Very Good Price on a Burr Coffee Grinder

[RSteve]

Brim Conical Burr Coffee Bean Grinder $29.99

$70.00 on Amazon

I have two excellent Cuisinart burr grinders, but my son-in-law has never grinded his own coffee. When he buys coffee beans at the grocery, he grinds the total amount at the grocery. I usually find exceptional buys on coffee at less than half of what he'll pay at the grocery, so I buy it, grind it, and bring it to my daughter's house. I think he'll be amazed at how much better freshly ground coffee tastes, so he'll get the Brim grinder and a 2.2 lb. bag of Lavazza beans.

 

[Blackhorse]

Good for you. Do a search on that one and you’ll see some vendirs are asked over $100.

 

[RSteve]

It's back on sale for $30.00 again.

 

[Blackhorse]

Yeah…Amazon is selling it for over $80…prices all over the place online…but not for the $29 it’s going for at Woot.

 

[Brewdude]

Question for all those that have a burr grinder:

What kind of difference does a burr grinder make compared to a whirly grinder? And I mean in your direct experience, with using both a burr and whirly.

Yes I've read the claims that a burr grinder is superior since it's not supposed to volatilize the aroma constituents, owing to the lower grinding temperature. But seriously, just exactly how much of a difference is this in real terms? Is it significant enough to make any noticeable difference? Or is it more or less another bragging point for coffee snobs? No, I'm not trying to be a provocateur. Just want some feedback from those that can speak to this from using both.

I hasten to add I've been grinding whole beans since the early '80's and have always used a whirly. The beans are purchased and ground within a week or so, and yes of course I realize that purists claim they are already stale and past their prime. I've considered roasting my own but never took the plunge.

(As an aside - to date the finest coffee I've ever had was a home roasted Indian Peaberry, med-dark roast to my request, from none other than our own BH. It had pronounced notes of black cherry and was absolutely outstanding. I was sorely tempted to get into home roasting after that. But I digress....)

For too many years I've been using a grind & brew unit - put the beans in, add the water, press start, and hey presto - good coffee within 10 minutes. And of course I'm aware of the proper brewing/extraction temp of the water. The units I've owned have been capable of this task. Currently using a Cuisinart (and yes I de-scale it regularly).

I don't particularly like the cone & paper filter setup, and have never been interested in the French press method. So there's that.

OK, go ahead and disabuse me of my notions....





Cheers,

RR

 

[Blackhorse]

Hey Rande…thanks for the compliment. That was roasted with a Fresh Roast SR 500 (current versions available from Sweet Maria’s). I used it til it died the good death. Some roasts were like ambrosia…others not so much. But when it was good it was ver very good, etc. I have a bigger Behmore roaster now but don’t play with it as much. Dang things have nearly doubled in price…ouch.

re the grinder question: I’d say it was a matter of consistency…like always getting the level of grind you want. With a burr all the grounds are the same size. With blades, the grounds size varies in a given batch, both fine and coarse. So if you’re super picky and have a brew protocol to get a very specific outcome…you get the control to attain it. If that makes any sense. That and if you’re going from a french press that needs a coarse grind to making Turkish that needs it super fine…that would be a good reason the go toward a burr grinder. I’d say if you’re being well served by your use of blade grinders…there’s no reason to change. It begs the question, how good is good enough.

But heck…this burr grinder, for $29 delivered? I decided to give it a shot. Not all that painfull.

 

[RSteve]

I’d say it was a matter of consistency…like always getting the level of grind you want. With a burr all the grounds are the same size. With blades, the grounds size varies in a given batch, both fine and coarse.

Absolutely! I've made my coffee too many ways to count. At this moment, I really am liking the coffee I produce from a small 10 oz Bodum French Press. Most coffee aficionados would say my method makes little or no sense, but I like the product. I place four coarse grind coffee scoops in the Bodum, pour about 4 oz of boiling water into it and stir with a small wooden spoon, then fill the Bodum with the additional boiling water and continue stirring for about a minute. My travel cup is 14 oz. I pour about 3 oz of boiling water into it, plunge the French press and pour into the travel cup, then stir. I know this makes no sense. BUT, when I use the same amount of grounds and use my 16 oz French press and 14 oz of boiling water, the coffee tastes weak to me.

The Brim is sold out.

 

[Blackhorse]

Whatever works.

You know, as I think about things, the aspect that’s made the MOST difference of late comes from filtering my water. I recently obtained a Water Drop Chubby filtering pitcher. Now even with out Oregon water that’s not so bad our system uses Chlorine (or whatever) and the new filter totally takes it out…and a large number of other contaminants as well. The resulting filtered water tastes fantastic. And yes, the coffee is better.

The Water Drop folks claim: “The pitcher is NSF 42 certified for the reduction of chlorine, taste and odor. It is also NSF 372 certified for lead-free material. Using multi-stage water filter technology, this water filter pitcher can effectively reduce arsenic, fluoride, chlorine and other impurities in water.”

 

[RSteve]

St. Paul, MN water is quite good for both smell and taste. (lowering my head) I often use bottled water for my morning coffee.