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Choosing a grinder for home is not easy when you consider there is such a price difference between many household brands and the smaller compact models manufactured by the commercial brands for the domestic market. In this month’s article, Ben Bicknell, our Coffee Quality Specialist, provides a bit of insight into the different burr types to help you make an informed decision.

Many of us are distracted by the metallic glitter of an espresso machine — we love the chromed curves, delight in the purr of the pump and cradle the comforting weight of the portafilter. Wiping the drool from our chin, we measure out pre-ground coffee into our basket — and out pours a thin, watery shot from our pride and joy … not so great!

After a couple of weeks of caffeinated experimentation, most people start to recognise that the quality of the raw products we use and the way we handle them while brewing our coffee, all have an impact on the final quality in the cup. The coffee grinder is a supremely important link in the chain that extends from the coffee cherry to an exquisite espresso!

Exposure to air, or oxidisation, is the biggest factor in turning roasted coffee stale, so it’s fairly easy to understand the importance of grinding your coffee freshly. Imagine the surface area of one coffee bean. Now imagine the surface area of that same bean ground up into 100 particles — it’s a huge increase in the surface area exposed to air, and hence a huge decrease in the lifespan of the coffee. The rule of thumb for producing the best espresso is to use your coffee beans within three to four weeks of roasting. The rule of thumb for ground coffee is to use the coffee three to five minutes after grinding!

The best cafés around the world all ‘grind on demand’ or ‘grind by the cup’. This means that they’re only grinding the small portion of coffee they need to make the drinks that have been ordered. This technique is worth mastering at home, especially as the time between coffees in your kitchen café is likely to be a lot longer than for a commercial operation! Check out my previous article, Café in your kitchen, for advice on dosing and tamping techniques.

Which grinder is best? There is almost as much marketing haze over the choice of coffee grinders as there is for home espresso machines, so I’ll break it down a little. There are three main types of machines which separate your whole coffee beans into smaller, more soluble particles. There’s the generic ‘whirly blade’ grinder or spice mill, the flat burr grinder and the conical burr grinder.

The ‘whirly blade’ grinders were really popular in the ’80s when they were considered the epitome of coffee cool. While they certainly do break up the beans, ‘randomly smash’ might be a more accurate description; the spinning blades in these grinders produce a variety of particle sizes from large chunks to small bits of dust. I made my fair share of plunger coffee using one of these grinders in my student days, and the sludge that ends up at the bottom of the cup from using these very fine grinds is not an enjoyable way to finish a great coffee. I recommend that these grinders be reserved for spice blitzing only — they barely achieve the desired result for coffee, will degrade the overall quality of your flavour and rarely reach the fine consistency needed for espresso brewing.

The other types of grinders are the flat burr and the conical burr grinders. Flat burr grinders have two parallel discs with sharp ‘teeth’ notched along them — one stays stationary while the other spins, grinding the beans between them. The benefit of using a burr grinder is that you will gain a consistent grind particle size and hence an even saturation of your coffee during brewing.

The conical burr grinder works in a similar manner but, as the name suggests, involves a cone shaped burr on the base, rotating against a top burr. As they have a larger surface area, these grinders don’t need to rotate as quickly to produce the same volume of grinds. Fewer rotations means less friction, less friction means less heat transferred to the grinds and less heat on the grinds means that the volatile oils in your coffee don’t start evaporating. The end result? You get more flavour in your cup.

On the whole, most domestic level grinders are flat burr — in fact, even most commercial-sized grinders utilise flat burrs. So what other factors are important when considering purchasing a grinder for your home? Apart from looking at the burr type, you also want to look at the motor size, the rotations per minute (rpm) of the burrs, the burr diameter (the larger the diameter, the quicker it will produce grinds and the longer the burrs last), the after sales support and the general build-quality of the machine.

The superb Mazzer range of grinders (which we stock here at 5 Senses) has long been the favourite around the world for both home enthusiasts set on maximising their coffee experience and café owners who need a reliable, quality piece of equipment to complement their espresso machine.

The Mazzer Mini model is aimed at the ‘prosumer’ market, giving you the quality of a commercial grinder with a more accessible price point and bench top footprint. The 58mm quality steel flat burrs are set in a housing that allows for infinite adjustments to produce consistent grind size for anything from the finest espresso to the coarsest plunger grind. Both the traditional doser and doser-less versions are available, depending on your personal preference. The standard doser version grinds into a chamber which you rotate to dispense coffee. The doser-less, or electronic version, grinds straight into a stainless steel cone, funnelling the ground coffee into your waiting basket. Set in a single-cast piece body, Mazzer Minis are a great investment for producing quality coffee — and they’ll last a lifetime.