# Cheap grinder for french press



## HDAV (Dec 28, 2012)

OK so a decent expresso grinder isnt coming way just yet...... but having read some threads on grinders i am wondering about a grinder for french press/drip coffee.

There are several reasons for this, I have some beans i brought back from holiday and want to use them before they go too stale, I have friends family who drink french press no one else has an espresso machine so would a cheaper grinder do the job? What is a porlex like for brewed coffee? any other alternatives hario? They seem to be in short supply at present


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## Kyle548 (Jan 24, 2013)

Just because it's brewed, don't expect it to be cheap.

Saying that, the Hario at least is not good at French press at all.

What tends to happen is that if you can do espresso, you can't really do a brewed grind well with the same burrs.


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## HDAV (Dec 28, 2012)

Thnaks i was thinking of a grinder just for brewed/french press any recomendations?


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

The Hario Skerton is better at French Press than the Hario Ceramic slim which I find better for espresso / aeropress

Both are currently available via Machina Espresso


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## shrink (Nov 12, 2012)

I may need to go pick up one of those. Ive spoken to the guys from Machina a couple of times, and they are great. I fancy a hand grinder for my 1 cup french press to be used at work!


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## dsc (Jun 7, 2013)

I'd say a decent FP / brewed coffee grinder is harder to find that one for espresso. This is due to the fact that a lot of cheaper grinders (ie. hand grinders) don't use support on the lower part of the shaft, which holds the burr in place. On a fine grind, this seems to work, as the beans tend to center the burr and help it align, but on coarser settings the burr wobbles from side to side heavily and produces anything from boulders to super fine dust. If you're not aware of this yet, brewed coffee needs uniform grind without dust.

Regards,

T.


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Totally with Tom here, if you want the best out of brewed methodology you would probably spend more than on a grinder for espresso. If you are not that fussy about getting exceptional coffee then you could opt for an or lido they apparently do decent grind for brewed.


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## dsc (Jun 7, 2013)

The other issue which I haven't mentioned above is the fact that brewed coffee burr sets are cut differently from espresso ones. I don't think there's a conical burr set for brewed, they seem to be mostly flat burr grinders (ie. Mahlkonig Guatemala / Kenia and similar). So even with a properly aligned and supported shaft on a hand grinder with a standard conical burr set, you will still get some fines which are not best for brewed coffee.

On the other hand you can always sift the grinds if you've got time.

Regards,

T.


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## aphelion (Nov 23, 2012)

As mentioned above, burr wobble produces very inconsistent coarse grinding (certainly true of an un-modified porlex).

I can confirm that the OE lido is excellent for brewed coffee.

There is no burr wobble on a coarse grind (a long central spindle with fixed bearings at each end).

I look for this design in any hand grinder - particularly if grinding coarse


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

aphelion said:


> As mentioned above, burr wobble produces very inconsistent coarse grinding (certainly true of an un-modified porlex).
> 
> I can confirm that the OE lido is excellent for brewed coffee.
> 
> ...


Lido is currently in the mark 2 design tho I think , so you may be looking at buying the mark one second hand .


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## Java Jive (Sep 21, 2013)

I'm just enjoying my very first coffee brewed in a Bodum cafetiere from beans ground in a tall Porlex. As I'm not worried by sludge at the end of the cup and prefer to get a more consistent grind, I set it at 7 clicks from burr lock which the 'net tells me should be a medium grind. I'm very happy with the result although of course I'll try different settings too. In any case, it's a noticeable improvement over the coffee I was getting from a blade grinder or pre-ground.

That said, I am planning on getting the new Lido or maybe the new grinder from Made-by-Knock. However the Lido is 2 months away according to the recent posts made in this forum by Orphan Espresso, and I want to see reviews of the Made-by-Knock which I suspect may have a similar time frame. 2 months was too long to wait.

I went with the tall Porlex because it fits neatly into the AeroPress for travel, plus you don't need the Aeropress funnel as you can tip in the grounds direct from the grinder cup into the brew chamber.

P.S. I'm sure many of you know all this, but thought it might help others starting their coffee journey.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

I tend to grind much finer than typical for French press this alleviates some of the burr wobble issues but obviously doesn't turn a Porlex or Hario into a Lido. As there is no "flow" through the bed the risk of overextraction is actually quite low, avoid over agitation & try not to disturb the grinds bed (both can cause defects in the taste at reasonable extraction levels) and you can grind finer than you think the plunger mesh will allow. Several folk have experimented with adding filter papers between the plunger base & mesh too (I haven't tried this), as well as secondary filtering through an Aeropress (like Earlepap has suggested on this forum).


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## Kyle548 (Jan 24, 2013)

MWJB said:


> I tend to grind much finer than typical for French press this alleviates some of the burr wobble issues but obviously doesn't turn a Porlex or Hario into a Lido. As there is no "flow" through the bed the risk of overextraction is actually quite low, avoid over agitation & try not to disturb the grinds bed (both can cause defects in the taste at reasonable extraction levels) and you can grind finer than you think the plunger mesh will allow. Several folk have experimented with adding filter papers between the plunger base & mesh too (I haven't tried this), as well as secondary filtering through an Aeropress (like Earlepap has suggested on this forum).


I always thought that using filter papers in a FP was kind of defeating the point.

In that case, why not just make inverted AP?

The point of a FP is that it's lovely and thick and dirty with of those oils in the cup.


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## dsc (Jun 7, 2013)

Instead of using paper filters IN the french press, why not simply plunge and drain through a paper filter, say in an empty Chemex.

Apparently the dust / mud that accumulates on the bottom of a french presssed cup is not very healthy. I can't say I love it, so I have no issues getting rid of it.

Regards,

T.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Kyle548 said:


> I always thought that using filter papers in a FP was kind of defeating the point.
> 
> In that case, why not just make inverted AP?
> 
> The point of a FP is that it's lovely and thick and dirty with of those oils in the cup.


Sure, make an inverted Aeropress, but Aeropress papers let a fair bit of oil through too, and solids (you still get a hazy drink filtering FP though the AP). Heat retention isn't as good with small volumes in the Aeropress (may not be any worse than small volumes in FP), you can brew twice as much in the FP then filter through the Aeropress. Swings & roundabouts...;-) I don't like so much dirt in the cup that it flattens off any sweetness, but sure do like the syrupy mouthfeel.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

dsc said:


> Instead of using paper filters IN the french press, why not simply plunge and drain through a paper filter, say in an empty Chemex.
> 
> Apparently the dust / mud that accumulates on the bottom of a french presssed cup is not very healthy. I can't say I love it, so I have no issues getting rid of it.
> 
> ...


Scott Rao suggested this, and it's certainly feasible, especially (I imagine) with very consistent grind. Fines will change the drain speed (I used to see 10-12mins drain times after pouring a 800g plunged french press into a Filtropa)...so start the pour up around the top of the filter paper & work down, you'll still probably chuck some out. Also the paper itself can change the flavour (in a pourover the grinds bed itself also does much of the filtering), I liked the flavour I got with Filtropa and Kalita wave papers but stalling & cold coffee with a lot of wastage was an issue. The Aeropress is much quicker, up to a certain volume, you still get a nice hot coffee.

The Chemex paper often gives a creamy mouthfeel.

Like I said earlier though, anything you can do to keep the silt settled & out of the cup is my aim, rather than paper filtering.


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