# Cheap Burr or keep blade grinder?



## mdizzle1 (Nov 13, 2016)

Hello,

I am a new poster on this site although I have been a long time lurker.

If anyone can help me answer this question I would be very grateful:

*My Set-Up*

*
*

- Delonghi EC680 Dedica

- Krups KM 75 coffee mill (Blade)

- Coffee - Fresh beans from Redber, mainly Dark Roast Monsoon Malabar.

- I only drink espresso

*
I would like to know if it is worth upgrading my grinder to a burr grinder?*



*
**** I only have a £75 budget however and wish to buy new. Most of the grinders i can find at this price point say they do not grind fine enough for espresso. Considering this will I just be better off with my blade grinder that I can go as fine as I like? ***


----------



## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

Hi, welcome to the forum. Unfortunately a blade grinder will not grind evenly enough, meaning that whilst you will have some particles which are technically "ground" some of them will be pulverised. Also, with a blade grinder you don't have any control or consistency, which are both essential for espresso.

Buying a burr grinder for £75 will be a challenge. Usually an entry level espresso grinder in this forum will set you back at least £150, and that's the bare minimum for a super bargain on a second hand burr grinder.

The best you can do is to go on the manual grinder route, like a Porlex mini or a Hario mill. They usually cost around £30 - 40 new.

With the machine you have, it most likely have a pressurised portafilter. Those don't extract espresso as per se, instead it will squirt the water at 9+ bar through a tiny hole, making the beverage look like an espresso. Those type of baskets/portafilters are design as such so they can take supermarket ground coffee, which is on the coarser (and stale) side.

Hope the above is meaningful and helpful.


----------



## Riz (Oct 19, 2015)

There is an iberital burr grinder in the for sale section which is below your budget. Increase your posts and have a look.


----------



## mdizzle1 (Nov 13, 2016)

pessutojr said:


> Hi, welcome to the forum. Unfortunately a blade grinder will not grind evenly enough, meaning that whilst you will have some particles which are technically "ground" some of them will be pulverised. Also, with a blade grinder you don't have any control or consistency, which are both essential for espresso.
> 
> Buying a burr grinder for £75 will be a challenge. Usually an entry level espresso grinder in this forum will set you back at least £150, and that's the bare minimum for a super bargain on a second hand burr grinder.
> 
> ...


Thank you for your response. As my porta filters are pressurized does this mean I can 'get away with' a burr grinder that grinds slightly coarser?


----------



## mdizzle1 (Nov 13, 2016)

Riz said:


> There is an iberital burr grinder in the for sale section which is below your budget. Increase your posts and have a look.


thanks!


----------



## MediumRoastSteam (Jul 7, 2015)

Technically, yes. However, I've never tried it myself.


----------



## mdizzle1 (Nov 13, 2016)

Can anyone shed any light on using the Bodum Bistro Electric grinder with a pressurised basket system? Will it grind fine enough considering I am using a pressurized porta filter or does it need to be just as fine as if I was using a non-pressuried porta filter?


----------



## Riz (Oct 19, 2015)

I had a delonghi icona when I first started out and I managed to make it unpressurised by removing the little device in the portafilter. Have a look on the web and you may be able to do the same with yours.


----------



## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

mdizzle1 said:


> Can anyone shed any light on using the Bodum Bistro Electric grinder with a pressurised basket system? Will it grind fine enough considering I am using a pressurized porta filter or does it need to be just as fine as if I was using a non-pressuried porta filter?


Pressurised filters only have one reason to exist: they make stale coffee 'look' good by forcing a fake crema out of the shot. They are literally there to deceive the consumer, although I'm sure manufacturers would give you some spiel about how it help the coffee taste good.

None of us here will have any experience using a Bodum in a pressurised basket so its not something we will be able to give you first hand experience of. A Bodum, whilst not very good and often entirely incapable with a non-pressurised machine, will still produce a more even grind distribution (variation in size of particles) than a blade grinder. The less variation, generally speaking the less 'muddy' the taste. However this might make no difference once put in a pressurised filter.

You are buying fresh beans and that is the most important step, but if you want to improve your coffee from here you will need to start thinking about a non-pressurised machine and a proper grinder, and thats a few hundred quid at the low end.


----------



## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

Blade grinders also generate a lot of heat, which kills coffee..

Personally I wouldn't go new with a £75 budget. Bargains can be had on the likes of Glumtree/Fleabay etc. I bought a pair of Mazzers for £80 off Glumtree and another member found a Mazzer in a skip with a blown fuse!

Plenty of advice on the second hand route on here though if you take that road


----------



## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

I would say go secondhand or find a little more dosh. Even just getting to £100 could get you a mini-workout using the excellent hand-cranked feldgrind. Or a little more would get you the infuriatingly-fine adjusting, near-deafening Iberital MC2.


----------



## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

Buy instant for a couple of months and put the money saved towards a grinder.


----------



## Macca (Aug 29, 2016)

Jon said:


> ... a little more would get you the infuriatingly-fine adjusting, near-deafening Iberital MC2.


So Jon, you're a big fan of the MC2?


----------



## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

£100 would also probably get you a second hand Sage Smart Grinder Pro, which is a million times easier to use and nicer to look at than an MC2 and would see you through a machine upgrade or two.


----------



## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

Cheap Burr or keep blade grinder?

with a budget of £75 and want new

In answer to that id say keep the blade grinder. Even more so that you have pressurised baskets.

I had\still have a blade grinder that I used successfully for espresso for ages before I finally got a better grinder.

I could adjust the pour time by grinding for longer or shorted bursts of the blades.

I think i was blitzing 28 grams for 40 seconds for a 1:3 ratio in 35 seconds pour time. Increasing the blitzing time increased the pour time and vice versa.

No retention either









Never found it made the grinds get hot in the slightest, but know thats a common moan about them.


----------



## mdizzle1 (Nov 13, 2016)

Thanks for answers so far everyone.

I've come across this article today on hints and tips of using a pressurised system like mine.

It seems a burr is recommended over a blade grinder and pre-ground coffee is even recommended over the blade grinder.

I think the quality of my beans has made up for my machine somewhat and I'd say my shots are nearly on par with my favourite country coffee shop.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Pull-Better-Espresso-Shots/


----------



## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

mdizzle1 said:


> pre-ground coffee is even recommended over the blade grinder.
> 
> http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Pull-Better-Espresso-Shots/


read the link you posted, but must have missed where it says that.

I still recon a blade grinder is better than using preground from personal experience.

I used pre ground for years, then went to a blade grinder, so much better than pre ground.


----------



## R6GYY (Nov 22, 2015)

Before I got my Sage grinder, I had a Krups Expert GVX231 burr grinder which I used with my Gaggia Baby.

These are available for around £35, and I think there are some other cheap ones. Maybe consider something like this (or find a 2nd hand one even cheaper?) as a starter to experiment with?

Sadly I don't have it any more, or you would have been welcome to it.


----------



## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

At least with a burr grinder you have repeatable consistency, something that you don't have with a blade chopper (as it's not technically a grinder).

Try these...,

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ascaso-professional-coffee-grinder-L-K-/112203631376 (conical on demand grinder)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/coffee-bean-grinder-/302132128296 (flat burr doser)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/coffee-grinders-/262707832649 (flat burr doser)


----------



## thesmileyone (Sep 27, 2016)

Some tips with a blade grinder I have found give better flavor.

When it is spinning tip it around on its axis around 45 degrees, do this north south east west for example.

Grind in short bursts to stop heat, though with a 600w nutribullet I have never found my grinds are hot.

As it is grinding, shake it.

I have been looking on gumtree, nationally, for a few weeks, and if anything it seems to be more where people buy elsewhere and then sell on gumtree for a profit. Those DG79 burr grinders that sell for £35 brand new on Amazon...people are selling those 2nd hand on Gumtree for £50!


----------



## mdizzle1 (Nov 13, 2016)

Jumbo Ratty said:


> read the link you posted, but must have missed where it says that.
> 
> I still recon a blade grinder is better than using preground from personal experience.
> 
> I used pre ground for years, then went to a blade grinder, so much better than pre ground.


----------

