Much as we like the convenience of pods or the ease of using good ground coffee, nothing beats freshly-ground beans when it comes to a great-tasting cup. Ground coffee can be very good, but once it’s roasted and ground it inevitably goes stale, the oil in the beans evaporating as their ground and the coffee’s packed and stored. Vacuum-packing helps preserve the taste and aroma, but ground coffee will never match the smell and flavour of coffee that you ground, minutes before brewing, for yourself.
In fact, grinding your own takes your coffee up another level. On the one hand, you get a richer, stronger-flavoured brew that reflects the subtle differences between different origins, blends and roasts. For another, you can control the grind, enabling you to mill coarse grinds for a filter machine or press, finer grinds for an espresso machine or stove-top espresso maker. And while it’s a bit more effort than just scooping grounds out of a tin or bag, grinding beans doesn’t have to be a hassle; the grinders on test here give you great, predictable results in minutes – and once you’ve tried the grind you won’t go back.
How to buy the best coffee grinder for you
What should you look for in a coffee grinder?
Let’s get the big question out of the way: blade or burr? Coffee grinders (and their close cousin, the spice grinder) come in these two basic types. The cheapest models use a spinning blade which bashes and crashes through the beans, steadily chopping them down until they reach the right grind. Basically, your ground coffee goes from beans to coarse grounds to fine grounds, depending on how long you let the grinder do its work. Burr grinders, on the other hand, mill the coffee between two abrasive revolving surfaces, grinding the coffee up until it reaches the required consistency.
Now, blade grinders can be cheap and cheerful – under £20 – and you’ll still get a better, fresher- tasting cup of coffee than you will from supermarket grounds. All the same, we’re assuming that if you’re splashing out on a grinder, it’s because you want the best-tasting coffee you can get. That’s why we’re going to recommend you go beyond the basic blade grinders and spend just a little more on a burr grinder.
Why? Firstly, the action of the blade on the beans heats them up, cooking the oils and affecting the taste of the coffee – though you may or may not notice the difference. More importantly, burr grinders give a much more consistent size of ground. With a blade grinder you may get some very coarse grounds and some very fine grounds, softening the flavour or introducing unwelcome bitter notes. With a burr grinder, you can make sure you get the optimal, uniform grain size for the way you’re going to brew.
There are flat burrs and conical burrs, steel burrs and ceramic burrs, but they tend to perform pretty similarly. Steel burrs might not last as long as ceramic burrs, but if you’re not brewing commercially they’ll last more than long enough.
How much do I need to spend?
Automatic burr grinders begin at around £35 and the prices rise up beyond £500 to £900 for the most deluxe models. At the top of the range you’re paying for style, consistency, excellent build quality and smart grinding features, but if you just want a great-tasting coffee you don’t have to pay anywhere near so much. You can also save money by going for a manual grinder, though you’ll have to power it yourself; not easy when it can take a good ten minutes to grind the beans for your breakfast espresso, though it’s not so tough if you’re doing a coarser grind for a press or percolater.
What other features should you look out for?
Some automatic grinders are pretty simple. You add beans to a hopper set the coarseness of the grind, then hit a button. Others, however, will have a dial for setting how many cups you want to make or smart, digital controls that allow you to select number of cups, strength or dosage per-cup, and the size of the grind, before dispensing the freshly-ground coffee into the filter or espresso machine handle of your choice.
More expensive grinders will give you finer control over the grind, higher capacities and sometimes larger burrs, which are supposed to produce even less heat than normal burrs, minimising the impact of the milling process on the taste of the final coffee. As always with such things, you have to balance the costs against your desire for ultimate flavour and – frankly – whether you’ll be able to tell the difference on the average day. While well-heeled connoisseurs can afford to spend big, most of us have to be a little more realistic.
The best coffee grinders to buy
1. Hario Skerton Coffee Grinder: A great hand grinder for under £30
Price:£28 – Buy now from Hario
True, this one has an obvious downside – you have to grind your coffee by hand – but the long handle and smooth mechanism make it easier and faster than with many rivals, and you can use the time to contemplate the universe or anticipate a great cup of coffee. You can adjust the ceramic burrs for a finer or coarser grind, and it only takes two or three minutes for a coarse grind or around five for an espresso. The heatproof glass is dishwasher safe and the anti-slip cover on the base is great for stable table-top grinding. Go on, earn your coffee.
Key specs – Type: Hand coffee grinder; Burrs: Ceramic; Controls: Adjustable grind; Capacity: 60g; Dimensions (WDH): 80 x 80 x 195mm
2. Krups Expert GVX231 Burr Coffee Grinder: The best automatic grinder under £50
Price:£40 – Buy Now from Amazon
The Krups Expert Burr Coffee Grinder is about as affordable as a decent burr grinder gets. It’s compact, quick, and very easy to use, with one dial selecting between 17 levels of grind and another allowing you to grind enough beans for between two and twelve cups. The good-sized hopper has an airtight lid, while grounds emerge into. The upper burr can be removed for easy cleaning, and the grounds emerge into a plastic container at the bottom. The Krups doesn’t suffer from the problem of many budget grinders – an inability to deliver a fine espresso grind – but it struggles at the other end, with some users complaining that they can’t get a coarse grind. Still, if you want great, fresh espresso on a limited budget, you won’t get better than this.
Key specs – Type: Automatic coffee grinder; Burrs: Stainless steel; Controls: 17-position grind, one to twelve cups; Capacity: 225g; Dimensions (WDH): 125 x 160 x 260mm
3. Wilfa Svart Aroma: The best automatic grinder for around £100
Price:£105 – Buy now from Square Mile Coffee
This Norwegian coffee grinder delivers great performance at a reasonable price. It’s a speedy grinder and simple to use, with a guide printed on the hopper that tells you how long to grind for specific methods – filter, aeropress, espresso etc. – and all you need to do is dial in the time and press the Grind button to go. The slow-speed motor is designed to produce less heat when grinding, preserving delicate aromas and subtleties of taste. The biggest complaint about this one is that it doesn’t produce the finest or most consistent espresso grinds, but they’re good enough for most drinkers and coarser grinds are nice and uniform. Unless you’re a serious espresso aficionado, you don’t have to pay any more.
Key specs – Type: Automatic coffee grinder; Burrs: Stainless steel; Controls: 5 position grind; Capacity: 250g; Dimensions (WDH): 280 x 170 x 130mm
4. Sage by Heston Blumenthal Dose Control Pro: A great, versatile grinder
Price: £159 – Buy Now from Amazon
Want more control over your coffee? The Sage Dose Control Pro is the way to go. This one gives you 60 grind settings from a coarse French Press to an ultra-fine Espresso. Just twist the hopper to change the setting, dial in the grind time then press to go. Sage claims that the high-torque motor and heavy burrs give you a lot of grinding power with less heat, and the Sage delivers a great, consistent grind direct to your porta filter handle, with two sizes of cradle provided to hold it in place. It’s easy to use and easy to clean, and whether you want coarse grinds or fine grinds, the Dose Control Pro serves them up. A versatile coffee-drinker’s dream machine.
Key specs – Type: Automatic coffee grinder; Burrs: Stainless steel conical; Controls: 60 position grind, grind time; Capacity: 340g; Dimensions (WDH): 200 x 160 x 340mm
5. Sage by Heston Blumenthal Smart Grinder Pro: The best mainstream grinder for under £200
Price:£180 – Buy Now from Amazon
If the Dose Control Pro gives you more control, the Sage Smart Grinder Pro takes precision to the next level. This one calibrates the burrs before use to make sure you get the perfect grind, with 60 grind settings and Sage’s Dosing IQ technology, which automatically adjusts the dose to cope with changes in the grind. The simple controls and digital display make it easy to get the right amount for your shots and cups, with two sized of cradle to hold your filter handle in place. This is a smart, effective coffee grinder, that delivers good, consistent grounds time after time. If you can afford it, it’s our pick of the mid-range machines.
Key specs – Type: Automatic coffee grinder; Burrs: Stainless steel conical; Controls: 60 position grind, program, shots and start/pause buttons, LCD display; Capacity: 450g; Dimensions (WDH): 220 x 150 x 380mm
6. Mahlkonig Vario: A superb high-end grinder for under £400
Price:£369 – Buy Now from Amazon
If you’re ready to spend more on supreme filter coffee or espresso, the Mahlkonig Vario is the grinder to buy. It’s a programmable model with a digital timer and presets for espresso, filter and French press, allowing a ludicrous level of control over the grind thanks to a 10-position grind control with a 20-position fine tune. It’s relatively compact and surprisingly quiet, yet the large ceramic burrs mill away to produce perfect, uniform grinds whether coarse or fine. It also retains fewer grounds than many rival grinders, ensuring they don’t stick around to spoil the next dose. Precise, predictable and solidly built, this is one of the best premium grinders you can get without spending silly money.
Key specs – Type: Automatic coffee grinder; Burrs: Ceramic disc; Controls: 10 position grind with 20 position fine-tune, 3x presets, start/stop buttons, LCD display; Capacity: 200g; Dimensions (WDH): 125 x 180 x 370mm
7. Baratza Sette 270: The best coffee grinder for under £500
Price:£399 – Buy Now from Amazon
Baratza makes some of the best grinders in the business, but the Sette 270 hits the sweet spot between price and performance. It uses what Baratza calls a revolutionary grinding technology, where the stainless-steel cone burr grinds against a fixed ring burr, with coffee passing through vertically into a filter handle or bin. It’s a sleek looking machine, though very noisy, but its fast, easy-to-use and delivers nearly flawless, uniform grounds. Plus, if you’re obsessed with getting an accurate dosage, the Baratza always gets it right to within 0.5g. It’s a fairly pricey grinder and not for everyone, but a real coffee connoisseur’s machine.
Key specs – Type: Automatic coffee grinder; Burrs: Stainless-steel cone and ring; Controls: 30 position macro grind, 9 position micro adjust, three-button timer, LCD display; Capacity: 275g; Dimensions (WDH): 130 x 240 x 400mm