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Studies have shown (I guess I could go google - last time coffee came up on HN there was info shared too) that you can use a very simple heuristic - you give it

Studies have shown (I guess I could go google - last time coffee came up on HN there was info shared too) that you can use a very simple heuristic - you give it a little shake. That is to say - expensive grinders have various ways they create a consistent grind size, and they may even have ways to create different grinds (espresso, for Turkish coffee, etc). You can approximate this successfully with a cheap grinder by doing a grind-shake-grind-shake, as the primary problem with these cheap grinders is that they don't rotate the beans through the grinder as smoothly as the expensive guys. I am but a poor man and an amateur coffee drinker, but for my money (and again - according to the sources who blind studied this stuff...) you can get a perfectly good cup of coffee from a $10 no-name grinder. Now, whether the expensive grinder will make you more attractive to your desired mate or make your enemies jealous compared to the cheap grinder - that's a whole other conversation.

Kon-Peki 4y ago
Ikea used to have a cheap (~$20?) hand-crank ceramic burr grinder. It was excellent for the money, but coffee snobs turned up their noses because it wasn't as good as ones costing 5x. There just isn't a market for such things, or at least there isn't if it is only being compared to very expensive stuff. Ikea might still sell it in some markets, but definitely not in the USA.
- KptMarchewa 4y ago
  >It was excellent for the money, but coffee snobs turned up their noses because it wasn't as good as ones costing 5x. Problem with very cheap burr grinders is that burrs aren't very well supported and can move during grinding. This causes inconsistency in grinding.
  - Kon-Peki 4y ago
    Are you comparing it to a non-burr grinder of a similar price, or are you comparing it to a much more expensive burr grinder?
    - KptMarchewa 4y ago
      More expensive burr grinder. Non-burr grinders are bad regardless of price.
roflyear 4y ago
It will never be possible to get a consistent grind with blade grinders unfortunately.

Kon-Peki 4y ago

Ikea used to have a cheap (~$20?) hand-crank ceramic burr grinder. It was excellent for the money, but coffee snobs turned up their noses because it wasn't as good as ones costing 5x. There just isn't a market for such things, or at least there isn't if it is only being compared to very expensive stuff. Ikea might still sell it in some markets, but definitely not in the USA.

KptMarchewa 4y ago
>It was excellent for the money, but coffee snobs turned up their noses because it wasn't as good as ones costing 5x. Problem with very cheap burr grinders is that burrs aren't very well supported and can move during grinding. This causes inconsistency in grinding.
- Kon-Peki 4y ago
  Are you comparing it to a non-burr grinder of a similar price, or are you comparing it to a much more expensive burr grinder?
  - KptMarchewa 4y ago
    More expensive burr grinder. Non-burr grinders are bad regardless of price.

roflyear 4y ago

It will never be possible to get a consistent grind with blade grinders unfortunately.