grinder for use with french press

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grinder for use with french press

Postby stusmith » Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:30 am

hi guys,

my aerolatte grinder has died due to an internal combustion problem, so i am in need of a new one. i basically only use the press pot, dont have enough money to buy a good espresso machine. so the Q is what can i get away with in grinder terms, as i presume that i dont need such a good quality grind of bean for use in press pot ? i'm guessing not a blade grinder from reading a recently posted thread :P

anyone recommend ?

cheers

Stu
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RE: grinder for use with french press

Postby BazBean » Tue Mar 18, 2008 10:11 am

Hi Stu

if you have thought you might want to get into espresso my suggestion would be to buy a grinder that is "ready" for when you do that and gives great service in the mean time.

if your only using a press pot I will disagree with most then and say a blade is fine.
in my collection I have one of these and for the cost its a steal ..

http://www.discountcoffee.co.uk/electri ... inder-p191

enjoy the journey :D
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RE: grinder for use with french press

Postby HughF » Tue Mar 18, 2008 2:14 pm

My results with French press using a Rocky DL were noticeably cleaner-tasting than with a Solis 166 (aka Dualit) burr grinder so **personally** I wouldn't go below a Dualit for c. £50. My parents Dualit is still producing very nice results after 4 years of light use for French press.

Cheers,

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RE: grinder for use with french press

Postby Skippy » Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:31 pm

Or an old hand grinder from ebay should give you a good press pot grind and cost you less than a blade grinder.
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RE: grinder for use with french press

Postby zix » Wed Mar 19, 2008 8:53 pm

I second that opinion. Emphasis on old. Advice you to stay away from the new Zassenhaus grinders. Most of them are half crap.
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RE: grinder for use with french press

Postby Aadje » Wed Mar 19, 2008 10:41 pm

A dualit/solis grinder could be just fine for french press, although I don't have experience with the french press.
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RE: grinder for use with french press

Postby Jules » Thu Mar 20, 2008 12:21 am

I use a Solis Maestro Plus with my french press. It's the only grinder I've ever owned so I don't know if it's overkill. I get a fair bit of sludge at the bottom of the cup.
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RE: grinder for use with french press

Postby lukas » Thu Mar 20, 2008 12:53 am

I can only repeat, even if people might disagree: a smaller grinder (like the solis) will work for french press. A better grinder will work better for french press.

Though Jim said that for example the Mahlkönig K30 produces too many fines for french press, especially compared to the Guatemala (or was it the VTA2?).

For me, switching from a Gaggia MDF to a LaCimbali Junior grinder (50mm burrs vs. 64mm burrs) made a hell of a difference in cup quality.
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Postby Tinseljim » Fri Mar 28, 2008 3:17 pm

Hi all, been lurking for quite a while but thought I could post something related to this topic!

I'm actually enjoying the Mazzer Super Jolly for french press. If you turn on the motor before you add the beans, I've found you get much better results. Very even without too much powder. The chute also stays relatively clear with just a small brush out at the end. I'm currently grinding at about 4.3 relative to "0".

I wouldn't like to presume without trying it but I hear the SJ works well for espresso too... :lol:
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Postby Skippy » Mon Mar 31, 2008 4:14 pm

i guess one of those shop bag grinders would be good for press pots too?
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Postby lukas » Mon Mar 31, 2008 7:14 pm

Oh yes, if the burrs are ok then hell yes :)
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Postby Bossk128 » Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:03 am

After following the link above to the dicount electric grinder, I think I'm going to try this:

http://www.discountcoffee.co.uk/traditi ... rinder-p22

I need something other than my Iberital MC2 for cafetiere use (MC2 takes to long too dial back in!), and if it's as cheap as this I can take it to work and not worry about it getting pinched/broken. Also, being manual, it won't have a noisy electrical motor.

Are there any other reccomendations before I splash out £10?!?

:P
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Postby HughF » Thu Aug 14, 2008 12:21 pm

Using a drip cone and paper filter might expose the quality of the grinder less than a french press will.
For french press, I'd be looking at a minimum of a £50 Dualit but if it may be damaged or stolen I see your point.

Cheers,

Hugh
Grinders : Macap MXK conical for espresso, Mahlkoenig Vario for Chemex, Macap MC6 (spare when our office was closed) for cafetiere, Zassenhaus Knee Mill for cafetiere when working away from home.
La Spaziale Vivaldi S1 espresso machine. HotTop KN8828P roaster. Chemex manual drip for most brewed coffee plus cafetieres and eSantos.
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Postby petikas » Fri Oct 24, 2008 12:05 pm

Hi all, I am in a similar situation.
I currently use a Mazzer mini E paired with my Gaggia Classic for espresso.
The problem is that when I need to grind for french press I have to turn the adjustment way too much and even worse I waste a lot of pretty good coffee during the adjustment.
I feel that a separate grinder for french press will make up its cost in coffee savings alone.
The grinders that I can buy from the local market are the Ascasos, the starbucks barista and the bodum antigua. The ascasos are way better than the other two, but I'm worried that the micro adjustment will be too much of a hassle to adjust (french press/drip/aeropress), also they are more expensive.
Since my non espresso needs are limited I tried going down the manual grinder road but I really don't think it can work as I tried an old ungenthal hand grinder and produced very inconsistent results (worn blades probably). I also heard pretty bad things about the new zassenhaus's and buying a refurbished one from somewhere abroad and shipping it half way across the world quickly adds up the cost to the point that the ascaso i-mini is not much more expensive.
What to do?
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Postby HughF » Fri Oct 24, 2008 1:20 pm

The Starbucks Barista is (I believe) essentially the same as the Dualit grinder at £50-60 in the UK. It has OK grind quality and is very clean to use. There's not much above that which I have used that I would recommend under £200 - the Iberital MC2 is also very slow to adjust (but great for precise adjustments for espresso) otherwise that would be my favourite sensible choice as I don't like the Rocky DL.

Cheers,

Hugh
Grinders : Macap MXK conical for espresso, Mahlkoenig Vario for Chemex, Macap MC6 (spare when our office was closed) for cafetiere, Zassenhaus Knee Mill for cafetiere when working away from home.
La Spaziale Vivaldi S1 espresso machine. HotTop KN8828P roaster. Chemex manual drip for most brewed coffee plus cafetieres and eSantos.
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