Coffee Grinder

A part of the brewing process which is often overlooked is the grinding of the beans. While is it not such an important decision for low pressure machines like drips, and it's not even an option for pod machines, it is, however, an essential part of the process for espresso, percolator and moka brewing techniques.

Amongst many coffee aficionado's the grinder can become, nearly, or, as expensive a purchase as the espresso machine. Such is the importance they place upon the grinder. But, the question is why is the grinder so important?

Espresso machines, and to a lesser extent, percolators and moka pots, are very harsh on the coffee beans, due to the high pressure level. To enable a good extraction level from the beans they need to be ground freshly and to an exact dimension. When we say freshly ground, we are talking about thirty to sixty seconds after being ground.

What we are talking about is a minimum of one hundred pounds spent on a grinder, which could rise as far as three hundred pounds. Now, grinders come in many different shapes and sizes. The manual grinder is hindered the most due to the time it takes to grind the beans and also the lack of accuracy provided by the vast majority of them.

What we are left with, and the preferable option is automatic grinders,

The price of grinders can extend to over £1000, where we are talking about grinders for commercial use. An automatic grinder should includes steps, which means varying gradients for cutting the coffee granules. A timer is also valuable so that you can use a precise amount of beans and lower the amount wasted.