How To Find A Really Good Coffee Grinder Part 2

The Search For An Affordable Quality Coffee Grinder Continues

Step two in purchasing a coffee grinder should always be research. Be realistic when doing this. Stick to your budget and your needs to find the right grinder for your coffee beans.

I decided upon a price point of $100 or less – as this fits my budget best. No, I am not getting rich on this blog – if you want to help, click on the donate button on the left, or buy one of my sponsored products on the blog. (No charge for this Public Service Announcement.)

You should always base your coffee grinder choice upon your needs. Since I grind coffee for French Press, Drip and Espresso, I need coffee a grinder that will do all grinds equally well. Unfortunately, this cuts out a lot of the low cost coffee grinders on the market. One drawback to most low cost coffee grinders is that there is a lot of static in the ground coffee – which can make a big mess on your counter if you aren’t careful. What follows below is a brief selection of some the coffee grinders I looked at in my research for the ideal grinder for my dark roast coffee.

I thought of purchasing another Cuisinart DBM-8 coffee grinder, but based upon my experience with it, I knew that it would not grind coffee well for espresso. This grinder does great on coarse and it is really great on drip grinds, so if you have need for only these type of grinds, it's perfect. I personally recommend it for those that do drip and french press only. You can buy a
Cuisinart DBM-8 grinder here.

I looked at the Kitchenaid Pro Line grinder and was not really happy with the price - after all I'm trying to keep this under $100 and the Pro Line ranges in the $200 price range. According to most of the reviews I read, it is an excellent choice if you have the cash. The entire unit is metal and glass with few plastic parts in it. It is designed to last. You can buy a KitchenAid Pro Line Grinder here.

Another candidate was the Nesco BG-88 Burr Mill - the price is very good, but according to the user reviews, this coffee grinder seems to have a fairly high failure rate.

The Black & Decker CBM210 burr mill has an excellent price - around $30, unfortunately, I saw a few negative reviews and some users said that the finest grind is too big for espresso - so that leaves this one out of my possible selections. If you want a low-cost grinder for drip or french press, You can buy a
CBM210 grinder here.

I looked at the Krups GVX1–14 grinder - this one is a little bit higher-priced. It usually sells for $50. It seems to have some problems with failure rate, static build up in the coffee grounds and overall reliability.

Another grinder I considered was the Cuisinart CBM–18 burr mill.burr mill. The downside to this particular grinder, according to a lot of folks, is the noise level. It is very noisy and so therefore it might not be a great choice if you want to keep your house quiet. The grinder seems to be of reasonable quality - some reviews are saying it grinds great coffee. I don't know how it does on espresso since none of the users said anything about the espresso grind. The noise level is still something you have to consider unless you live alone. If noise is not an issue, you can buy a
Cuisinart CBM-18 grinder here.

I also considered the DeLonghi KG79 burr grinder - at $50 it's a good buy. The thing is that I can't find very many reviews on it so I'm not really sure if it's a really great grinder or if there are just not that many people buying it. You can buy a DeLonghi KG79 grinder here.

Another grinder I'm considering is the Bodum Bistro Burr Grinder. This grinder has a glass receiving container which cuts out the static problem that most of the lower end grinders have. It does have several grind settings and a timer to be able to set the grinding time.The only negative thing I found so far was from one reviewer that said that it does not grind a extremely fine espresso grind for the higher end machines. Since I don't have a higher end machine this is still a possible grinder for my selection – it sells for under $100 online. You can buy a
Bodum® Bistro Burr Coffee Grinder here.

So now I have found several candidates, but most of them have been knocked out of the running because of problems in their manufacturing or the quality of their components.

In the next blog in this series, I will let you know which grinder I chose, why I chose it and my review of it as a match to my criteria.

Thanks for reading, and as always, may your next cup be your best!