Chopping Versus Grinding

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Topic: Blade Vs. Burr Grinders
Guest: Chris O’Brien, Coffee Cycle Roasting
Title: Founder & Head Roaster
Connect: Coffee Cycle Roasting • www.coffeecycleroasting.com • @coffeecycleroasting

KEY TAKEAWAYS

You’ve got two competing types of grinders—blade or burr.
Blade grinders are cheap and easy to use. A propeller-style blade chops up your coffee beans in all different shapes and sizes of coffee grind. They are relatively inexpensive.

A collage of blade coffee grinders from above. — The blade grinder is inexpensive, but creates an inconsistent grind size.

Burr grinders come in two different styles, the flat and the conical. In both, two pieces of burr, often metal or ceramic, are designed with grooves that are fitted together. A flat burr grinder has two wheels, and the conical has a more vertical wall and reminds me of an acorn in shape.
With either, the coffee bean will be crushed between the two burrs. The distance between the burrs can be adjusted to create a finer or coarser grind size. Across the board, the burr grinder will create a more uniform grind enabling you to extract flavor more consistently, creating clarity in your flavor profile.
Burr grinders for the win. They create a consistent uniform grind size enabling you to better extract coffee flavors from the grinds. They are durable and will be worth the extra money.
- You don’t have to break the bank! Be sure to figure out what you are paying for when comparing models. Often the same burr mechanism will be used in several models. The added expense comes with options that you may or may not need elsewhere.
- Chris and I did a grinder test on ten off-the-shelf models a few years back at Coffee Cycle Roasting. The Bodum Bistro is on the lower end of expense ($75-100) for conical burr grinders. It lacks the bells and whistles of other more expensive models, but it offers a consistent grind size with enough flexibility to grind for multiple styles of coffee brewing.
- Baratza.com lets you shop by burr style, which is a quick and easy way to see the benefits of each style.