There is nothing more compelling than a fresh cup of freshly ground coffee first thing in the morning. For the millions of coffee lovers out there, isn’t it great waking up to the smell of freshly ground coffee and then the aroma of that fresh brew? There are more than 1.6 billion cups of coffee drank every day. If you and all those coffee lovers were to grind your coffee side by side to produce the grind for those 1.6 billion cups of coffee, what a racket you would all make!
There are two types of electric coffee grinders in the market today – the burr and the blade. Of the two the burr grinder, which could further be divided into flat wheel burr and conical burr, is the quieter machine. The blade grinder normally causes a lot of noise as its machine whirrs to chop and slice the coffee beans. On the other hand, the burrs works its way ever so slowly to grind coffee beans but no matter what, it still makes some noise. The decibel fluctuates for each brand though. The more expensive the machine, the less noise it will make.
Wouldn’t it be pleasant then to wake up to the whiff of a great cup of coffee sans the noise? Some “old world” coffee connoisseur still prefer hand coffee grinders for their personal use. They say there’s nothing to beat the sensation of “grinding” their own beans. The manual grinders have long been used for centuries. Today, there are companies that are producing quality hand coffee grinders that are “to-die” for in terms of looks. These hand-cranked coffee mills look like period pieced that would do well as a coffee grinder, a décor and a great topic for conversation.
Why would you want to use a hand-crank coffee grinder then? First, you would save precious energy and help in preserving mother earth. Go green! Second, the machine produces even and uniform grind as there is a knob you can set to control the fineness or coarseness of the grind. Third, the machine is almost noiseless. Fourth, you can take your mill everywhere – camping, office, boating or any off grid location and you can still enjoy freshly grounds! Fifth, the machine is beautiful and would definitely add an “old world” accent to any kitchen.
A regular hand coffee grinder has the capacity to grind beans good for about 6 cups of coffee. There are a lot of quality brands of hand-cranked coffee grinders in the market today. You have the option to buy either a blade or burr hand coffee grinder too. Don’t fall victim to buying decorative hand coffee mills. Make sure that you buy hand-cranked coffee mills with full functions.
If it takes your electric coffee grinder 30 seconds to produce your preferred grind, it would take you from 1 to 2 minutes to make enough ground for your morning cup using a drip coffee maker. The finer you prefer your grind, the longer you need to turn the crank. The hand coffee grinder can produce grinds for coffee makers such as the French press, drip coffee maker, and even stovetop espresso machine. If you want coffee ground for your Turkish coffee, grind even more!
Hand coffee grinders are built to last long. They are usually made of quality kiln-dried wood and metals. They are sturdy and can last longer than most cheap electric blade grinders if you would follow instructions on how to keep and maintain the hand grinder. Instructions are simple enough. First, don’t immerse the whole machine in water. Just wipe dry the wood bin.
