COFFEE
Choosing the right grinder is key to getting the most out of your espresso machine or brewing kit. There's lots of choice, and areas of consideration include controls for grind adjustment, whether they fit a machine grouphandle / portafilter, the burr type and size, and the physical size of the unit.
Here's our guide to choosing the right grinder to suit your needs from our range.
Blades Vs Burrs (Important!)
Firstly, it's important to understand that coffee grinders can use blades or burrs to 'grind' coffee. BUT, great tasting coffee requires coffee to be ground evenly with less powder (fines) and large particles (boulders). Blades cut and produce lots of both these things, while burrs crush, and produce much less. If you see grinders that are super cheap, it's usually because they are blade grinders and don't have the cost of a burr set involved, which is NOT what you are after.
Hand Coffee Grinders
Hand grinders are an affordable way of achieving good grind quality for the money. They contain conical burr sets and are all capable of grinding for a range of brew methods, including espresso.
Pros
- Low cost.
- Ability to grind across a range of settings.
- Portable - perfect for camping, taking on holiday or to the office.
- Versatile - very easy to change between coarse and fine settings.
- Minimal waste / grind retention.
Cons
- Slower than electric grinders.
- Can be tiring to grind for more than 2 or 3 coffees.
- Course settings on cheaper models result in uneven grind (due to low price point).
Hario - Mini Mill (Espresso & Filter Grind)
The Mini Mill produced by Hario is the industry standard, go to grinder for under £40. It is a very capable grinder at entry level, that will satisfy most beginners in learning about hand grinding. It has a slight drawback in that the courser you adjust it, the less accurate the grind quality is, which results in a slightly uneven grind. That said, it delivers a very good standard for the price, without getting into the world of much pricier pieces of kit.
The Mini Mill is a perfect entry level grinder for most, but not a grinder of choice for the speciality coffee aficionado. Easy to set up and adjust the grind plus it houses around 25g of coffee. Price £35.
Knock - Aergrind (Espresso & Filter Grind)
The Aergrind has proven itself to be one of the best professional hand grinders in the world. Now in its 4th iteration, it's as solid and slick as ever, with what we see as the ultimate in refinement of an already amazing product. It's Knock's smallest, portable grinder that is probably their most popular product to date.
It's compact, high quality, easy to use and fits inside an Aeropress. It grinds to a very uniform consistency with a range from espresso to filter and lots in between. It is stepless, meaning it adjusts very smoothly, and not limited to pre-defined grind settings. Priced at £149.
*CURRENTLY OUT OF STOCK TILL 2025.
Recommended brew methods: Hand coffee brewing / pourover (Chemex, V60, Kalita, Clever Dripper, AeroPress)
Comandante C40 MK4 (Espresso & Filter Grind)
Comandante have become the world leader in precision hand grinders, aimed at the top end of the market. Their latest model is the C40 MK4. It's beautifully presented, with amazing detail and fantastic grind quality all contribute, to a very premium product that has a world following.
It can house up to 50g of coffee, comes with two glass bases (one clear and another tinted) and is very easy to adjust and use. It comes in a range of finishes such as Black, American Cherry, Ambery, Walnut and now new Green, Copper, Red, Blue. Priced from £249.00 Inc VAT
Recommended brew methods: Hand coffee brewing / pourover (Chemex, V60, Kalita, Clever Dripper, AeroPress)
TIP: The one major difference between entry level and high end grinders is that all high end grinders have 3 points of contact along the shaft and the burr set, which removes any 'wobble' which results in larger particles of coffee falling through. Furthermore, in higher end grinders - the burr set is held in place with a spring and controlled up and down very accurately. This makes the adjustment very accurate and smooth, which produces less boulders and fines and much (MUCH) more of a uniform grind.
Electric Coffee Grinders
There are a large range of electric grinders to choose from depending on what your preferences are. Here's the run down of the options we currently have available on our website:
Fellow - ODE (Filter grind only)
If you have a larger budget and aesthetics are important to you, you might want to consider the new Fellow ODE grinder. Fellow produce very slick devices that look minimal and Scandi in style. The come with 65mm commercial burrs, produce a very decent standard of grind and look like they come off a Scandinavian crime drama TV show.
The grind adjustment is on the front of the unit and acts as much part fo the design, as it does it's actual function. Nice features include a metal grinds bin that sits on a magnetised base, which clicks nicely into place, plus a great grind visual inside the hopper lid, providing guidance on grind Vs brewing styles.
They come in either Matt Black or White and are priced at £365.00 Inc VAT.
Recommended brew methods: Hand coffee brewing / pourover (Chemex, V60, Kalita, Clever Dripper, AeroPress), filter machines (e.g. Moccamaster)
Fellow - Opus (Espresso & Filter Grind)
Fellow have now released their Opus model, which is the first (semi) budget grinder that we think actually delivers. It's made predeominantly of plastic parts, but despite this, it has a really nice design, is easy to use and crucially, can produce very good quality grind.
The Opus is capabale of grinding for both espresso and filter at a good level, which is a rareity amongst domestic / home grinders. It does this via a smart clip mechanism that sits under the hopper and above the burrs. The clip basically provides an adjustment that allows you to move from a filter grind 'range' to an espresso grind 'range'. Clever.
It looks very like other Fellow products in that it's minimal, Scandi in design and simple to use. It has a front facing dial for grind adjustment, a girnds bin that flips into place with a magnetic feature, and a series of grind times, dictated by the length of how long you press the power button. It comes in black and white and is priced at £195.00 Inc VAT.
Recommended for: Hand coffee brewing / pourover (Chemex, V60, Kalita, Clever Dripper, AeroPress), filter machines (e.g. Moccamaster), plus all entry level home espresso machines such as Sage, Gaggia, Dualit, Rancilio etc.
Espresso Coffee Grinders
The Eureka Mignon range:
If you looking for a dedicated espresso grinder, then check out the Eureka Mignon. It is arguably the best sub £450 dedicated (It girnds directly into a portafilter basket and not a girnds bin) espresso grinder on the market.
There are lots of other brands out there such as Baratza, Rancilio, Sage, Dualit, Profitec, Rocket etc, but we have tested many (MANY) grinders and we have found that the Eureka Mignon is the best out there considering price, grind quality and build. It's a simple, but highly effective unit that delivers the best quality home espresso for between £299 & £499. There are actually 3 different models in the range:
Eureka - Silenzio (Espresso Grind Only)
A dedicated espresso grinder with a holding fork for grinding directly into your portafilter, in the same way that commercial grinders do. It has manual controls on the side of the unit for timed and manual dosing, alongside 50mm flat steel burrs. It is 6KG in weight and built like a mini tank. It's easy to set up, program and importantly clean!
Perfect for those wanting a solid home espresso grinder without going too far in budget. This is your bench mark for where home espresso grinders are of a decent quality; anything below this for espresso will dissapoint.
Priced from £279.00 Inc VAT
Recommended for: All Rancilio, Gaggia, Di-Longhi, Morphy Richards & Dualit espresso machines. Plus all Profitec & Rocket HX boiler home espresso machines.
Eureka - Specialita (Espresso Grind Only)
Just like the Silenzio, the Specilaita is a dedicated espresso grinder. It's biggest difference from the Silenzio is that is has a neat touch screen, alowing you to program 2 different doses / programs, plus a continuous mode. Featuring 55mm flat steel burrs and 6KG in weight, it's a professional feeling peice of kit. It can girnd a 17g shot in about 10 secs, which is pretty fast for such a small footprint unit. Perfect for those wanting a solid home espresso grinder to pair with a Sage, Profitec, Rocket, Linea Mini or Lelit and other pro-sumer machines.
From £379.00 Inc VAT
Recommended pairing: All Profitec & Rocket HX boiler home espresso machines. Also highly suitable for machines from Sage, Lelit, ECM, Rancilio Silvia! and others.
Mid-range - for home or low vol commercial use
We offer two grinders are geared towards those wanting a slightly higher grade of grind quality (Fluffy and commercial grade distribution) plus improved speed. They could be for home use (for those buying higher end machines), or low volume business locations.
Eureka - Stark (Espresso Grind Only)
This is Eureka's top of the range Mignon Grinder, with less plastic parts, heavier in weight and crucially, much larger 65mm burrs. It's a small footprint grinder, capable of grinding as fast as many commercial units, but for domestic use. Again, it's a dedicated espresso grinder with a holder fork for grinding directly into your portafilter (On-Demand).
Just like the Specialita, it has touch screen controls on the front of the unit for programmed, timed and manual dosing. Featuring Eureka's easy to use grind adjustment dial, the Stark weighs in at 7.5KG. Perfect for those wanting a solid home espresso grinder to pair with a Profitec, Rocket, Linea Mini or Lelit and other pro-sumer machines (Due to it's smaller size). Available in Chrome & Black.
Priced from £525.00 Inc VAT
Recommended pairing: All Dual Boiler Profitec, Rocket, La Marzocco & Victoria Arduino home espresso machines.
Compak i6 (Espresso Grind Only)
The Compak i6 moves more into the realms of a commercial unit, with a more premium build quality and larger in size. It's a little unique in that it delivers grind quality at a speed that few grinders can acheive at such a low price. It features 65mm flat steel burrs, with touch screen controls for programming doses (Up to 3). Grind adjustment comes via a traditional Collar Adjustment on the side of the hopper.
It's the model and price point that sits at the higher end of domestic, but lower end of commercial use, so is used in lower volume cafes and pro home set ups alike. It's arguably less suited to home users (Due to price), but a serious contender for low commercial use due to it's excellent build quality and reliability. Available in Matt Black only.
Priced at £1050.00 Inc VAT
Recommended pairing: All Dual Boiler Profitec, Rocket, La Marzocco & Victoria Arduino home espresso machines.
