I had a relatively high-end Gaggia myself, that’s what’s in my closet now in favor of the aeropress. It was just a giant appliance taking up space in my rather small apartment, and it wasn’t necessary to make great coffee. Freshly grinding, though, that makes a huge difference Tom! You went exactly the wrong way, unless you go through that pound of coffee in 2-3 days.
A Baratza Encore can help you start practicing for espresso, but it probably won’t get the consistency/fineness you’d want for a proper shot.
I’ve been looking at starting with something like an espresso machine (brewer only, no built-in grinder) paired with something like the below manual grinder options:
https://prima-coffee.com/equipment/kinu/m47-kinu-sp
https://prima-coffee.com/equipment/comandante/c40-mkiii
I’d use my Encore and my regular brewers (I have an OXO automatic, a Kalita Wave and an Aeropress) for drip and the above for espresso drinks.
Yeah, I’ve tried it both ways. I think the issue is that I’m not enough of a connoisseur to appreciate the trade off between the convenience of keeping ground coffee around and the finesse of grinding my own beans daily. Also, I think I invested in a good espresso machine, but never did the same for a good burr grinder.
There is a stray blade grinder hanging out in one of the kitchen cupboards. I wonder if I can futz around to get a good granularity for Silvia to pull a decent shot and see if I can appreciate the difference.
-Tom
Probably not. You’re never going to get a good, consistent grind from a blade grinder. You’re always going to have “boulders” and “dust”, as they say.
Yeppers need a burr grinder.
Ceramic.
Haven’t even seen ceramic as an option in any consumer grade home electric grinder. Aren’t they more of a hand grinder thing?
They are usually found in low speed grinders. The low speed doesn’t produce heat, which can change the flavor of the coffee.
I would much rather have an electric steel grinder myself. Hand grinders are for traveling. :-)
I didn’t mean hand grinding. They are in motorized grinders that don’t run super fast. I have an inexpensive one at home.
Fair enough. After some reading though, I am not sure ceramic is better or worse, just different. Like everything with coffee, the answer is complicated.
My understanding is, and @stusser will no doubt correct me, that ceramic is naturally a bit more abrasive than metal.
You get what you pay for either way. A low-end grinder with ceramic burrs is still a low-end grinder.
Very happy with my Breville Double Boiler. 6+ years. I make myself an espresso for iced latte about once or twice a week for reference.
Yep, exactly right. Read reviews, one isn’t necessarily better than the other.
I feel like a $350 hand grinder is getting into Monster Cable territory, but perhaps I don’t belong in this thread.
I’m quite happy with my Cuisinart burr grinder; gets me the same amount with the same grind every morning when I push the button.
James Hoffmann really liked it.
Any hand-grinder is going to be more in the realm of coffee-as-hobby than coffee-as-beverage. When you’re in hobbyist territory, cost doesn’t really matter any more.
I don’t know - I use a $100 hand grinder (Aergrind) because I only grind ~15 grams at a time for pour-over, 3 or 4 times a week (I use the Nespresso the other days). I don’t want a hopper - it looks cool to have a bunch of coffee beans ready to be ground at a moment’s notice, but I’m not going to leave beans sitting out in the light and air like that. Also, my understanding of most electric burr grinders is that they leave a gram or two behind. That’s fine if you’re going to grind more shortly - but again, leaving that in the grinder for a couple of days isn’t a good idea (I could be wrong about the ‘leaves grounds in the machine’ aspect of modern electric grinders - I haven’t researched it).
Some coffee is left behind, certainly, as you aren’t washing the entire mechanism between each use. It is a very small amount, though.