Blade Vs Burr Grinders
If you’ve made the decision to invest in a coffee grinder and started to look around you might have noticed that there are two different types burr grinders, and blade grinders, but what’s the difference and does it matter?
Well, one of them is consistent, durable, and produces uniform coffee grounds. The other is cheap, uncontrollable, and a waste of your time.
Don’t be tricked.
Any type of coffee grinder is an invest and we are here to help you make the right decision. By the end of this article, you’ll know which type of grinder is which.
Blade Coffee Grinders
Blade grinders are all made with the same design: a double-pronged single blade spins rapidly, chopping up anything it touches. They are generally not designed for coffee and can be sold as spice or but grinders. Generally, they only have a single button that, when de-pressed, causes the blade to spin.
When they are used to grind coffee, the blades blast the beans into a bunch of differently sized pieces. The grounds fall to the bottom of the chamber where the blade is and get chopped all over again. The boulders (big grounds) stay towards the top, occasionally getting hit by the blade.
This grinding style creates grounds beans of irregular shapes and sizes. Sometimes, half the beans are left unground and the heat produced by the rapid spinning can impact the flavour of your coffee, removing some of the fresh flavours that you have paid a premium for.
Different sized grounds brew at different rates, so coffee produced with grounds from a blade grinder will taste unbalanced and disappointing. This type of grinder is normally found at any kitchen shop, but they won’t provide you the coffee experience you deserve.
Pros
Convenient – Press a button for a few seconds, and you’re done
Accessible – Find one easily in a high street shop
Inexpensive – It will cost you less than £40
Cons
Inconsistent – You never know what size your coffee grounds are going to be.
Cheaply Made – not built to last.
Heat – Eliminates a lot of the flavour
Uncontrollable – No option to choose grind size.
Burr Coffee Grinders
Burr grinders are very different than blade grinders. Rather than a spinning blade these consist of two pieces of metal or ceramic called Burrs which have ‘teeth’. These two burrs can be set to different distances apart – the grinder funnels the beans, a few at a time, through the grinding area where the beans are ground to a uniform size. These uniform sized grounds, when brewed, extract the coffee at the same rate and produce a balanced brew – exactly what you’re after if you’re considering a coffee grinder.
The burrs themselves perform a lot longer than cheap metal blades and they create very little heat during the grinding process, leaving the flavours intact.
Burr coffee grinders allow you to adjust the size of your coffee grounds and as different coffee makers require different grind sizes, you’ll be able to use any coffee brewer you want, like a french press or stovetop brewer or an espresso maker.
You can also make tiny grind size adjustments to refine your brew, something that’s incredibly important to get the best out of different beans – every bean requires a slight adjustment to the grind to get the best out of it.
Burr grinders can open up the world of fresh speciality coffee by revealing the benefits of grinding fresh rather than buying pre ground coffee, delivering improved flavour and enabling you to use a variety of coffee brewers and empowering you to make small adjustments between brews to improve your coffee.
It’s no wonder why burr grinders are the industry standard across the globe – and should be in your home too!
Pros
Uniformity – Grinds coffee beans to a uniform size.
Adjustable – Allows you to grind coffee to a variety of sizes for different brewing methods.
Cons
Uncommon – You’re unlikely to find this type of grinder on the high street
Higher Cost – You’ll need to invest at least £100 and up to £500+
While a blade grinder will slightly improve your coffee game, a burr grinder will totally transform it. When it comes to returning on investment you can’t beat the burrs – especially if you go for a less-expensive manual coffee grinder.
