when you want a more portable solution that isn't tethered to an electrical outlet. Most electric grinders use blades, whereas their manual counterparts work by crushing the spices with gears made of ceramic or metal. They commonly have a knob you can turn to adjust the size of the grind. The downside to manual grinders is that they may be a pain for individuals with arthritis, carpal tunnel, or other hand/wrist conditions.

Though we did not include any in our guide, the herb grinder is a third type of spice grinder that is mainly designed for larger seeds, teas, tobacco, and herbs, including basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and more. Herb grinders are manually operated and generally have trouble handling most whole spices. If you decide to go this route, we recommend Zip Grinders.

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