Types of Coffee Grinder:
A Beginner’s Guide

If you want to create coffee shop standard coffee at home, exactly like your favorite café, every element of the process is important: from bean to cup.

Possibly the most confusing part of this process is which of the types of coffee grinder you need.

At first glance, grinders might seem like such a simple piece of kit – beans go in and grounds come out. But the variety of factors to think about is quite incredible.

In short, you want a burr grinder with as large burrs as possible. You also want those burrs to have a low rpm, if electric, and be easy to clean. The main takeaway is that size consistency in the ground coffee is the single most important factor.

Here, we’ll go through everything you need to consider when looking for a coffee bean grinder. So, by the end of this article, you will know how to get the best one for your needs. And, you will be one step closer to the perfect coffee set up at home or on the go.

The long answer is a little more scientific:

Firstly, as soon as the beans are ground, the flavor starts to degrade. From the moment they are roasted, contact with the air starts to oxidize the beans, degrading the flavor.

When the beans are whole, this process happens rather slowly. It takes weeks before whole beans lose a significant amount of flavor.

However, once the beans are ground this process speeds up considerably. This is because there is a much larger surface area in contact with the air. Within around 40 minutes of grinding, the coffee has gone “stale”.

So, if you want the best coffee experience at home, you have to grind your own beans.

So, for different brewing methods, we need a different size of grind from the beans.

When brewing, the flavors are extracted from the coffee in a specific order upon contact with the water:

Firstly the acidic, sharp flavors come out. Then the sweet juicy middle flavors. And, finally, the increasingly bitter flavors are extracted.

If your grind is too big or too small you will get unbalanced coffee – either too acidic or too bitter.

This all seems very confusing but there are some simple general rules for grind size depending on the type of coffee maker you are using which we outline here:

Grind Size for Immersion Brewing

If you are brewing coffee where the coffee grounds are in contact with the water for a long period of time, you need a very coarse grind. For example, if making French Press or cold brew coffee where the coffee takes time to steep in the water. This allows you to extract the flavor slowly.

If you use finely ground coffee, you’ll extract the flavors too quickly. This will result in a very bitter cup of coffee. Doing so is known as “over-extraction”.

Grind Size for Espresso Brewing

When making espresso, the coffee is only in contact with the water for around 30 seconds or less. So the coffee must be very finely ground.

If your grind is too coarse, the espresso will be very thin and acidic, this is called “under-extraction”.

Unfortunately, the only way to ensure you get the perfect grind for your morning coffee is to experiment with your grinder:

Say you have a scale of 1-10 for the coarseness of your grind and you start by trying 3. If your coffee is too bitter, then you can try at 4. Alternatively, if using 3 results in your coffee being too acidic, then you can try 2.

Once you have the perfect grind this is what coffee pros call being “dialed in”. Then, you don’t need to worry about fiddling with it again. Unless you change your brewing method, that is.

Although this sounds a bit complicated, it is the easiest way to improve your enjoyment of espresso at home. And it only takes a little bit of trial and error.

Grind Size for Drip Brewing

If your coffee style of choice is a pour over or drip brew, you need something in the middle.

In this instance, you are looking for a medium grind size as you gradually add the water over time.

Now we know why coffee grinding is so important for having a great coffee at home, we need to dive into all the different types of grinders you’ll find on the market. This includes the pros and cons of each one so you can choose the grinder that best suits your needs.

This choice really boils down to where you’re going to be drinking your coffee.

If you’re always going to have your caffeine fix at home or at the office, then you’ll want an electric coffee grinder like the Rancilio Rocky. Simply plug it in, push a button and the job is done. Couldn’t be easier and there’s minimum effort required.

If you’re thinking about having a coffee no matter where you are, then a manual grinder like any of the top 1Zpresso grinders will be best for you. Perhaps you enjoy a brew whilst on a hike or bike ride, or maybe you’re a digital nomad and want to have freshly ground beans no matter where you are in the world.

Manual coffee grinders do have a nice ‘old-timey’ feel. Although if you’re making a few coffees it can get a bit tiring after a while.

In terms of ground coffee quality, there really isn’t any difference between the two methods. The point of difference is much more about which of the manual or electric coffee grinders you choose to buy since not all grinders are made equal.

Burr Coffee Grinders

Burr grinders contain 2 serrated plates – called “burrs” – that come together to crush and grind the coffee beans. Typically, the burrs are made of ceramic or stainless steel making them hardier than cheap plastic blades.

Using a burr grinder produces uniform sized coffee grounds which is essential for brewing a good cup. This makes them the top choice for all coffee lovers.

The space between the 2 burrs can be easily adjusted. Doing so produces coarser or finer grounds, depending on the style of coffee you are brewing. Although some grinders are designed specifically for espresso as it requires very finely ground beans.

The uniformity in size gives the even extraction that professional baristas are looking for to create a great coffee.

As a general rule with burr coffee grinders: bigger is better.

The larger the burrs, the larger the surface area for grinding the beans. This reduces the time needed to grind and helps with the consistency of the grounds.

Bigger burrs are obviously bulkier and heavier so they’re not ideal as portable grinders. But if you’re looking at 2 almost identical grinders and one has larger burrs, go with that one.

Blade Coffee Grinders

Blade grinders are sometimes called “propeller grinders” for obvious reasons. This coffee grinder type randomly smashes the coffee beans to pieces as they spin really fast.

This process creates a lot of irregularity in the size of the coffee grounds.

Therefore, they are considered a far inferior type of coffee grinder to burr grinders in terms of the flavor of coffee that can be made from the grounds produced.

Blade coffee grinders do tend to be cheaper. And ultimately they produce a considerably better end product than buying bags of ground coffee.

But, for just a little more, you can get a burr grinder which will further improve your coffee experience over the pre-ground stuff.

Conical Burr Grinders

Conical burr coffee grinders have two sharp, cone-like ridges that crush the beans into two different sizes: a larger and a smaller size.

The finest setting of the grinder will be the smallest of these sizes. And the coarsest will be the larger of the sizes.

Unfortunately, you won’t always get a consistent grind from a conical burr grinder. However, they are cheaper, quieter, easier to clean and maintain, and also produce less heat than flat burr grinders.

Heat causes the oils released when grinding to evaporate which can ruin the flavor of your coffee.

You’ll find most of the best affordable grinders use conical burrs.

Flat Burr Grinders

Compared to conical grinders, flat burr grinders churn out more evenly sized coffee grounds which can greatly enhance the flavor of the coffee. They are also more easily and accurately adjusted for different grind sizes.

They do, however, come with drawbacks:

Flat burr grinders are expensive, noisy, difficult to clean, and generate quite a bit of heat.

While the potential for more even grounds is what you’re looking for, flat burr grinders aren’t necessarily better than their conical grinder counterparts.

High-Speed Grinders

While looking at grinders you may notice that they mention the blade speed in “RPMs”.

Meaning “Revolutions per Minute”, it is a measure of the speed the blades or burrs are spinning to grind the beans.

Anything described as a “high-speed grinder” is a high-end machine consisting of flat burrs that spin incredibly fast. This requires a large motor to grind the beans in as short a time as possible.

These machines create a very even ground size. The combination of the burr’s large surface area and the speed of the blades mean the coffee is ground before any unwanted friction can damage the grounds.

Whilst high-speed grinders can produce excellent coffee grounds, they are very expensive and very loud.

Low-Speed Grinders

Low-speed grinders come with either flat or conical burrs. The slower speed of the burrs means that they make less noise, generate less heat, and require less maintenance than their high-speed counterparts.

The grounds from low-speed grinders can be just as good as high-speed grinders, as long as they are using high-quality burrs. It will take longer for your coffee to grind but it can be a lot quieter.

Low-speed grinders are either “gear reduction” or “direct drive”. These are pretty much exactly what they sound like.

Gear reduction grinders have a high-speed motor connected to a series of gears to spin the burrs more slowly. This improves the longevity of the grinder. Plus, they are quieter and produce less heat.

Direct drive low-speed grinders are some of the most expensive on the market. Here, a low-speed motor is directly connected to the burrs so they both spin at the same rate.

These grinders have a low RPM, create very little heat or static, and are incredibly durable.

The best thing about low-speed grinders is they are whisper quiet. This means you will find them a lot in commercial or professional spaces as they don’t create a disturbance when they grind the beans.

Dosing Grinders

In a dosing grinder, once the coffee beans are ground they fall into a rotating chamber split into 6 equal sections. Each of these sections can hold around 7g of coffee grounds.

Then, you manually pull a handle to drop a “dose” of grounds into your portafilter before attaching it to the espresso machine.

This particular style is what you will see in a lot of coffee shops. Why? It allows the barista to easily and accurately fill the portafilters with the ideal amount of coffee for either a single or double shot of espresso.

With home grinders, you will find dosing grinders have a function where you can change how many “cups” of coffee you are making and the grinder will dose out that amount of coffee for you.

Whilst they are more expensive, it is a handy feature. It means you don’t have to pay attention whilst grinding your beans in the morning and can just push a button to get the right amount of fresh ground coffee.

Non-Dosing Grinders

Exactly as the name suggests, non-dosing grinders don’t separate the grounds into little chambers. Nor do they weigh out the right amount of coffee for the number of cups you are making.

Instead, they have a simple on/off button and you grind until you have the appropriate amount.

This tends to cause wastage as you’ll mostly grind too much coffee for your needs, particularly to begin with. However, after a while, you’ll probably get it nailed down to almost exactly how much you want.

Perhaps this is just one more inconvenience than you need first thing in the morning though.

Stepped Coffee Grinders

A stepped coffee grinder generally has a knob that you turn which will move the burrs into pre-defined positions or “steps” from finer to coarser grind.

These steps will either be “self-holding” or “lever release”:

Self-holding means the burrs are automatically locked in place at each step. You will hear a clicking sound as they are adjusted.

On the other hand, lever release grinders require you to push down a lever to allow adjustments. Once selected, this must be pushed back into place before grinding.

There really isn’t much difference between the two except a tiny amount of convenience.

Stepless Coffee Grinders

As you may guess from the name, stepless coffee grinders don’t have predefined settings for the coarseness of the grind.

Instead, you will have a (theoretically) infinite number of positions to set your grinder to.

If you only use your grinder for one type of coffee, like espresso or French press, then this coffee grinder type is fine. You can get your setting sorted then just leave it.

However, if you’re going to move backward and forward between different brewing methods and grind levels, then a stepped coffee grinder is the one for you.

These are particularly good for those looking to get a very precise extraction time from their espresso machine. Having fine adjustments can mean getting a change of 1 second or less when pulling a shot. Stepped grinders, on the other hand, may not have this level of fine adjustment.

We get it. This is a lot of information to try and take in.

But, for the optimum type of coffee grinder you want:

• Burr grinder
• Bigger burrs are better
• Lower RPM is better
• Grounds consistency is everything
• Different grinders will be better for different brewing methods
• Being easy to clean is nice

That’s all there is to the different types of coffee grinder. Not so complex after all.

Matt Woodburn-Simmonds

Matt's coffee obsession started in 2006 when working as a Barista. A tendency to turn up to work hungover kickstarted his coffee journey which quickly turned into a love affair. As he moved on to work as a Restaurant Manager and Sommelier, the obsession continued to grow. Now, his passion is helping others to enjoy better coffee at home.