You know if there is one thing I cannot live without whether I’m home or away is coffee. Yes the illustrious “wine of the arabs” that has alerted people’s minds over the centuries.
Now if you are serious about your coffee as I or we are here, you know that the best way to preserve it’s freshness is to grind your own coffee. So we love to do that ourselves and in doing so looked to find the best burr coffee grinder around.
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Quick Buyer’s Guide
Name | Image | Type | Review | Price |
---|---|---|---|---|
KRUPS GX5000 Professional Electric Burr Coffee Grinder | Automatic / Flat | 4 | $ | |
Cuisinart DBM-8 Supreme Grind Automatic Burr | Automatic / Flat | 4.2 | $$ | |
Baratza Virtuoso Conical Burr Coffee Grinder | Automatic / Conical | 4.5 | $$$$ | |
JavaPresse Manual Burr Coffee Grinder | Manual / Conical | 4.4 | $ | |
Hensen Manual Burr Coffee Grinder | Manual / Conical | 4 | $ | |
Capresso 560.04 Infinity Conical Burr Coffee Grinder | Automatic / Conical | 4.6 | $$ | |
OXO On Conical Burr Coffee Grinder | Automatic / Conical | 3.8 | $$$$ |
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Why a Burr Coffee Grinder?
The regular blade coffee grinders in my opinion are just too messy and too inconsistent in getting a good grind. You want uniform sizes of your grounds to get the best possible coffee as well as control over the ground size depending on the cup you are trying to make.
No that is very true. You need a different size depending on whether say you are making Turkish Coffee or a drip coffee blend. Burr grinders can do this a lot more consistently then the old spinning blade style (and with a lot less mess in my opinion). You can also use your burr grinder for a grinding other spices as well.
Why Grind your Coffee?
There are a lot of things you can do probably to make your coffee better. But one of the best and probably simplest changes is to grind your own coffee. Coffee can last months in bean form (even roasted) but it tends to go stale within days or weeks if its already ground. Sure you can get air tight bags and other such methods but they are only really band-aids to the real problem.
Conical Burr Grinder vs. Flat Burr Grinder
There’s a lot of discussion here in terms of whether you want to get a Conical Burr Grinder vs. a Flat Burr Grinder. The first thing you’ll notice is that conical burr grinders tend to be pricier. You will usually only find these in the higher end models and for good reason. They do a more consistent grind and can run at a higher variety of speeds to get the grinds you want (often imparting less heat into the beans).
The lower ends grinders tend to use a flat grinder. And even here there is a lot of differences. You’ll notice that some are a bit more flat and tend to break the bean while others do more cutting. A high quality espresso grinder tends to do more cutting here and produce a more consistent and fine grind quality.
A lot of the quality in your grind will come from the type of grinder you get.
Criteria
I think as with anything it is important to understand, what to look for in any device you are evaluating. And so we here do the same with any of our reviews.
Grinder Size
Honestly you generally don’t need or want something too big in terms of grinder device size. You want to grind coffee as close to brew time as possible and if you are single or even a family you really don’t need something very large. You may need to grind something a few batches for a large pot however for some of the smaller grinders. It depends how much of a hassle this will be for you in your coffee brewing needs. If you are brewing for an office, you might want something bigger and easier to manage.
Control over grounds
Ground size matters a lot here. You want slightly more coarse grounds if you want to use a french press for your coffee. You don’t necessarily want it very very coarse but it will be far more coarse than say something that is used in an espresso machine. Turkish coffee uses very fine grounds, and the more control you have here the better the options and coffee will be for your preparation preferences
Manual Burr Grinder vs. Automatic Burr Grinder
Why would anyone go with a manual burr grinder when automatic burr grinders exist? Easy, the manual ones are definitely easier for travel and smaller and more compact. I do love a good manual grinder in my bag if I want to make coffee in a hostel or in a AirBnB when I’m traveling. Automatics are almost always less portable and often so many of them don’t convert between voltages (come-on companies, why is this still a problem!?). The other downside of manual burr grinders beyond just a bit of elbow grease is that its harder to get consistent ground sizes with a manual vs. an automatic burr grinder.
Cost
As with anything cost is always a factor. However more expensive does not always mean better. We look at trying to find the best value for the cost. We look especially for features that add value to the cost and not just make the machine more expensive.
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Burr Coffee Grinder Reviews
We scoured the internet, stores, our friends, coffee experts to help figure out the best burr coffee grinders around. We mostly looked for ones that you would probably want in your home or in your bag for on the go.
KRUPS GX5000 Professional Electric Burr Coffee Grinder
The Krups GX5000 burr grinder is definitely one of the most popular out there. Especially given the price compared to the features it is easy to see why it is one of the most bought burr grinders out there. But is it worth it? Overall I think for the price it is a good investment. It is definitely not the best and especially not the higher build quality (plastic compared to metal in other grinders). It has 9 different settings which to me was good until you realize that its not as big of a difference in a few of the grounds as the setting may indicate.
Features
- 9 grind levels
- Weight: 3.2 lbs
- Plastic Casing
- 2-12 cup grinding option
- Disc burr grinding
Pros
- A reasonable size for home or office use
- Good quality grinding of various different coarseness
- Lighter than other similar options
Cons
- Not compact for travel
- Plastic casing
- 120V only (Not for international use)
- Not as well built as other options
Overall Score: 4 / 5
Check Prices and Availability on Amazon
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Cuisinart DBM-8 Supreme Grind Automatic Burr
Cuisinart is one of those brands that I generally trust among a lot of the home good brands and the DBM-8 is no exception. Overall its a great option for a burr grinder and one of the most popular ones out there too (for good reasons). It has about as many options for grinding and as much space as you probably would need. It is definitely bigger than I would like myself (especially living in a small city apartment) but it can work for you depending on your home.
Features
- Grind enough coffee to make 4-18 cups
- 18 grind selector – from ultra-fine to extra-coarse
- Grounded coffee chamber holds up to 32 cups
- scoop/cleaning brush
- Stainless steel construction
- Disc burr grinding
Pros
- Stainless steel construction
- Large hopper / grind chamber
- 18 position grind selector
Cons
- A lot of the positions are nearly identical
- Not portable
- Not 220V
Overall Score: 4.2 / 5
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Baratza Virtuoso Conical Burr Coffee Grinder
For those who really love their coffee. I was a bit amazed at how lovely this thing was. However you know for someone like me who loves there coffee, I still find the idea of spending a couple hundred on a grinder a bit crazy. However you might think differently. The only nice thing is, you can expect this one to last the long haul. It is also a conical grinder as opposed to the cheaper disc based grinders.
Features
- Built in timer for grinding
- 40 grind settings
- 5 oz – ground bin capacity
- 8 oz – coffee hopper
- Conical Grinder
Pros
- Stainless steel construction
- High quality construction
- 40 Grind Settings
Cons
- Price
- Smaller hopper / chamber than expected
- Not 220V
Overall Score: 4.5 / 5
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JavaPresse Manual Burr Coffee Grinder
What would a travel blog be if it didn’t also review manual burr coffee grinders. I love the little JavaPresse one and I keep one with me on a lot of my trips. Why? Well I tend to be in a lot of hotels and AirBnBs on my trips and often you’ll have a coffee machine handy. I love the quality of the construction and the size and the fact that I can use it anywhere. However it is a bit pricier compared to other hand grinders, but I feel the quality is definitely pretty good for the price.
Features
- 18 grind settings
- Manual Grinder
- Ceramic burr parts
- Conical Grinder
- 2-3 cup size
Pros
- Stainless steel construction
- High quality construction
- 18 Grind Settings
Cons
- Not cheap
- harder to get consistent grounds than automatic grinders
Overall Score: 4.4 / 5
Check Prices and Availability on Amazon
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Hensen Manual Burr Coffee Grinder
We figured we needed to look at more than just the 1 manual burr coffee grinder when we saw the hensen. Overall it is very similar to the JavaPresse in terms of features, but it has a plastic build instead of a stainless steel build (which contributes to its lower price). It is definitely easy and small to travel with. We like the clear feature of the model to see what’s inside. Beyond this, it isn’t that much different than the JavaPresse. So if you want a manual grinder, this could be an option for you as well.
Features
- 18 grind settings
- Manual Grinder
- Ceramic burr parts
- Plastic Casing
- Conical Grinder
- 2-3 cup size
Pros
- High quality construction
- 18 Grind Settings
Cons
- Plastic construction
- harder to get consistent grounds than automatic grinders
Overall Score: 4 / 5
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Capresso 560.04 Infinity Conical Burr Coffee Grinder
We loved the Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder. Easily one of the better options in its price point. It has a good quality burr grinder with a lot of settings (or at least as many as are practical anyway). We don’t like the plastic construction but knew they had to cut areas to keep the price as competitive as it is. For this price point it is really hard to beat this one. We had to struggle to find cons here.
Features
- 16 grind settings
- Hopper: 8-1/2 oz
- Ground Bin: 4 oz
- Built in Timer
Pros
- 16 Grind Settings
- Solid conical steel burrs
- Good for the price
Cons
- Not as easy to clean as some others
- Plastic Construction
Overall Score: 4.6 / 5
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OXO On Conical Burr Coffee Grinder
I generally do like most OXO products and I wanted to love this grinder. And while it was good, it wasn’t great in my opinion. The price is definitely in the higher end and you’d expect full metal and perfect operation, but it seems to miss the mark a bit here. It certainly in my opinion is not worth the higher price just for an integrated scale either (although that is handy). The grinder can tend to throw some grounds during operation which is a bit messier than I’d like and the static shock from the plastic is a pain (but that’s a problem with a lot of plastic grinders anyway). Just would expect a bit more for something this expensive
Features
- Integrated Scale
- 38 Grind Settings
- Hopper: 16 oz
- Ground Bin: 125 grams
- Stainless Steel Burrs
Pros
- 38 Grind Settings
- Solid conical steel burrs
- Integrated Scale
Cons
- Price
- A bit bigger than I expected
- Can leak grounds
Overall Score: 3.8 / 5
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Best Travel Burr Coffee Grinder
Finding the best Travel Burr Grinder is probably the hardest category to judge for but one of the most important for our readers. In our opinion our favorite was the JavaPresse Manual Burr Coffee Grinder. Too many of the automatics are big and don’t convert voltages (which is a travel deal-breaker for me). I love how compact and how easy it is to clean and carry along with me. The parts seem to be high quality and its not that difficult to get a few decent cups out of it. Along with an Aeropress or another French Press, you can have quality coffee anywhere you go.
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Best Home Burr Coffee Grinder
This was definitely the hardest for us to think of a winner here. So many of them are just really good. You know we didn’t want to just go with the most expensive or the “best” because it was the priciest or had the most features. For most people that we asked, they preferred the Capresse 560.04 over the other ones? Why mostly because it produced a good consistent ground at a good price. Its hard to find a better burr grinder without having to go to a much more expensive model here.
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Do you have any other ones you like or want us to review? Drop us a line and let us know!
Russow says
I am looking for a coffee maker. I have not bought a new one yet. And I am so glad I found you with helpful. post…
I will buy Cuisinart DBM-8 Supreme Grind Automatic Burr as soon as possible.
Helen says
A coffee grinder is always a good and cheaper alternative to a coffee maker that grinds the coffee by itself and after that prepares the coffee.
I my case I use a normal coffee machine that does only coffee and has no grinder attached.
To grind coffee I use a small grinder that does the job very well.
When I bought the small grinder and the coffee machine I’ve paid altogether less than half the price of the coffee machine that also has a grinder,