Differences between burr and blade grinders

Thursday, June 21, 2007

When it comes to choosing between a burr grinder and a blade grinder, you must first realize what the difference is in order to make an educated decision.

The blade grinder, which is also called the propeller type, is actually the most common of coffee grinders on the market today. However, it is not the best on the market even though some people still prefer the blade grinder to the burr grinder. The blade grinder uses blades to chop the coffee beans to the desired size of granules. With the blade grinder you can control he fineness of your grounds by choosing how long you let the grinder run. However, in most cases the granules are never the same thus producing inconsistency in your ground coffee. This inconsistency can change the flavor of your coffee meaning you will not be able to get the same flavor of coffee with each pot you make. If you do prefer the blade grinder, you can try grinding in short bursts instead of just waiting around for the grinder. Also shake it up every once in awhile to move around the bigger chunks to aid them in grinding. Another probably you may find with the blade grinder is that if you leave the beans in the grinder for a longer period of time to create the fine granules you may notice that your coffee has a burned flavor. This is from the heat that is created by the blades while grinding the coffee whole coffee beans.

Just because this is true of blade grinders does not necessarily mean you will not like the blade grinder.

Many people prefer the burr grinder. The burr grinder uses 2 metal discs instead of blades and is the closest to commercial grinders that you can get for home use. The burr grinder has an excellent degree of uniformity over the blade grinders. These are pretty easy to use, are adjustable, and most come with automatic shut off. You can work with the burr grinder to find your perfect desired degree of granules if the grinder settings are not set to your preference. Another great feature of many of the burr grinders is the catch tray. This means the coffee will be pushed into a different compartment with the coffee brewers and grinders in one machine. You will of course have to pay a bit more for this machine.

When you look at a burr grinder, you will learn there are two types, which are the wheel burr and the conical burr. The wheel burr grinders are a bit on the noisy side and even messier. The conical burr grinder will spin slower than the wheel grinder, which makes it quieter and not as messy.