I’m pretty new to the world of coffee, at least to caring about it, anyway. I’ve been drinking drip coffee from pre-ground beans for years but wanted to start getting more into it. I picked up a moka pot and have loved it so far, but I’m stuck either using pre-ground or a blade grinder. I mostly do my coffee around 5:30 in the morning, a few hours before my infant daughter and wife are awake, and don’t want to risk waking them so I was thinking manual. I also don’t have tons of money to spend right now, since most of my money goes toward my daughter. My absolute cap would be $200 CAD but the cheaper the better honestly, as long as it isn’t really bad. I saw the Timemore S3 was very highly reviewed, and I can find it for around $180 CAD right now, so that’s what I was thinking, but I’ve only started doing research yesterday so I’m probably missing a thousand good models. Does anyone have any suggestions for models or blog posts or anything to look at? I’d really appreciate any help. The grinder would be used mostly for moka pot but I do also have a French press (mostly for my wife) and the aforementioned drip coffee machine that I’d like to be able to use the grinder for too. Espresso is off the table due to finances so I don’t need something that can go that finely ground.
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29 daysI bought a 1ZPresso JX in 2020, since it was getting a lot of positive reviews at the time. It’s the only grinder I’ve owned, and has worked great every day since then. I think it has been replaced with a newer model now, but there’s still something similar available. It was expensive for a coffee grinder, but at this rate, seems like it’ll be the only one I ever buy.
I clean it when I remember to (every few weeks…or months) just by grinding some Urnex Grindz cleaning tablets in it.
I have not used it for a moka pot; I only do pour over. I vaguely remember a reviewer saying it has a good grind size for a moka pot too, though.
DO NOT get the cheap Bodum burr grinder.
It grinds the beans to different, consistent sizes well enough, but the thing shits grounds all over my counter. I hate this fucking thing.
So glad to see someone recommend getting a cheapo Chinese steel one off Ali Express or some shit, tho, I’ll try that. I don’t wanna spend fuckin $200 on a coffee grinder, that’s madness.
- 29 days
The baratza encore is still a go to but it’s over your price range. I don’t think there’s an electric grinder much cheaper than that which is equipped with actual burrs - and they’re all loud! Timemore gets good reviews whenever i see them.
- 29 days
You know what you’ll use it for. You have a clear budget. You found a good grinder. Sounds good!
For what it’s worth, the cheaper Timemores could also work, although the S3 is beautiful and works great for your purposes.
- 28 days
Maybe also check out https://kinugrinders.com/
I only see Euro prices, so x1.5 may be cutting it very close. But they offer precision engineering, which will give you a lot of control and reproducibility for your brews. - DagwoodIII@piefed.socialEnglish29 days
There’s a story about Bella Abzug. One day she was with a group of other women and someone spilled gravy on a new silk blouse. Everyone was in a tizzy about finding the best dry cleaner. Finally Ms. Abzug said just use soap and water. Everyone was aghast. You can’t use soap and water on silk!
Why not? What do you think the Chinese emperors used back in the day?
Don’t listen to the people who tell you that you need expensive stuff.
- 29 days
I use a Timemore C2 since years for AeroPress, neat cheap and reliable: I believe a C2S or C3 would be also a good choice while saving a good chunk of money, but the S3 looks really nice, a really solid option!
- 29 days
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cin2IZbKzU
That’s only one opinion but I watched enough reviews to decide on the k6 for my needs. I’ve been happy with it after years with an oxo grinder. I use an aeropress most days with the occasional french press and moka pot.
I got pretty lucky with an aliexpress cash back promo from rakuten when I bought it. They come around fairly often if you’re willing to wait.
I will say, electric isnt always loud, but electric+affordable will most likely be.
Pretty much anything electric grinder cheaper than a baratza encore (which is a great grinder and $150), works by basically spinning a burr really fast, and the impact of the burrs hitting the beans breaks them. Better burr grinders have motors with more torque, and they spin slower, and beans dont “shatter” the same way. This means the real cheapos are very loud, and grind inconsistently.
If you have an infant, though, a hand grinder is probably the way to go. There are a couple things I would look for, especially as a daily user.
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Capacity big enough for your normal usage. I typically use over 20 grams per cup of coffee, but lots of grinders only fit 15, so I’d have to grind twice to get a cup.
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An easy way to drive with an electric drill (e.g. mine has a hex head you can just put a socket driver on), so you can use that when you dont need to be quiet.
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An easy way to see and adjust grind settings. If you just want to do moka pot every day, it’s fine to get one that is “set and forget”, but if you are switching to a coarser grind for French press, you dont want to have to count 43 clicks every time.
Personally, I have a kingrinder that works great for me, but I think any of the timemore or 1zpresso grinders will work great for you, too.
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Try a mortar and pestle. Heh.
Your wife has good taste in coffee. French press is the way to go! Never understood the allure of a moka pot, except for camping (making coffee on the fire.)
I use a Timemore Chestnut C3 (about $100CAD) with a Clever Dripper (about $45CAD) for my daily coffees,
and (though, I know you’re not doing espresso) a Breville Infuser & Eureka Facile (got 'em both for $800CAD total) for my shots & lattes.
- 29 days
I don’t know the hand grinder space enough to make a recommendation but I’ll at least suggest you don’t get anything too cheap. My first grinder was some dropshipped hand grinder I got for about $15 and it made me never want a hand grinder again.
