Coffee Bean Grinder

[passedpawn]

I have a Porlex brand Japanese hand burr grinder that I bent the shaft on with a cordless drill, so be careful with that method. I then got a Capresso that's been pretty reliable. I got one of the OXO grinders with a built in scale that I LOVED, both for grind quality and the fact that it had the built in scale, then it started acting up with a currently undiagnosed issue where it seems to clog or otherwise not pass the beans through the mill, setting off the empty hopper stop. So it's back to the Capresso for now, which is smaller, quieter, and apparently more reliable than the OXO.

Odd, I've never had one hiccup with mine. I think I remember seeing something in reviews about certain roast types (oily over-roasted?) sticking in the chute. If anything, I under-roast my beans.

 

[jwill911]

I have the Baratza Virtuoso burr grinder and absolutely love it. Adjustable in a range of 20 different settings that covers espresso, pour overs, french press, drip grinds (probably not turkish coffee, but how many people make that?) to the coursest grind (think cowboy camping coffee). Very consistent in the grind for whatever you select, and zero coffee dust on the countertop. But here's the best feature...Baratza is the only company that sells replacement parts for every part of the grinder. If something breaks, you order a part and fix it yourself. Everything else these days is not made made to be repaired - if it breaks you throw it away. As someone else on this thread said, a good grinder will last you your lifetime. It ain't cheap, but you'll be happier with the product and spend a lot less in the long run.

I also have a Baratza Virtuoso Preciso and love it too. And Baratza technical support is great. I've repaired mine a couple times. I have an espresso machine and make espresso/americano exclusively.

 

[Barbarossa]

I have a Porlex brand Japanese hand burr grinder that I bent the shaft on with a cordless drill, so be careful with that method.

What rpm does your drill make and did you go full monkey on it?

 

[10_degrees_play-doh]

What rpm does your drill make and did you go full monkey on it?

At least 3 full monkeys were gone. lol I'm not sure what speed the drill goes, it was the slower setting on an older DeWalt 18V cordless drill, probably not full speed of that though it was a few years ago... Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to convince you to stop your drill method, I also still drill-power my grain mill, but let's not kid ourselves into thinking these hand mills were designed to withstand drill power. I was also still roasting in a pan at the time so there may well have been some under-roasted beans in the mix.

Odd, I've never had one hiccup with mine. I think I remember seeing something in reviews about certain roast types (oily over-roasted?) sticking in the chute. If anything, I under-roast my beans.

Yeah, I also prefer a lighter roast, usually aim for around city to city+. I thought it was clogging at first, but thorough cleaning didn't seem to help, so I'm thinking it's something else, maybe the burr slipping or off center or something. I've been meaning to contact their customer support about it but haven't yet...

 

[MikeCo]

Oh, I meant BESIDES that one- I actually have a hand-cranked ceramic burr grinder.

I need an electric one- and the blade grinder is a great size but I want to replace it with a burr grinder.

Baratza Encore is $139