Why don't they make a less-messy coffee grinder?

[Dan Friedrichs]

It seems like every coffee grinder I've seen is either a blade-type or a burr-type, and has a totally useless means of getting the coffee from the grinder into the coffee maker. The blade-types have this cup, so I have to turn the grinder upside-down, shake really hard, then try to dump the contents of the cup into the coffee maker without spilling. The burr-types all seem to have a reservoir where the ground coffee goes into, so I have to scoop it out with a spoon, meaning I never get it all, and end up with old ground coffee in the bottom all the time.

Why does no one make a coffee grinder where the grinds fall into a funnel with a spigot at the bottom? Then I could just place the little espresso machine coffee basket under the spigot, open it up, and fill it exactly as high as I wanted. The oldest ground coffee would come always be the first out.

[John Coloccia]

Actually, Bunn makes one where you put their filter holder under the grinder, you grind, and you have the perfect amount for a pot in the filter. I haven't see a small one like that, though, and it's really not a bad idea.

One trick for the blade ones is don't just turn it upside down. Give a small shake and turn it upside down while it's still running. That does a decent job of cleaning it out.

[Eric DeSilva]

Search for "dosing burr grinder." Mine wasn't cheap--a Pasquini Moka--but it works well and is built like a tank. Sits on the counter, has a bean hopper that holds almost a full pound of beans, adjustable grind (which you can just leave after you get it dialed in), then dispenses 7g per pull of the lever. Double pull, tamp, done. No muss, no fuss.

[Bruce Page]

We bought a Cuisinart Grind & Brew about a year ago. It burr grinds the beans directly into the filter. I’m sure it wouldn’t be up to standards of a purist but it makes a good cup of coffee, better than any other drip coffee maker that I have had.
http://www.cuisinartwebstore.com/detail/CUI+DGB-900BC

[Dan Friedrichs]

Search for "dosing burr grinder." Mine wasn't cheap--a Pasquini Moka--but it works well and is built like a tank. Sits on the counter, has a bean hopper that holds almost a full pound of beans, adjustable grind (which you can just leave after you get it dialed in), then dispenses 7g per pull of the lever. Double pull, tamp, done. No muss, no fuss.

Wow! Eric, that is exactly what I want. I searched high and low, but never found one until now. That is pretty cool looking...

Now if only it weren't so expensive :)

[Matt Meiser]

I can't help. I have a Krups and it drops some on the counter every time you pull the bin out. Very annoying. I fill the filter from the bin over the sink to keep from spilling more.

[Jason Roehl]

I have a cheap blade-type grinder. I know by eye about how much I need to fill it with beans for either my normal amount of coffee (I brew directly into 1 of 2 20 oz ceramic mugs I have), or for a full pot. Then I grind for a 20-count (~20 seconds). When it's done, I take the lid off and use a cheap basting brush I keep next to the grinder to dust it off into the filter (already in the pre-wet basket). Then I dump the grinder contents into the basket, again using the brush to thoroughly dust it out.

[Bill Edwards(2)]

Anything with the word "grinder" in it, is going to be messy to some degree.:)

[Lex Boegen]

It's funny--just yesterday I was wondering if a pepper mill grinder mechanism would work for grinding coffee beans. The coffee beans are larger than peppercorns, so I doubt that it would work, but I would love to have a pepper mill-type coffee grinder.

[Greg Portland]

Lex, here are a bunch of manual coffee grinders:

http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=14092841

The Hario Skerton is supposed to be pretty good. Note that it takes forever to hand grind enough beans for a few cups of coffee.

[Mac McQuinn]

I have a Baratza Vario Grinder which grinds for french press, brew coffee & espresso. It has a interchangeable front which accommodates both a porta filter & bulk container. Electronically/manually set for grind and duration and has ceramic burrs for non-transference of heat to coffee. I feel it's a huge asset to making great espresso based drinks and super french press coffee. The Porta-filter front and settings allow you to produce the exact amount of coffee grounds you desire, no more no less.

Mac

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

We use a Keurig system so we ditched the grinder long ago. We did pull out the old coffee maker over the weekend though since we had a large crowd coming over in the morning. The wife bought whole beans and didn't have it ground and we couldn't find the old grinder. We *did* find a 'Magic Bullet' grinder/mixer that we got a few Christmases ago, and it claimed to also grind coffee. The top part solves the mess problem (mostly) because the top egg-shaped container comes off the grinder so you can unscrew the top and deal with a more manageable-sized item (just the top container, not the whole grinder). Would I buy one? I dunno......but it did come in handy.

[Jim Koepke]

I bought a Zaussenhaus hand crank grinder many years ago. It has a drawer in the bottom that is nice. I have seen some grinders that are wall mounted with a catch cup underneath that are also good.

211230

I was shocked when I looked up the current price. When I bought that many years ago it was $25. Now it is $110.

I mentioned this to my wife. She doesn't want to sell because she uses it for grinding spices occasionally.

Guess next time I want to grind some coffee a few beans should go through to get the flavor out.

No, I do not want a coffee with hints of cinnamon, clove and allspice.

jtk

[Peter Kelly]

Why does no one make a coffee grinder where the grinds fall into a funnel with a spigot at the bottom? Then I could just place the little espresso machine coffee basket under the spigot, open it up, and fill it exactly as high as I wanted. The oldest ground coffee would come always be the first out.

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/2345874/?catalogId=55&bnrid=3180501&cm_ven=Shopping&cm_cat=Froogle&cm_pla=Electrics&cm_ite=2345874

Think of it as the Festool of coffee grinders.

[Dan Friedrichs]

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/2345874/?catalogId=55&bnrid=3180501&cm_ven=Shopping&cm_cat=Froogle&cm_pla=Electrics&cm_ite=2345874

Think of it as the Festool of coffee grinders.

That's pretty cool, but I still don't get what's up with the cup. I want to replace it with a funnel.

[Peter Kelly]

http://www.technivorm.com/products/dos.html

You probably have to go to Holland to get it though.

[Chen-Tin Tsai]

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/2345874/?catalogId=55&bnrid=3180501&cm_ven=Shopping&cm_cat=Froogle&cm_pla=Electrics&cm_ite=2345874

Think of it as the Festool of coffee grinders.

Uh, isn't that one a blade grinder, which are not quite as good as a burr grinder? $200 for a blade grinder is kinda steep.

I have this one: Kitchenaid Proline Burr Grinder (http://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-Line-Burr-Coffee-Black/dp/B003AM7KIK), which works very well and is pretty minimum on the mess. However, it does take a bit of "shaking" of the glass container below to shake out the grinds that don't fall all the way in.

[Peter Kelly]

I've got both the Technivorm blade and a Krups burr grinder and have found that the burr-ground coffee ends up fine and dusty, which causes over extraction and makes the filter brewed coffee somewhat bitter. The burr also seems to generate a lot of static electricity which makes the grounds pretty much cling to everything and go all over the place. The Technivorm produces the perfect sized grounds for filter coffee every time with none of the static electricity issues. Yes, $200 is expensive but that grinder plus the Moccamaster produce amazing brewed coffee every time. Even the cheaper beans taste great.

[Eric DeSilva]

Interesting. Your results relative to static electricity are at odds with what most people seem to experience. There's usually no parts in a burr grinder that would generate static electricity, unlike a blade grinder. Blade grinders also typically produce grounds that vary widely in size, from dust to chunks. That said, there are people that experience overextraction with uniform fine grinds from burr grinders. I haven't had that issue, but mine is pretty widely adjustable in grind size and I use an espresso extraction process, not a brewer or auto-drip machine.

[Ben Hatcher]

I can vouch for the static cling issue with at least the Capresso burr grinder. The plastic catch bin was supposedly "anti-static coated". That must have worn off because after about a month, whenever I pulled the bin out grinds would fly everywhere. It did make farily uniform grounds, though. At least as far as I remember. I kind-a broke it trying to clean it about a year ago. The Technivorm sounds interesting. I'm using one of those grind and brew all in 1 deals now. I'm happy enough with it.

[Eric DeSilva]

Interesting. Maybe it is a difference between conical burr grinders and rollers. But still, those blade grinders have to produce an awful lot of static. I've got one of the Krups things--I use it for grinder spices--and it is really static-ey.

[Peter Kelly]

The Technivorm grinder is a bit different from the conventional type in that the grounds actually fall away from the blades and into the receptor on the bottom as it chops resulting in a cool, uniform, static-free grind. Has a nice quiet motor (for a coffee grinder) as well. Wouldn't trade mine for anything.

[Jim Becker]

Search for "dosing burr grinder." Mine wasn't cheap--a Pasquini Moka--but it works well and is built like a tank. Sits on the counter, has a bean hopper that holds almost a full pound of beans, adjustable grind (which you can just leave after you get it dialed in), then dispenses 7g per pull of the lever. Double pull, tamp, done. No muss, no fuss.

This if you can. Mine isn't "dosing", but I now know exactly how much bean to dump in the hopper from my sealed storage container for each latté I make. I have very little waste that way. The same can be done if you're feeding a 'regular' coffee machine with a little experimentation and observation over a few days.