Tips for Buying the Best Coffee Grinder
Did you know that coffee tastes better when you make it with freshly ground beans? To make that possible, you have two options: go out every morning to buy coffee grounds or invest in a grinder and take the process into your own hands. If you fancy the latter option, let us show you how to find the best coffee grinder.
| Rank | Product | Highlights |
| #1 |  Mueller HyperGrind Precision Electric |
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| #2 |  Cuisinart DBM-8 Supreme Grind Automatic Burr Mill |
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| #3 |  BLACK+DECKER Coffee Grinder |
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| #4 |  Amazon Basics Stainless Steel Electric |
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| #5 |  COSORI Coffee Grinder Electric |
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| #6 |  SHARDOR Coffee Grinder |
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| #7 |  pipigo Cordless Coffee Grinder Electric |
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| #8 |  Hamilton Beach Fresh Grind Electric CHECK PRICE |
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Best Coffee Grinders
1. Editor’s Choice: Mueller HyperGrind Precision Electric Spice/Coffee Grinder
Key Specs:
- Price range: $20 – $30
- Size: 7.72 x 4.41 x 4.33 inches
- Blade: steel wing blades
When you need a compact and versatile unit for your kitchen grinding needs, here is a product that might be able to help you out. It can process up to 11 tablespoons of coffee, but you can also use it to grind almonds, nuts, or even herbs.
Aside from being portable, this coffee grinder is also very easy to use. It features touch-sensitive technology which means you can grind the beans without putting effort into the process. The lid has a locking mechanism for extra safety and the cord is pretty long.
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2. Runner Up: Cuisinart DBM-8 Supreme Grind Automatic Burr Mill
Key Specs:
- Price range: $50 – $60
- Size: 10.75 x 7.13 x 6 inches
- Blade: metal
Cuisinart is no stranger to making good kitchen appliances so it should come as no surprise that this particular coffee grinder is also excellent. The grinder is large enough to prepare up to 18 cups of coffee, so it’s definitely a good product for those who prepare coffee for multiple people.
The grind selector has 18 different settings, meaning you can choose anything from extra-coarse to ultra-fine. It includes an electronic timer, meaning the machine will shut down automatically when the grind cycle is complete.
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3. Customer Choice: BLACK+DECKER Coffee Grinder
Key Specs:
- Price range: $20 – $30
- Size: 3.5 x 3.4 x 7.28 inches
- Blade: stainless steel
BLACK+DECKER doesn’t just make good power tools, it also has one of the best coffee grinders on the market. The robust blades and grinding bowl are made of stainless steel, ensuring consistent grinds with each usage.
The intuitive push-button control allows you to simply adjust the grind consistency from coarse to fine. With the integrated stainless steel blades, you are able to grind everything from coffee beans to grains.
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4. Best Budget: Amazon Basics Stainless Steel Electric Coffee Bean Grinder
Key Specs:
- Price range: $10 – $20
- Size: 3.5 x 3.72 x 6.9 inches
- Blade: heavy-duty stainless steel
When you’re looking to save money with a decent coffee grinder, this Amazon Basics product delivers good quality for the price. Of course, you can’t expect the world from it considering how cheap it is but it does manage to get the job done without breaking the bank.
It is equipped with a transparent lid that allows you to watch the coffee while grinding it. That means you only have to open the lid when it’s ready, avoiding the unnecessary spill of coffee grounds all over the kitchen counter.
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5. Best Durable: COSORI Coffee Grinder Electric
Key Specs:
- Price range: $20 – $30
- Size: 4 x 4 x 7.6 inches
- Blade: stainless steel
The COSORI coffee grinder is yet another reliable product that doesn’t cost a fortune and gets the job done pretty well. While its design may seem pretty basic, I love how intuitive it is to learn to use this machine.
It has a motor designed with copper wires to make the inside of the machine more durable. The automatic shut down timer causes the grinder to turn off when the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees Fahrenheit. The stainless steel blades also add to the durability of the product.
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6. Best Electric: SHARDOR Coffee Grinder
Key Specs:
- Price range: $20 – $30
- Size: 4.93 x 4.93 x 9.41 inches
- Blade: stainless steel
Another small device that pretty much functions as a beast is the SHARDOR coffee grinder. SHARDOR coffee grinder is both stylish and functional.
The lid-activated safety switch enables you to adjust the powder’s thickness to your liking. it uses the power of stainless steel blades and 200 watts of power to rapidly produce uniform and fine powder.
It keeps the maximum amount of natural taste from coffee beans, making this an invaluable tool for coffee enthusiasts. Operating it is pretty easy. With the lid securely in place, simply press and hold to allow the blades to grind your coffee beans.
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7. Best Portable: pipigo Cordless Coffee Grinder Electric
Key Specs:
- Price range: $30 – $40
- Size: 9 x 5 x 5 inches
- Blade: stainless steel
Best portable
Did you know you could buy an electrical coffee grinder that uses an internal rechargeable battery to power up the motor?
Charging the coffee bean grinder through USB-C and equipping it with a 2000 mAh battery saves time and effort compared to a standard electric coffee grinder. Plus, there are no unwanted cables lying around all the time.
It is equipped with a removable bowl made from stainless steel, making it easier to clean. It also features overheating protection, meaning you can only use it 5 times before it requires a 5-minute break.
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8. Honorable Mention: Hamilton Beach Fresh Grind Electric Coffee Grinder
Key Specs:
- Price range: $10 – $20
- Size: 3.74 x 3.54 x 7.13 inches
- Blade: stainless steel
The Hamilton Beach grinder makes it simple to wake up to the flavor of freshly ground coffee without having to deal with a lot of mess. It is equipped with a removable grinding bowl, so you don’t have to worry about spilling coffee grounds when transferring them.
It is large enough to ground coffee for up to 12 cups, which is great when you have plenty of people craving coffee in the morning. It has a pretty basic and intuitive design, being the perfect choice for people who don’t want to spend time figuring out which button to press.
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You might want to check: Best Coffee Makers
What Is a Coffee Grinder?
A coffee grinder is a device that grinds entire coffee beans to a size appropriate for brewing. It’s a machine that’s usually:
- Manual – You are required to operate a hand crack to get the blades to turn and grind the beans.
- Electric – You plug it in, and it has a motor that powers the blades to grind the coffee.
Different Types of Coffee Grinders
Coffee grinders can be divided into multiple categories, such as electric or manual, burr or blade, or high-speed and low-speed grinders.
• Blade Grinders
Blade grinders do not grind consistently enough to produce high-quality coffee beverages. They are equipped with a blade resembling a propeller used to grind the coffee beans. The grind’s fineness is governed by the timer incorporated into the grinder. The longer the coffee is ground, the finer it becomes.
The disadvantages of a blade grinder are that the grind can range from powder to chunks and that the coffee builds up a static charge, which causes it to attach to almost everything, making it quite messy. As a result of these considerations, we do not propose blade grinders.
• Burr Grinders
The burrs are the grinder component that smashes the coffee beans into a uniform powder, which is necessary for producing an excellent espresso/coffee. Burr grinders are divided into two subcategories: flat plate and conical.
Conical burr grinders are designed with two cone-shaped burrs that use ridges to grind coffee. Flat plate burr grinders are equipped with two rings serrated on one side.
Both of these models use the power of a motor to turn one of the burrs, while the other remains stationary. The coffee beans are pushed into these two burrs and crushed to make the coffee grind.
• High-Speed Grinders
While high-speed burr grinders retain the ability to heat the coffee in the same way as blade grinders do, they give the user greater control over the grind size. Additionally, they generate a rather uniform grind.
These grinders are commonly referred to as “direct-drive” grinders because the motor is directly connected to the burrs, making them turn at the same speed.
• Low-Speed Grinders
These grinders are known for their little to no static charge. They have quiet motors and rarely heat up when being used. They can have conical or flat burrs and are usually gear reduction or direct-drive grinders.
• Direct-Drive Grinders
Considered to be some of the most high-end grinders on the market, direct-drive models are expensive and function using a low-speed motor. The motor is connected directly to the burrs, creating almost no heat and minimal static.
• Gear Reduction
These grinders use a high-speed motor connected to gears which are meant to reduce burr speed. They tend to produce more noise compared to direct-drive grinders.
Tips for Using a Coffee Grinder
It may take some time to match the results of using a coffee grinder to your usual coffee tastes. Here are some tips that might be helpful:
- Brush the coffee grounds out of the grinder after each use.
- Deep clean the grinder every three months.
- Remove any beans that might be stuck in the grinder.
- Don’t let any moisture get inside the grinder.
- Use quality coffee for a better grind.
Tips for Caring for Your Coffee Grinder
Your coffee grinder needs to be cleaned. Coffee grinds can clog it, staying there up to a point where they impact the flavor of your future grinds. Coffee oils coat the different parts of the grinder, so they need to be removed as well.
Here are some tips to help you clean and care for your coffee grinder:
- Take your coffee grinder apart if you can. It will be easier to clean the washable bits one by one.
- Once the grinder is clear of gears and blades, give it a couple of good, hard knocks against your tabletop to remove as much residue as possible.
- Don’t clean your coffee grinder with a damp cloth. Even the least bit of wetness can damage the gears.
- You can use toothpicks for Q-tips for difficult areas to reach with a dry cloth.
What to Look for in a Coffee Grinder
For such a small machine, it’s surprising how many different coffee grinders are available for such a small machine. It’s good that you have so many options, but it’s sometimes overwhelming to choose one because of that. Here is a list of things to look out for when you’re looking to get a coffee grinder.
— Cost
A high-quality coffee grinder is not inexpensive. If money is a major consideration for you, a blade grinder may be the best option. If you’re willing to spend a little money on a grinder that does a good job, you want to take a look into burr grinders that cost between $100 and $500.
Bear in mind that the more money you spend on coffee beans, the more bang for your buck you’ll receive from a high-end grinder. While a larger upfront cost may seem more difficult to chew at first, you’re squandering funds if you fork out a ton of money on high-quality coffee and aren’t receiving the full flavor.
— Grind
Probably the most important aspect in choosing a coffee grinder is the particle size and consistency of the grind. Needless to say, the quality of the coffee you choose also determines the quality of the grind. It’s also important to make coffee using freshly-ground beans, so timing impacts coffee flavor as well.
While most burr grinders are capable of this, there is some variation in how well they perform and the fineness of the consistency they can achieve. Achieving fineness is critical for espresso aficionados, so if you’re a fan of those, make sure to pick a machine that can make fine coffee grounds.
— Speed
While fast speed may appear to be a selling point when shopping for a coffee grinder, it is actually a symptom of less durable equipment. Coffee grinders with high-speed motors generate greater heat, which increases the danger of burning the coffee and affecting its flavor and aroma.
To avoid the heat, you must start and stop the grinder each time you grind the coffee, which results in it taking significantly longer to grind a cup’s worth of beans. Additionally, the start-and-stop action can prematurely wear down the equipment, resulting in a shorter life.
While high-speed grinders with gear reduction can assist in resolving some of these issues, you should generally choose machines that grind at a slower speed.
— Capacity
How many people do you usually prepare coffee for? This is the question you have to answer in order to get a sense of the grinder capacity needed.
Each grinder you examine will be designed to retain a specific amount of coffee each time it is used. If you ground the beans before each brew, you’ll receive a more flavorful cup of coffee.
You don’t really need a large capacity grinder unless you anticipate brewing coffee for multiple people on a daily basis. If it’s only you, a small-capacity grinder will suffice. If you’ll be traveling with numerous other people, search for something large enough to accommodate everyone.
— Size
You want to pay attention to the size of a coffee grinder for two reasons: you might not have that much storage space in the kitchen, or you could want a portable machine.
Given that you’re considering purchasing a grinder, it’s probably safe to assume that you’ve already committed valuable kitchen space to a coffee maker and, potentially, an espresso maker. Thus, the total size of the coffee grinder should be evaluated.
Before you begin your search, determine the amount of room you actually have to deal with. While coffee grinders are not particularly huge, they will need to be stored somewhere.
— Heat
Following particle size, heat is the second most important component affecting the flavor of your coffee. If your grinder heats the beans while grinding, it can burn the grounds and perhaps alter the flavor.
As previously stated, the primary factor affecting the temperature of your grinds is the speed of your grinder and the way the motor operates. One of the key features of some of the more costly coffee grinders is the ability to adjust the speed to minimize the amount of heat produced by the grinder.
While this can significantly increase the initial cost, it can also significantly impact the quality of your coffee flavor. It may be cost-effective for you.
— Material
If you opt for a grinder with ceramic burrs, you will have a product that lasts longer. These burrs are better for making fine coffee for your espresso, meaning they are also more expensive. However, if the burrs chip or break, they are more difficult to replace.
Stainless steel burrs are often the number one choice, but they are more sensitive to wear and tear. That means that you will have to replace them after a few years of use. The good news is that they are cheaper to replace compared to ceramic ones.
— Noise
Some coffee grinders can get really noisy. That doesn’t always impact the quality of the machine overall, but if you’re grinding coffee early in the morning while others are sleeping, it’s surely a downside. Opt for a conical burr grinder if you’re looking for a quieter machine.
Bottom Line
When it comes to choosing the best coffee grinder, a lot of people lean towards burr ones. These are made with stainless steel parts and are capable of crushing coffee beans to a uniform grind.
Even when you choose the best coffee grinder on the market, remember that the actual coffee beans you use will also influence the final taste of your coffee. And for more great tips and recs like this, check out our list of best hand towels.
Photo credit: MyBears/Shutterstock; uduhunt/Shutterstock
Frequently Asked Questions
Many consumers enjoy burr coffee grinders for their ability to grind beans to uniform particle size. This results in a better cup of coffee, prevents clogging issues and allows you to grind beans to the fineness required by your coffee-making apparatus.
One of the major factors that influence the flavor and aroma of your coffee is how fresh your coffee grounds are. With a coffee grinder, you can grind those beans right before making coffee, resulting in a fresh cup of coffee every time.
Yes, coffee grinders need to be cleaned. Coffee dust infiltrates every crevice of a grinder while the coffee’s natural oils will also coat parts of the machine.