Home Coffee Grinders - Burr or Blade - Which Should I Choose? Articles | Coffee

By: Sally Andersen

If you're new to the flavorful & aromatic world of gourmet coffee, you may be at a loss as to which kind of grinder you’ll need for your fresh-roasted coffee beans. Keep in mind that there are a couple of things that affect the flavor of your freshly brewed coffee: air & heat.

To address the first-air-you need to store your beans in an air-tight container in a cool, dark place-NOT the refrigerator. (Unopened beans can be safely stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.) Some coffee aficionados go so far as to store a small amount of coffee that they’ll use in a few days’ time so they don’t continually open a larger bag & expose it to the flavor-destructive element of oxygen.

The next problem is heat. To really get the most out of your precious beans, it is preferable to grind only what you’ll drink right now. Coffee left on a hot plate more than 20 minutes starts to lose its flavor & can turn bitter. Using a vacuum carafe to store your fresh brew is preferable to leaving it on a hot plate. When choosing a grinder, the best ones are low speed conical burr grinders. This is because the size of the grounds is more uniform & the beans aren’t exposed to very much heat. The beans are crushed against a cone-shaped burr, with the size of the grounds regulated by turning a knob to bring the burrs closer together. With a blade grinder, the beans are unevenly chopped at high-speed, creating the dreaded heat that burns the coffee.

The finer the grind you need (i.e. for espresso), the higher the heat. Blade grinders are available commercially for as low as $18. Burr grinders start as low as $42 & go up from there. (I have seen manual burr grinders under $40. They’re a real plus if you live in hurricane country like me & have frequent power outages. The manual grinders also generate less heat.)

This is a brief discussion of burr vs. blade grinders--but the short answer is a low-speed conical burr grinder because of the uniform grind & reduced heat when grinding. You be the judge. If you have access to both burr & blade grinders, have a coffee-tasting party & ask your guests which they prefer.