The 11 Best Coffee Grinders (2023): Conical-Burr, Flat-Burr, Manual, Blade

by admin March 13, 2023

written by admin March 13, 2023

Photo: Breville

Easy to clean

Breville Smart Grinder Pro

We’ve killed quite a few burr grinders in our time. They can be difficult to keep clean, difficult to maintain, and most that you can find under $80 won’t last very long no matter how well you take care of them. Motors burn out, burrs wear out, coffee dust collects in places you can’t get to – being a grinder is a tough life.

The Breville Smart Grinder Pro is one of the best I’ve ever used. It has all sorts of helpful features like a grind timer and adjustable dosing controls, as well as attachments that allow you to place a portafilter right under the spout where the powder comes out. The outstanding feature for me is the cleanability. You can easily disassemble the hopper, gain access to the burrs and pull out the drip tray from under the spout – it’s amazing for keeping a burr grinder running.

★ Alternative: The KitchenAid Burr Mill ($200) is also very stylish and easy to clean. The ridges are only one bit more accessible thanks to their placement directly under the funnel. It also features precise dosing control and a dial that controls the consistency of the grind (with helpful guidelines for different types of coffee brewing). Plus, you can swap out the small container that catches the coffee grounds for a portafilter holder – making it super easy to grind just the amount you need and not a single bean.

$200 at Amazon

$200 at Seattle Coffee Gear
Photo: Oxo

Best grinder with scales

Oxo Burr Grinder with Scale

Making great coffee is all about starting with freshly roasted beans, grinding them to the right grind, and adding hot water. Make great coffee consequent is about measuring your variables and adjusting them one at a time. A key variable is the weight of the ground coffee used, and this Oxo model is one of the few grinders with a built-in scale. Set your grind size, select your desired weight, press start and walk away; it turns off when it’s done. You could use a kitchen scale to weigh your beans, but this is a nice way to streamline your morning ritual, especially when counter space is at a premium. Be warned though, it tends to shed a bit of coffee grounds here or there when you open the small grounds container, so make sure you sweep your counter regularly.

$285 at Amazon

$300 at Oxo
Photo: Amazon

Best manual coffee grinder

Hario Skerton Pro

WIRED Senior Reviewer Scott Gilbertson prefers to hand grind his coffee, and he’s tried half a dozen manual grinders. The Skerton Pro is by far his favorite. It’s fast, taking less than two minutes to grind half a cup of fine grounds for my moka pot – and the ridge design produces an even, fine grind. Note that we said “good”. This isn’t the best choice for French Press brewing, as the Skerton Pro just isn’t consistent enough at coarse grinds.

On the other hand, the silicone grip keeps falling off. (Scott threw his away since it didn’t do much anyway.) On the plus side, the threads on the grinder part are standard, so if something happens to the jar you can just use a regular Ball Mason jar.

$50 at Amazon

$50 at Blue Bottle Coffee