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Freshly ground coffee is addictive and delicious. If you want to make the perfect brew each morning, you need a coffee grinder.
After much research and some testing, we found that the Baratza Encore Conical Burr Grinder is the best option for most people with its affordable $139 price tag and consistently great grinds.
There's nothing better than a perfect cup of coffee. If you're a coffee snob, you probably know that freshly ground coffee makes for a better cup of Joe. Coffee goes stale relatively quickly, so when you buy pre-ground beans, you may be losing some of your coffee's flavor. A good grinder will grind your beans to a uniform size so that you get the most out of your beans. Grinding beans every day before you make coffee may sound like a hassle, but a grinder can quickly pulverize your beans to maximize their flavor.
Coffee grinders range from the incredibly affordable to the absurdly expensive. You can get grinders at any point in between as well. We've tested a few coffee grinders and researched dozens more to find the best ones you can buy. Before we get into our picks, these are the key terms and features you need to know.
Blade versus Burr grinders
There are two main types of coffee grinders: blade and burr grinders. Purists say that you shouldn't even consider blade grinders because they don't grind the coffee beans to a nice uniform particle size, which results in an uneven and unpredictable brew. Blade grinders are much cheaper than burr grinders, though, and not everyone will be able to afford the pricier burr grinders. As such, we've included one blade grinder and the rest are burr grinders at varying price points.
When you start looking at burr grinder machines, there's a lot more to know. As The Wirecutter explains, "burrs work by using two serrated pieces of metal or ceramic that are positioned a specific distance apart from each other (depending on the grind) and rotate to crush the beans to the exact size you want." Here are the different types of burrs used on most machines:
- Flat versus Conical burrs: There's much debate over which type of burr is better, but they perform pretty similarly, so you shouldn't worry too much about this point. Flat burrs are two parallel rings with a space between them where the beans enter to be sheared into coffee grounds, while conical burrs involve a cone in a ring that grinds your beans down to the right size.
- Steel versus Ceramic burrs: Steel burrs are more affordable and more common in coffee grinders, but they don't last as long as ceramic ones do. Ceramic burrs are typically used in manual hand grinders and for grinding espresso beans perfectly.
Having a powerful, consistent, and well-made grinder is essential to making the most out of your beans. These are the best grinders you can buy, ranging from less than $20 to $230.
Here are our picks for the best coffee grinders you can buy:
- Best coffee grinder overall: Baratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee Grinder
- Best coffee grinder for less than $100: Capresso 560.01 Infinity Burr Grinder
- Best coffee grinder for less than $75: Brim Electric Handheld Burr Grinder
- Best expensive coffee grinder: Baratza Virtuoso Conical Burr Coffee Grinder
- Best blade coffee grinder: KRUPS F203 Electric Spice and Coffee Grinder
- Best manual coffee grinder: Hario Mini Mill Slim Hand Coffee Grinder
Updated on 11/20/2018 by Owen Burke: Updated prices and formatting, added the OXO BREW Conical Burr Grinderas a "Best for less than $100" pick and the Brim 1.6-Oz Handheld Electric Coffee Grinder for a less than $75 pick.
Read on in the slides below to check out our top picks.
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