Electric Coffee Grinder Recommendations

SaberX on 10/11/2020 - 15:23
Last edited 10/11/2020 - 15:47

Hi all,

I'm looking for an electronic coffee grinder for my dad's birthday. They aren't huge coffee aficionados - but they do enjoy brewing the old drip coffee machines you'd pickup from big w for sub $100 for long black coffees. They don't do espressos, aeropress or anything else at this stage. So purely for an electric drip filter coffee.

They typically get everything pre-ground from Gloria Jeans but due to Covid 19 had to learn and borrow my cheap Adelaide market grinder i got while touring (sub $50). I don't think it's a burr grinder, quite small, so quite messy and finnicky.

I was hoping to get an electric grinder that could grind with less to no mess for them to try new and interesting coffee beans. They aren't huge consumers so the odd kg bag here or there is fine. I think they prefer grinding the whole bag and storing grounds away, so just wondering if the Breville smart grinder or others are better suited to grinding a whole bag in bulk as opposed to grinding on demand for a cup each day?

A few have mentioned getting a burr grinder as a must. I like the idea of machines where they can do away with their lack of knowledge of grind size and just try preset grind settings e.g. breville smart grinder?? Although I have read some things online where I am not sure if the like sof a breville smart grinder pro are more ideal for finer grinders: espresso etc, and is more of an issue for coarser grinds i.e. for filter drip coffee which is what they would use it for? Is this true? or does it handle the filter drip coffee grind size fine?

Would anyone have any recommendations for something that is intuitive enough for some older folks to chuck some beans in, grind, test, and if necessary adjust grind easily, without going into the realm of barista style price tags? Any brands that are a goto?

Also considering on a side note what I can get for myself (don't have an expresso machine, but definitely consume alot more flat whites and likely to use coffee beans in a proper espresso machine once I find one on sale) - not sure if the breville smart grinder is still the most beginner friendly one to recommend? The breville barista express machines come with inbuilt ggrinders though - so considering whether that's a better all in one solution?

Thank you!

Electrical & Electronics Coffee Grinder

Comments

  • nutella9 on 10/11/2020 - 15:58
    +2

    The Breville Smart Grinder is pretty good - very easy to dial grind up/down to taste and you can define dosage amount- but you'll need to do 2 cups worth at a time. I would strongly recommend NOT doing more than what you immediately need - ground coffee has a shelf life of a half hour. There is absolutely no point getting a grinder and then grinding a whole bag in bulk - it will deteriorate to supermarket quality grinds.

  • carlJack on 10/11/2020 - 16:21

    Baratza encore or Breville smart grinder pro for around $200.

  • nubix on 10/11/2020 - 16:24

    I have this grinder myself and I can tell you, it's messy (not completely the fault of the grinder, but I have a dedicated mini vacuum for coffee now). I think drip and pour over is where this grinder is best - it's fine, but not the most consistent for espressos and the coarsest setting is not coarse enough for cold brew.

    I know nothing about the barista express, but in terms of mess, it's probably not going to help unless you get the models with the auto tamper.

    • soggypotato on 10/11/2020 - 22:46
      +2

      If your talking about the coffee mess from static charge, you can add a bit of water to remove it.

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 10/11/2020 - 16:58

    Can also recommend the Breville Smart Grinder. It's quite good.

    Complete overkill for your parents. Just buy ground coffee. They won't taste the difference in a basic drip filter machine.

  • sjtem3 on 10/11/2020 - 18:29

    For parents you'd be best served by exploring what they actually want a little better. If the quality of the coffee matters, and you want to use nicer quality beans and actually taste them you'll have to convince them to grind for each brew. If they are happy to press the grind button and it's within budget then a breville SGP would serve them probably really well for drip coffee. I hear they're reasonably simple to use which is a major plus, and adjusting will be less difficult than with other less electronic options.

    If they want to explore coffee a little, but grinding to use isn't agreeable for them, then maybe it's worth considering buying small volume preground beans from local roasters. It's still not ideal (the last coffee from the bag would taste staler than the first), but if they buy in small quantities, use it reasonably quickly and truly dont want to grind often then it's an option.

    For yourself, there are a lot of options and the big limiting factor will likely be your budget. The options improve in reliability, longevity and ease of use as the price increases, but there are a few contenders that typically punch above their weight in the 'budget' department.

    Options to consider (without knowing your requirements):
    Barista express - solves the issue of grinder AND machine in one move at a budget price. I've not used one, but have heard both good and bad reviews of them.
    Breville dual boiler and entry level grinder - significant step up in price, but more consistent and easy to use that BBE. Grinder will set you back a bit if you dont go for a SGP
    Rancilio Silvia + grinder - Timeless machine, strong resale used. Little bit finnicky with temperature surfing (and thus less consistent) but regarded as a strong entry level choice
    Gaggia classic - see above.
    Lelit anna/anita - similar to the rancilio/silvia. Newer kid on the block - less of a reputation but seems ok from afar.
    Used goods - risky for those of us who aren't so savvy to what to look for in a used machine, but potentially great bargains to be had. Italian machines in particular have a reputation for being amazingly repairable, and lasting almost as long as you're willing to maintain them. They come with a commensurate cost.

    I was in your shoes not too long ago, and my approach was to buy a really budget, subpar machine to dip my toes in the water and find out how much I enjoy/dislike making my own milk coffees at home. I looked on gumtree and found a really scummy/unimpressive machine with poor reviews, bought a hand grinder from aldi (also very underwhelming) and made coffe for a while. I loved the process, and it became apparent that I wanted more so I watched for bargains - on gumtree, and on here.

    If you're at the pre-contemplation stage then consider a really really budget entry to establish the hobby, then resell and consider one one of the options listed above if you prove to be interested. If you already know you want a decent espresso at home then start with what I listed as a minimum.

    Please bear in mind that the cheaper machines are more likely to bring frustration as you produce variable and unreliable coffee. This can be a real frustration for someone new to the process - you'll stand in the kitchen asking yourself "Did I (profanity) this up in the grind, the preparation or something else?" when you make a sub-par coffee, when it may actually be one of your components underperforming.

    TLDR:
    Ask your parents what they want - a SGP or buying 250mg bags of preground coffee may be ok options for them.
    Ask yourself what YOU want. A BBE on the really budget end is not a bad starting point, as long as you account for its weaknesses and are ok with them.

    • kiitos on 13/11/2020 - 23:21

      What do so you use now? As you touched on, I'd hate to go with a bargain setup that underwhelms and puts me off using it, I'd rather pay more if I was assured I could reliably produce cafe quality or better.

      • sjtem3 on 14/11/2020 - 09:32
        +1

        I'm using a mazzer super jolly grinder that I found used alongside a new breville dual boiler. As someone new to home espresso this has worked perfectly well for me.

        Just to be clear though, you can absolutely make great coffee with some of the other cheaper options, its just likely going to require a little more research and tolerance for error if things aren't perfect. If you see it as a hobby or an enjoyable ritual then by all means don't stress about sub-par coffees occasionally - it's just a route to new learning.

  • pufffdragon on 11/11/2020 - 00:12

    I can recommend the Welhome ZD-10T. I chose this as it's affordable, does a nice grind and it's small. Barely takes up any bench space and it looks slick. Can get them for $129.

    https://alternativebrewing.com.au/product/welhome-coffee-gri…

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