Coffee Grinder Review

Why buy a coffee grinder?

We found only a handful of professional coffee grinder reviews in print and online. However, there's a large and enthusiastic community of coffee lovers on the Internet, and we found hundreds of up-to-date user-written reviews. We quickly learned that the best reviews come from users posting to coffee-enthusiast websites such as WholeLatteLove.com and CoffeeGeek.com. Most are fanatical about coffee and mince no words when reporting on their grinders' design and performance. We found the most knowledgeable reviews for burr grinders on CoffeeGeek.com, while Amazon.com and Epinions are more helpful when it comes to blade-type coffee grinders.

We did find some older reviews useful. In its December 2001 issue, Cook's Illustrated rates nine coffee grinders ranging in price from $13 to $50. Editors grind two ounces of coffee in each model and brew 40-ounce pots of coffee in an automatic-drip coffee maker. While we appreciate editors' attention to grinder capacity, ease of cleaning, temperature increase during grinding, and amount of coffee dust generated, this article is of little use to those who own pump-driven espresso machines, who need a finer grind.

The Cook's Illustrated article helpfully debunks some coffee-grinding myths, however, such as the notion that blade grinders heat coffee beans more than burr grinders do, resulting in the evaporation of flavorful oils. Using an infrared thermometer, editors found that burr grinders, not blade grinders, cause the greater temperature increase. What's more, temperature increases did not adversely affect flavor. We found useful, if dated, reviews at the New York Daily News, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, The Observer (UK) and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ConsumerReports.org tests several grinder/brewer combination units in their report on coffee makers, although they don't test stand-alone coffee grinders. We cover the combination units in our report on coffee makers.

Reviews say that some coffee grinders generate a lot of coffee dust, grind inconsistently, or break down within months. Editors at The Observer give the Gaggia MM burr grinder (*Est. $130) good scores, but users posting to WholeLatteLove.com and CoffeeGeek.com disagree, giving the it only middling grades. The consensus among owners is that the noisy Gaggia MM generates a great deal of static and coffee dust. Many reviewers report wanting to (or needing to) upgrade soon after purchasing this model and recommend investing in a better grinder from the start. They also report that the Gaggia's bin is difficult to remove.

We found one recommendation at Specialty-Coffee-Advisor.com for the Bodum C-Mill 5679 (*Est. $25), whose modern shape lists slightly to the right, but owners posting to Amazon.com say this coffee grinder is all style and no substance. The major complaint lodged by users is that this grinder doesn't produce a fine enough grind, even leaving whole beans behind. We also read several reports of the blades falling off, and many say the lid doesn't stay in place.

Out of nearly 185 user reviews at Amazon.com, over half award the stainless steel Cuisinart DCG-12BC Grind Central (*Est. $30) a single star. Many owners say that this blade-style coffee grinder has an exceptionally short life span, and others point out that it's incapable of producing evenly ground coffee. While owners agree that it looks good, most say it's poorly designed.