Ladies and gentlemen! For your entertainment, with us today are two coffee grinders rivaling for the Title: Best Home-use Coffee Grinder! (Not an actual event.)
Being judged on overall performance as well as taste, these two grinders must out-do each other in every way. But before the competing begins, let's take a moment and get to know the two contestants: a blade grinder and the Hario Grinder.
Blade Grinder: A descendant of a 1920's invention, the blender, the blade grinder is popular for being inexpensive and easy to operate, making it the most commonly found coffee grinder in the average kitchen.
However, the blade "grinder" actually is not a grinder at all! To grind something means to reduce it to small particles by pounding or crushing, where the blade "grinder" is simply spinning its blade to chop the coffee into bits.
The Hario Grinder, true to the definition of grinding, uses its conical burrs to crush coffee beans into smaller particles. Conical Burrs are two cone shaped pieces of ceramic (in Hario) or steel that sit inside one another (see red arrow on left). The outer burr is stationary and notched, while the inside burr resembles a large revolving screw, which pulls beans down, forcing them to break (or be crushed) to fit through gap between the two.
Set Up: With the grinders as the only variable and keeping all other aspects of the process (brew method/time, coffee/dose) the same, both grinders start at zero.
Coffee ground by each grinder will be brewed using Clever Drippers, and then evaluated taste to determine: 1) If the grinder used can effect the taste of a cup of coffee. 2) If so, how? 3) If one is superior.
Ready Grinders?! GO!
Had this been a race, the blade grinder would be the victor, hands down! With just the touch of a button, the coffee was ground in no time! But despite all efforts, an even grind was unattainable, leaving us with coffee pieces of all sizes.
Slow, but steady, the hand powered Hario grinder didn't take more than a minute to grind its coffee. And by thoroughly crushing only a few beans at a time, was able to produce a perfectly uniform particle size!
Brewing Time!
The coffee being used is the delightful Kenya Gatomboya. Already having a soft spot for Kenyan coffees, I love Gatomboya for it's sassy citrus-bounce, swimming in a big ol' pot of fluffy-satin and savory-sweet stewed tomatoes! Wowsaz!
The Results: Coffee made using the Hario grinder was just as I knew it: Fresh pineapples, syrupy roasted apricots, and my favorite, stewed tomatoes!
However, coffee made using the blade grinder was not so pleasant: Not entirely undrinkable, this great coffee was masked by harsh metallic flavors, like wet pennies green with rust! That bangin' citrus had all become too sour, like unripe fruit, and the stewed tomatoes had turned to gamy meat.
Why is that? Turns out that a coffee's grind, or particle size, is one of the more important parts in brewing good coffee. How quickly coffee will be extracted by hot water is completely contingent on the particle size. Meaning, small coffee particles extract quickly, and begin to over-extract, while a large particle may never fully extract in the given time. Which explains why things didn't fare so well for the blade grinder and its mishmash of particle sizes!
Lastly: The Clean Up. By violently chopping up coffee, the blade grinder creates a lot of "dust", or particles so tiny they feel velvety, and stick to everything! Not to mention how bitter and over-extracted these micro-particles will make your coffee in brewing, they also stick to the inside of the grinder, holing up in cracks, making it nearly impossible to fully clean.
Where as with the Hario grinder, you can simply blow on it to remove most of the debris!
So by creating a delicious cup of coffee, plus being fun and easy to clean, I think the winner is pretty obvious. Not to mention the Hario grinder's other qualities, such as: Grinding quietly enough to have a conversation over, making it social! Requiring no electricity, so you can take it anywhere! And perhaps best of all, grinding all that coffee is going to give you some mighty big arms!
Oh! Hario Grinder! You've won me over, once again! I would be honored to make you my Home Coffee Grinder! ♥
Maiyim Mar 6, 2010 – 8:31 PM
Ok, I'm convinced. I finally get it about the small particles over-extracting, and the big ones not enough! and what a big effect that has on the flavor.
Keep reporting your great experiments, Gimme!
karl fisher Mar 8, 2010 – 3:29 PM
this is a great overview - thanks!
Kaytlin. Mar 10, 2010 – 4:22 PM
Ok, I gave into the hype after this adorable plug for the the Hario and got one.
WOW.
It's really satisfying to use (whir whir whir whir....)
but the end result in my morning french press is way more than i expected.
No more half-beans floating up top for sure, but the flavor of the coffee itself was more "consistent" after the second cup instead of being goop.
Pardon the cliche, but it was good to the last drop! Thanks Gimme!
BiGTOE Mar 11, 2010 – 11:45 AM
Just got my hands on my new grinder. I found this post be my deciding factor. I've gone hand powered baby! The funny thing was is that the electric grinder Gimme uses as the Skerton's rival is the exact one I have. The outcome pushed me over the edge. I'm happy to report that UPS delivered it to me just about 2 hrs ago. I've already ground its madden voyage and have brewed it in my Ikea French Press. My official report is WOW! I must admit that the flavor is much more subtile and rich and not as overwhelming as with the electric grind. I like the action of hand grinding and knowing that its one more of my activities that's become "off-the-grid". The only down fall to this purchase was the all Japanese instruction manual. But it was nothing a little internet searching couldn't fix. I recommend this product. Get grinding NOW!
adah.bennion Mar 11, 2010 – 4:57 PM
Yes, the all Japanese instruction manual can be problematic- it certainly had airport security a little confused last time I took it traveling! As for the actual instructions, we have put together a little "translation" to help ya out! Check it out: http://www.gimmecoffee.com/galleries/post_2/
Enjoy!
Christopher Mar 19, 2010 – 8:47 AM
I bought this as soon as I saw it at Lorimer Street. I love coffee and I love gadgets so I had to have it. What I feel is even more important to mention is the fact that even electric burr grinders are better than blade, however unless you're dropping $400+ they won't grind anywhere near fine enough for making espresso regaurdless if they claim it will. With this little $44 gem since you have direct control over how close the burrs are to each other can can pull perfect shots from any machine.
Nick Throckmorton Mar 23, 2010 – 6:32 PM
I love my Hario grinder! If my house was burning down, I might hesitate over the photo-albums, but I would instantly grab my grinder.
It makes a perfect press, a lovely chemex, and even a formidable espresso grind.
Also, what better way to wake up than 250 rotations! Who needs to exercise?
jojo Cpr Mar 27, 2010 – 4:05 PM
Hario rules. I have to admit that at first I pictured grinding up twigs and petals, seeds and beads.
I didn't discover this all on my own. I have a smart kid. He invited me to have a sip. There is no going back.
Kurt May 15, 2010 – 10:32 PM
I use this grinder daily for my espresso shots. It grinds 2 tablespoons of whole bean, enough for a double shot with exactly 63 rotations. (I counted) And it is so consistent that the number of rotations has not changed, even after taking apart, cleaning and putting back together, being careful to count the number of notches past 'tight'. I'm going to get daring and try to pull a true ristretto, but I fear it will choke my machine. We'll see.
adah.bennion May 20, 2010 – 1:04 PM
Thanks for sharing, Kurt! It sure is a great little grinder and I am glad you enjoy it so much! Best of luck with your shots! Let us know how it goes!
Kurt May 25, 2010 – 7:11 AM
Well, as I feared, even one notch tighter choked by machine. Grind came out fine as flour. The little plastic washer that sits atop the burr mount is .030 in. and the distance of one notch adjustment is .009 in. Currently looking for a .0345 in. washer to attain a 'half-step' adjustment. Will post when I achieve it.
Kurt May 25, 2010 – 9:32 PM
Thanks for the encouragement, adah. I work in a plastics plant, so getting the right thickness of material was not an issue. I made the washer, replaced the .030 one with it, reset to my normal grind setting and ground my usual 2 tbsp. coffee. Enough for a double shot. Could not visually tell the difference between this and my usual grind. Loaded the p/f, tamped lightly and pulled the shot. Result? A little over an ounce, pulled in 26 seconds, then the machine choked. A true Risretto shot. Very tasty, too! So a half step finer, (or coarser, if needed for that matter), can be achieved on a Hario, using this method. (Not something I'll do all the time, because it makes for a VERY strong shot!)
Roeland Lenaerts Jul 1, 2010 – 12:26 PM
I would like to do a little test myself. That is checking the grounds of different grinders (electric or manual) from looking to the puck or cake of an aeropress. You can really see different levels of grounds on it. Press your mug. Open the filterholder. Turn it upside down and press down to show the grounds. Do you think this is worth the effort?
Kurt Jul 6, 2010 – 6:11 AM
Thanks, college! I've been churning through my latest purchase, the Black Pearl from Chris Coffee, and noticed lately something disconcerting. A very fine white powder accumulating on the threads of the burr shaft, just at the level of the mounting plate. The threads were slowly churning away at the sides of the mount hole! This would no doubt, over time, make for an inconsistant grind, and eventually ruin the grinder. So I have done a modification of the chamber, cementing a nylon bushing inside the mount, thus extending the mount a full inch. This mod has eliminated the problem, stabilized the burr shaft, and as a side benefit, quieted the grinder substantially! Do a search on coffeegeek for skerton mod if you're interesed.
arneskaug Aug 9, 2010 – 4:39 PM
Kurt: could you post some images of your modifications?