# Predominantly French Press/ Cafetiere Grinder



## DHS_Kenya (Mar 7, 2017)

Hi all.

Have been lurking for a while, trying to make a decision on a first grinder. It seems most people here are discussing grinders for espresso making, which makes sense at the process really shows up a lousy grinder! I will mostly be drinking press coffee, at least to start with, then hopefully go onto espresso sometime in the future, so am looking to get something that can do a great coarser grind as well as a good/ decent espresso grind (if possible). For this reason I was thinking a stepped grinder; something like the Rancilio Rocky. From what I've read this will do a good all round job and is a common entry level grinder. They appear to be around £235 new these days, which is at the top end of what I want to spend.

Are there any better suggestions around this price, considering my main uses? Am I over thinking this and should just be getting a cheap grinder for press and spend more later when I get an espresso maker? I've heard there are good second hand grinders to be had once I get 5 posts, so maybe something from there would be a better option?

Lots of questions, many have probably been asked (I did a quick search, so apologies if this has been covered previously), I appreciate any help.

Thanks in advance

DHS


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

A Rocky will be fine for French press, as will many grinders, including those from Sage, Baratza & Wilfa.

Coarser (than espresso) grinds also make hand grinding (Lido, Feldgrind) less of a chore too.

When you get around to espresso, you will most likely want to keep the espresso grinder dialled in & not make large adjustments between brew methods frequently, so really I'd cross that bridge when you come to it & focus on a value for money grinder that suits your needs now.


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## DHS_Kenya (Mar 7, 2017)

Thanks for the quick reply. Sounds like paying the extra £100 or so for the Rocky might be pointless if I'm only doing press coffee, so might end up chosing between Wilfa and the Encore. Heard very mixed things about the Sage.


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## rob177palmer (Feb 14, 2017)

...but the rocky does look lovely....!!


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## DHS_Kenya (Mar 7, 2017)

It does... Plus those the 50mm flat burrs...


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## the_partisan (Feb 29, 2016)

As far as electric, I think definitely the Wilfa grinder is the best value. You can see it in action here (and also a pretty good method for making FP, note he uses a filter grind rather than a very coarse one):






It has almost 0 retention and generally a breeze to use. It won't work for espresso though.

If you want something you want to be able to use for espresso later, get one of the higher end hand grinders (Feldgrind, Kinu M38/M47, Helor 101 etc...), or you can get a dedicated espresso grinder later on.


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## PPapa (Oct 24, 2015)

I've been a very happy user of Santos No 4 for last few months.

Easy to make it stepless and fits under your budget as well (that is, if you buy used).


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