Grinding coffee beans is an art. You just don’t throw in a handful of coffee beans in a grinder, hit automatic grind and hope that your grinds will come out fine. For the real coffee lovers, choosing the best grinder to go with their coffee makers takes a lot of time. They search the internet, ask friends, and window shop for grinders even. What are the choices for the most suitable coffee grinder for you?

There are technically two kinds of coffee grinders that are popular to coffee lovers. There is the blade coffee grinder and the burr coffee grinder. Under the burr kind, there is the regular wheel grinder and the conical burr grinder.

Conical Burr Grinders may be the best type of coffee grinder today. It preserves aroma at its highest and easily grinds to beans to a very fine consistent. The steel burr is cone-shaped where the large cone holds the beans while the smaller cone grinds the beans at a slow and sure pace. The lower the speed the less heat will be produced. The intricate design of the steel burrs allows a high gear reduction to slow down the grinding speed. The slower the speed the less heat is imparted to the ground coffee thus preserving maximum amount of aroma. The grinding speed is below 500 rpm (revolutions per minute) this burr grinder is perfect for espresso and Turkish coffee. As the burr grind can “grind” coffee beans at the desired fineness, it is also a great complement to drip, French press and percolators.

Burr grinders with disk or wheel type burrs grind at a faster speed of 10,000 to 20,000 rpm. At this speed more heat is produced but is not a cause for worry as it will not leave a bunt after taste on the beans. The conical burr grinders and create a bit more warmth in the coffee (10,000 to 20,000 rpm). This is type is less expensive than the conical burr but it is good enough to produce consistent grinds. This type could be a great partner for any coffee maker but it is best suited for espresso coffee maker. However fine the ground, the degree of fineness is cannot match the ones from a conical burr.

The blade coffee grinder does not actually grind the beans but it rather chops and hacks and rotates the coffee beans with a speed of up 30,000 rpm. The result is bigger and uneven coffee granules that might have a hint of burnt taste. Because of the inconsistency of the grind, coffee dust is created in the grinder and this dust can clog up dandy espresso and French press. The uneven-sized grounds are perfect for drip coffee makers and percolators. This gadget can also grind nuts and spices.

If there are wine connoisseurs who can tell the vintage and from what vineyard the wine came from just by tasting the wine, a coffee connoisseur can tell you if the coffee beans are blade or burr grounded. This is why coffee lovers grind their own coffee.

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.