Any recs on a coffee grinder? For making coffee in an espresso machine. Is it worth the extra $$ for a fancy one?

Question

JZ · Answer

James Hoffman: For the coffee nerds.

JZ · Answer

Clive Coffee: A meta rec: I recently bought an espresso machine and a bunch of gear from these folks and they are AWESOME.

Among other things, when you buy an espresso machine they add you to a perfectly curated sequence of educational emails/videos. Whenever I have a question or am ready for my next step, poof, an email from them appears!

More to your request:

I already had a Rancilio Rocky so didn’t buy a grinder from them. It’s just okay — grind size increments are too small and it retains a ton of coffee.

Yes it’s worth spending big money on! IMHO! Putting it another way, it’s not worth doing espresso if you don’t also commit to a great grinder.

Clara · Answer

Hario’s wooden coffee mill: This thing is such a sensory delight, from the look of it just sitting on the kitchen counter — it’s probably the most beautiful item in my kitchen — to the satisfying crunch of the burrs going to town, to the aroma of the freshly ground beans. It doesn’t take long to use at all, but manages to make every pot of coffee an experience.

Liz Corkery · Answer

Drops of water on your coffee beans: Not here for a product rec but I recently found out that if you drop some water over your beans before grinding you can say goodbye to all those annoying burr bits that poof out and go everywhere. Can confirm it works and keeps things very nice and clean around your new grinder 👌

Lucy Propper · Answer

Baratza encore espresso grinder: burr grinder at this price point it is the best my research found.. I have it in black.

ellie jones · Answer

turin DF64 coffee grinder: ex-barista approved! and approved by my non-barista husband, who was initially intimidated by our new setup. we use this daily for espresso, and it's super intuitive, consistent, well-made, and good-looking on the countertop. once we got it dialed in with our beans of choice, our espresso has been perfect. it was really easy to set up too! i recommend this tutorial video.

i did hours and hours of research about grinders, which led me to avoid buying one for like 3 months. i watched a ton of youtube videos and scoured reddit, and it seems like this is the most recommended and well-liked grinder if you want to spend below $500. it's always on pre-order for a reason. i'm really happy with it!

you can also change the grind size to use it for drip, pourover, french press, cold brew, etc.