If you are going to do something, you need to do it right. And when it comes to making fresh coffee at home, there are some important steps you need to take. Having a good coffee machine is a must. But it doesn’t really matter how good the coffee machine you have is if you are not using the freshest and best coffee beans possible.
Any coffee expert will tell you if you really want a beautifully rich and delicious cup of coffee, you need to grind the beans yourself and only as and when you need them. Choosing just any grinder for your coffee beans isn’t really going to cut it. While they are all made with the same purpose in mind, they are not all equal and some are better than others. To have the best cup of coffee possible, you need to have a grinder that will produce a consistent grind.
Now, given how popular coffee beans have become over the last couple of decades, the market is full to bursting with coffee bean grinders. And each manufacturer claims that their models are the best. If you are finding the prospect of browsing through pages and pages of grinders headache-inducing, don’t worry, as we are here to help.
We have done a lot of the heavy lifting for you and selected the 10 coffee grinders we believe to be the best. In addition to our mini overviews of each product, we also have created a comprehensive buying guide to give you further help to decide which is best for you.
Krups Coffee Mill (Energy Class A)
First up, we have the Krups F20342 Coffee Mill. Krups is a German company that was first established in 1846 when it was involved in the production of industrial balances and scales. For more than 110 years that followed, the company was one of the leading names in developing those types of machines.
After the Second World War, they slowly moved on from there to coffee machines and now they make several popular machines and appliances, like this mill. This has a capacity of 75 grams, which translates as 15 cups of coffee and features two stainless-steel blades that turn and chop any beans you pop into it. If you wanted to, you could also use it to grind up various spices too.
We like the fact it has the lid-activated safety feature, which means it won’t be able to turn on until the lid is on top properly With an ergonomic design it is very easy to hold and thanks to its simple and effective single-speed setting, there are no complications involved using it.
Key Features
- Large capacity
- Ergonomic and stylish design
- Lid-activated safety feature
- The single-speed setting for easier use
De’Longhi KG79 Professional Burr Grinder
From one of the biggest names in the electrical appliances market in general, we now want to discuss this great burr grinder. De’Longhi really needs no introduction as they are a widely recognised and highly renowned brand. This professional-standard burr grinder has an impressive 120-grams capacity which, according to the company, enables you to produce around 12 cups of coffee with one grinding.
You can easily select the coffee grind setting you need for your preferred brewing method from coarse to medium and fine and you can also use the cup selector to determine how many cups worth of coffee beans you ground down. Similarly, to the above, this has a sophisticated safety element in that the dual-safe system it has been designed with means it won’t work if either the bean container is not in the machine or it is empty. Rather than using blades, it uses burr grinding wheels, two to be precise, which are very easy to remove and keep clean.
Key Features
- 120-grams capacity
- Transparent bean container, allows you to see exactly what is going on
- Cup selector and grind fineness selector, gives you lots of choices
- 2 x easy to clean and highly efficient burr grinding wheels
Shardor Electric Coffee Grinder with Removable Bowl
Next up, from the less well-known company of Shardor, we have this swish and very slick looking mill-style grinder with an adjustable speed setting that allows its two blades to turn and chop at 20000 to 24000 revs per minute. That basically means you can grind your favourite coffee beans down into the right consistency for your favourite brewing method in just a few seconds.
As everything can be removed, it is very easy to clean. To select different grinding times, you just press down on the lid, making it simple, but devastatingly effective to get that all-important grind right.
Although it’s for coffee you will be mostly looking at investing in this mill for, it is worth keeping in mind the various other functions it can perform, whether as a salt, spice, pepper or nut grinder. This means that as long as you wash it thoroughly between uses, you can really get an excellent return on your investment.
Key Features
- Grinding can be set to between 20000 to 24000 revs per minute speed
- You can easily select the grinding time for different consistencies of the grind
- Can be used for multiple functions
- Easy to clean
Savisto Electric Coffee Grinder
Although this is designed and produced by another brand you may not be very familiar with, this Savisto electric coffee bean grinder is available at an extremely low-price and has several great features that mean therefore it should not be dismissed so easily. For one thing, its stainless-steel blades are powered by a robust and strong 150-watts motor and with a 70-gram capacity, it is very easy to make many coffee cup’s worth of ground beans in next to no time.
It is not just the functionality which has been given some thought, as Savisto has designed a very modern and slight accessory that will sit well with existing appliances and gadgets in your kitchen. As is almost standard, it comes equipped with a transparent lid, enabling you to keep a close eye on the progress of your grinding.
Like the others we’ve discussed, this also features a safety mechanism that means the motor will not start and the blades won’t turn unless the lid is in place properly and the grinding button held down.
Key Features
- Safety mechanism to stop accidental use and prevent injuries
- Easy to use and very aesthetically pleasing design
- Powered by robust 150-watts motor for quick and effective grinding
- Transparent lid allows you to keep a close eye on the progress of the grinding process
Sage The Dose Control Pro Coffee Grinder
Okay, so admittedly, this next model from the popular and reputable brand Sage is a lot more expensive and at the higher end of the price range. However, if you are in the market for the best of the best coffee bean grinder, this might be the one for you. For such a slickly designed and compact little tool, it doesn’t half pack a lot of power and precision.
For one thing, you can select between a whopping 60 different grind settings, based on your preferred brewing method, and covering everything from plunger through to espresso. No stone is uncovered, and it will be very easy and quick to turn your treasured roasted coffee beans into the grind you desire.
The coffee beans simply go into the top, transparent container, are ground down and then the powder, in your preferred consistency and size, is delivered into the smaller container at the bottom. We are simply blown away by how sexy and elegant this little gizmo is and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who can afford it.
Key Features
- Expensive, but offers great value for money in terms of its selectable options and precision
- Powered by a direct current drive and high torque motor
- 60 different grind settings to choose from, to suit your preferred brewing method
- Easy and elegant to use
Wahl James Martin Grinder
Back at a more reasonable price point, we have this simple and easy to use gadget designed in a collaborative effort by esteemed TV chef James Martin and the incredibly popular electrical goods manufacturer and supplier Wahl. This grinder is powered by a 150-watts motor and features two stainless-steel blades like many of the others in our guide.
We love how slick this really is. Rather than standing out like a sore thumb, this could be placed on the worktop in your kitchen and it would just keep up with the rest of the appliances and decor, particularly if you had a very contemporary colour scheme and furnishings. It is also as easy to use as you would want when it’s something you are possibly going to use early in the morning when you are still knocking the sleepy dust from your eyes.
You simply press the button on the front to pulse grind the beans and do this until you reach the consistency you are after for your favourite brewing technique. Thanks to its stainless-steel housing, it is very easy to clean on the outside and inside.
Key Features
- Easy to use and just as easy to clean
- One button operation, pulse it until it grinds your beans to the consistency you want
- The powerful 150-watts motor makes it exceptionally efficient
- Very contemporary and slick design, not garish at all
YellRin Manual Coffee Grinder
Although you are probably looking for an automatic and electric coffee bean grinder, we wanted to throw this curveball of a product in for a bit of balance. There is something incredibly attractive, we feel, about being able to grind your favourite whole coffee beans down into the grind size and consistency you prefer with just the use of your hand. However, more than that, thanks to its wireless, manual design, it means you can have a high-quality grinder to take with you, wherever you go.
The burr grinding core is made from very high quality, food-safe ceramic and thanks to the different settings you can get the perfect grind for your chosen brewing method every single time. Even if that brewing method changes from day to day and hour to hour.
We are also impressed by how ergonomic its design is, with a triangular-shaped body that many customers have suggested is a real joy to hold and won’t cause discomfort or fatigue. It’s also exceptionally lightweight and compact.
Key Features
- Compact, wireless, ergonomically designed and exceptionally lightweight
- Easy to adjust for all popular types of coffee brewing methods, from espresso to Turkish and everything in-between
- Easy to use
- Ceramic burr grinders and stainless-steel housing means it will last for a very long time
Maison & White Manual Coffee Bean Grinder
Sticking with manual for our final product, which comes in the form of the Maison & White hand-crank operated coffee bean grinder. This has a very elegant and almost old-fashioned look and feel to its design, which is incredibly attractive. It is also very easy to adjust so that you can achieve the perfect grind in terms of size and consistency for your favourite and preferred brewing method. You simply lower or raise the locking nut and then grind.
We really just love how easy this grinder is to use. There is no complicated setup, no fussy and convoluted settings. You simply fill the pot and grind the beans. As it does not require any wiring, along with the fact it has such a slick and streamlined design, it does not take up too much space. Not only is this perfect for your kitchen, but it also means you can take it with you wherever you go, whether it’s just to the office or on holiday so you always have access to the type of coffee grind you prefer.
Key Features
- Lightweight, slick and attractive design
- Easy to adjust to produce the perfect grind for your preferred brewing method
- Easy to use and even easier to clean, as all the components can be taken apart
- Affordable and portable
Coffee Bean Grinder Buying Guide
To help you pick out from the 10 products above and make your job a little easier, we have put together this buying guide. In it we will discuss why grinding your own coffee is a must, why, if possible, you should use a grinder as opposed to any alternative implement, tool or appliance and the different options there are out there for coffee grinding machines.
Let’s start.
Why Should You Bother Grinding Your Own Coffee Beans In The First Place?
Although it may seem like an unnecessary and labour-intensive task when you could easily just buy pre-ground roasted coffee, if you are after the most delicious coffee possible, you need to grind the beans yourself.
The flavour developed during the roasting process comes from the oil in the beans and the only way you can really have a tasty cup of coffee is if the oils are released as evenly as possible. And that means they need to be ground evenly.
If coffee means more to you than just a drink you have in the morning that you slam down your throat before getting on with your day, then you need to give it the attention and care it deserves. This is even more important if you have invested a lot of money into a coffee maker or machine and whole coffee beans.
Why Should You Bother Using a Proper Coffee Bean Grinder, Though?
As there are lots of other devices and appliances out there, ones that you may even have in your own home right now, you may justifiably wonder why you should bother buying a proper coffee bean grinder.
As coffee bean grinders are designed with the sole purpose of grinding coffee beans, they are much easier to use than any alternatives. There is also the fact that with most good quality coffee bean grinders, you can alter the grind consistency, which enables you to grind them perfectly for your chosen brewing method.
Therefore, it doesn’t matter if you like to use an AeroPress, Drip machine, French Press or even Moka Pot, you can pick the best type of grind for the type of coffee you want to make.
Which Coffee Bean Grinder Should You Choose?
Now that you know why you should grind your own coffee beans and that you should indeed use a coffee bean grinder, it’s time to discuss which type of grinder you should invest in. Because, as you may already know, there is a lot of different products out there. Fortunately, they can be essentially split up into two distinct categories:
- Blade grinders
- Burr grinders
Which is best, though? Let’s look at them both a little closer.
Blade Grinders
Blade grinders are fairly easy to understand. They have a blade that spins similarly to the propeller on a plane (which is why you will sometimes find that this kind of appliance is often referred to as a propeller grinder). Due to the indiscriminate and not exactly thorough way that it slices through beans, it produces a grind that is not as consistent as you may want, which means the coffee you make with the ground beans is not going to be quite as rich or powerful as what you can achieve with a burr grinder.
However, a blade grinder is still a relatively good choice. Especially if you are not looking to try one of the alternatives, as outlined in our post here, but have a tight budget. While it may not produce the consistent and fine grinding that a burr can, beans ground in a blade grinder is still much better than the pre-ground coffee you’ve bought in the past.
Burr Grinders
Burr grinders, at least for the team here at Best Coffee Beans when we first came across them, were not nearly as self-explanatory as blade grinders. The name alone is simply a bit off. We did at one point think that maybe we had misread it and it was meant to be a Blur grinder because the blades moved so fast.
That, however, is not what it means at all. The burrs are the two serrated, oscillating plates that move together and essentially grind any coffee beans between them down, instead of simply cutting them down. They have a reputation for producing the most uniform grinds in terms of size.
As you may or may not know, concerning coffee bean grinds, the size is incredibly important. And when you adjust the distance between burrs, it gives you an incredible amount of control over how the grinds turn out.
Professional baristas choose burr grinders and if we were pushed to pick one over the other, they would come out on top rather than blade grinders. For the maximum, balanced oil extraction and flavour, they really are the best.
Summary
Well, we hope you feel better informed about coffee bean grinders than perhaps you were when you clicked through to this post. You have 10 great products to choose from, all picked because of their effectiveness and so we covered all the main kinds, from manual to electric and burr to blade grinders.
Not only that, but you have a lot of additional information from our buying guide that will help you to make sure you buy the best coffee bean grinder for you. That is really the key right there to the whole thing – it’s the coffee grinder that’s right for you. We’ve said it many times in many of our posts – coffee is hugely subjective. Not everyone has the same preferences for each individual part of the coffee-making process. Therefore, there is no real right or wrong.
With that in mind, happy grinding and if you choose one of the grinders, we highlighted, we hope it serves you well!