choosing a grinder - manual or electric?

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choosing a grinder - manual or electric?

Postby JohnParrott » Wed Dec 31, 2008 11:26 am

There are only 2 coffee drinkers in our family. We make only 1-2 brews a day, in a stainless steel percolator. I grind beans, but our grinder died last week.
Rather than just buying the first that came to hand, I thought I'd do some research and found myself in this little part of cyberspace.
First decision: manual or electric?
A manual grinder seems like a greener solution and maybe longer-lived (?), but I have used a manual grinder occasionally in the past, and found them a bit tedious. I found a BELLUX COFFEE GRINDER at the Algerian Coffee Shop (£22.50) which looked good...
Whether manual or electric, any recommendations would be welcome? :)
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RE: choosing a grinder - manual or electric?

Postby Bren_D » Thu Jan 01, 2009 4:13 pm

Hi and welcome to TMC :)

How much money are you looking to spend on the grinder?
Gaggia Classic, Iberital MC2, Dualit grinder, a rather sexy Reg Barber and a collection of various press and moka pots. Oh and an Aeropress :)
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Postby al_bongo » Thu Jan 01, 2009 7:09 pm

Starbucks Barista grinder aka Dualit ake Solis 166. £50 when I bought it, but that wasn't yesterday.

Wouldn't buy anything less and mine has lasted for years, well worth the money.
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Postby Bombcup » Thu Jan 01, 2009 7:27 pm

Are you the John Parrot? I like your punditry. :)
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Postby CakeBoy » Fri Jan 02, 2009 11:17 am

Welcome John :D
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Iberital L'Anna 1 Gp Hand-Fill | Wega Orion 2 Gp | Bezzera 1 Gp | Rancilio Audrey PID | Spidem Trevi
Iberital MC2 Timed | Macap M4 DS & MXA DS | Mazzer SJ | Starbucks Barista Grinder (Dualit E60/Solis 166)
Pinhalense 2x500g Gas Batch/Sample Roaster | Gene Cafe | IMEX CR-100
Aerobie | eSantos | Zassenhaus | Bodum P/Over | Chemex | Hario Woodneck | Timer Filter
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Postby Bren_D » Fri Jan 02, 2009 12:04 pm

al_bongo wrote:Starbucks Barista grinder aka Dualit ake Solis 166. £50 when I bought it, but that wasn't yesterday.

Wouldn't buy anything less and mine has lasted for years, well worth the money.


That's exactly where I was going. I've had mine for over 18 months and have been impressed by how well it has held up to solid use.
Gaggia Classic, Iberital MC2, Dualit grinder, a rather sexy Reg Barber and a collection of various press and moka pots. Oh and an Aeropress :)
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Postby CakeBoy » Fri Jan 02, 2009 12:29 pm

Yes, very good grinders and our 'weapon of choice' for all things Aerobie/brewed :D
www.CakeBoy.co.uk
International muffin blagger

Iberital L'Anna 1 Gp Hand-Fill | Wega Orion 2 Gp | Bezzera 1 Gp | Rancilio Audrey PID | Spidem Trevi
Iberital MC2 Timed | Macap M4 DS & MXA DS | Mazzer SJ | Starbucks Barista Grinder (Dualit E60/Solis 166)
Pinhalense 2x500g Gas Batch/Sample Roaster | Gene Cafe | IMEX CR-100
Aerobie | eSantos | Zassenhaus | Bodum P/Over | Chemex | Hario Woodneck | Timer Filter
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Postby EspressoSquirrel » Fri Jan 02, 2009 4:39 pm

if you had to buy a manual grinder what would anyone suggest? i often think about getting a hand grinder for french press, I'm not spending another £150 just for the occasional coffee and it would be more convenient to use when visiting other people. But back when i last looked around at them i went looking for a zassenhaus grinder, nowhere sold them except for one who then informed me they had serious problems with the manufacturing quality and suggested i should wait till they had either improved or buy a different brand, they recommended a Peugeot grinder at the time, but i gave up with my search.

The hario hand coffee grinder looks nice but i have no idea where you can buy them in the uk
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Postby jon » Fri Jan 02, 2009 7:54 pm

I got one of these. http://www.amazon.co.uk/La-Cafetiere-Bl ... 828&sr=8-2

Quite pleased with it. I posted elsewhere

Grinds evenly enough to make a nice, smooth cup of french press, with very little 'sludge'. Bit of a fiddle to adjust grind, but when you've got it right it works well. Gives at least as good a cup as my bodum burr grinder, and not sure if you'd get an improvement with an iberital MC2.

In terms of downsides, it does take a while to grind. Also, the drawer is slightly small - four desert spoons of beans is a bit too much for it to hold... For twenty quid, though, it's a very decent grinder imo, assuming you've got time to grind beans this way.


One more niggle I found - when adjusting grind, v easy to drop the bit that screws on the top into the grinder. It is then v awkward to remove it from there :evil:

Haven't tried it against by MC2 yet - got a cold atm, so not sure I could taste much difference :( Pretty pleased with the grinder, though I wouldn't want to grind more than two mugs worth in it (pref just one - but then I am selfish...)
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Postby jon » Mon Jan 19, 2009 2:00 pm

Compared to the MC2, it turns out the grind is maybe marginally less even. More annoying, though, is that the La Cafetiere is less adjustable: it can go between too coarse and too fine in one adjustment slot.

Still, though, if I were buying a new grinder for FP, the price difference (and lack of mess, etc) would have me leaning towards the manual...
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Bellux

Postby jpmort » Wed Jul 15, 2009 4:23 pm

Has anyone had any experience of a Bellux manual grinder for espresso grind? I notice it is for sale and it has ceramic burrs.

John M
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