Burr Coffee Grinders

Why You Need Burr Coffee Grinder

By deSita Anwarhee

Grinding your own coffee beans is a fairly easy way to guarantee freshness in your cup of coffee. The difference it makes will surprise you. You can also adjust the coarseness of the finished coffee.

The blade variant of coffee grinders allows a varying particle size from the resultant grind. While the burr coffee grinders are able to produce a uniform grind of the beans. A uniform grind is significant for some reasons. First, it provides even surface area for extraction during whatever brews process you may wish to use. Second, for espresso, the uniform grind allows for even wetting and even packing of the grounds.

Burr coffee grinders crush the beans between a moving grinding wheel and a non-moving surface.  The positioning on the burr is what regulates the ground size, which allows for a more consistent grind. There are no shards over the size allowed to fall into the drawer.

In the burr grinder category, there are two different types.

Wheel Burr Coffee Grinders
The less expensive of the two burr grinders. The wheel spins very fast, and this burr coffee grinder can be noisy. The higher speed rotation makes these grinders more messy as well.

Conical Burr Coffee Grinders
The best burr coffee grinders you can get are conical burr grinders.  Conical burr coffee grinder use steel burrs which allow them to grind effectively while rotating relatively slowly, reducing frictional heating of the ground coffee, thus preserving maximum aroma.  The burr spins slower than the wheel model, which makes them quieter and less messy. You can use a conical burr coffee grinder for oily or flavored coffees and it’s not likely to clog, like the other kinds of grinders.

You should also consider ease of cleaning and safety when shopping for a burr coffee grinder. For ease of cleaning, some models feature removable upper burrs and a cleaning brush so the grinding chamber can be reached. For safety reasons, certain burr coffee grinders will not start grinding until beans have been placed in the grinding chamber, whether or not the grinder is open or closed. Others will not grind until the bean container has been set properly in place.

Owners and professional testers agree that the Capresso 560.01 Infinity is the best budget conical burr grinder. Reviews say that the Capresso Infinity Burr Grinder is well built, consistent and well designed. With its 16 settings, commercial-grade steel burrs and sleek black plastic housing, the Capresso Infinity can serve as a crossover grinder for both automatic drip machines as well as espresso.

Check out our other guide about Coffee Maker Programmable.

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