lovers will tell you that the best comes from beans grounded immediately before the is brewed. Old Time drinkers know this by heart. That's why No kitchen is complete without a grinder. Waking up in the morning and grinding up a fresh batch of beans and throwing it into the maker and then anticipating that first sip of fresh hot coffee! Now that is the good life!
What Makes a Great Grinder?
When it comes to grinders, there to basic types. One is called burr grinders and the other is called blade grinders. The difference between these two is basically how the beans are processed. Blade grinders use a spinning blade to grind up the beans. Burr grinders use burrs to grind up beans. Burrs resemble plates with gears on them. One of the burrs is stationary, while the other one spins and grinds up the beans.
When trying to make a great cup of coffee, one has to keep a couple things in mind. The taste of will be affected by heat and uniformity. What this means is, heat is undesirable in a grinder because it damages the beans. The process of grinding is relatively violent, because both blade and burr grinders in produce some heat. And of course, the faster the grinding mechanism runs; the more heat is being generated. Even finer grinds generate heat because of the extra time it takes to grind the beans.
For those who are concerned about the quality of their coffee, one can purchase a low- speed burr grinder. A low speed burr will be more expensive. As well it will take longer to grind the beans. But purists will swear by these grinders as the only way to go for a perfect cup of coffee.
Another very important factor is the uniformity of the grind. With the brewing process, the water spends a certain amount of time passing over the grinds. The uniform grinds are much more efficient at imparting flavor to the water. At first glance, the average drinker may not be able to distinguish that was grinded from a blade grinder vs. a burr grinder. But, to a purist, they will notice the difference. The blade grinder is not very good at creating a uniform grind. However, with burr grinders, they produce an exceptional uniform grind resulting in a much tastier cup of coffee.
Quite frankly, it's a no brainer when it comes to selecting a grinder. The burr grinder s really the only way to go. However, some of the higher end models can cost several hundred dollars, thus putting them out of reach for some of the lovers. However, this doesn't mean that a small budget will always get a poor grinder. Best to do a search online for burr grinders. One can pick up a very nice grinder for under hundred dollars. The selection is almost endless. Most lovers consider a grinder to be an investment and not an expense. After all, who can put the dollar value on a fantastic cup of each and every morning? Yes, it is the good life!