# Best sub £50 grinder?



## Somnophore

I am new to the world of good coffee, I'm just looking at a grinder, hand or electric for £50 or less for use in my basic espresso machine or cafetiere for the moment,I'd like to spend more but can't afford it, and I think with limited funds a reasonable grinding and decent beans is the best route into decent coffee. So any recommendations welcome.

coffee machine I have is very similar to this, maybe the older model version.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B003UMHO8G/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?qid=1372891163&sr=8-7&pi=SL75


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## CoffeeJohnny

Hand grinder, porlex, hario skerton or hario mini. that'll do you for filter coffee, espresso it'll be something second hand but I really dont know of anything at that price I am afraid.


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## urbanbumpkin

Unless you pick up an absolute bargain on gum tree I think you're going to struggle with getting an electric grinder for £50 even second hand. You could pick up a porlex hand grinder for about 30 new. Alternatively you could pick up a second hand MC2 for about £85 which would be an entry level grinder for espresso. Its worth spending money on a grinder

Sent from my GT-S5830 using Tapatalk 2


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## Somnophore

That no good?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B003S5PZS6/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?qid=1372891967&sr=8-4&pi=SL75


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## funinacup

The grind quality from that Bodum one will be awful, and it probably won't grind fine enough for good espresso, unfortunately.

I'd go Hario Skerton! Can grind find enough to choke an 18g VST!


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## urbanbumpkin

never used one but I think a blade grinder is bad. Burr grinder is much better for a consistent grind

Sent from my GT-S5830 using Tapatalk 2


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## CoffeeJohnny

urbanbumpkin said:


> never used one but I think a blade grinder is bad. Burr grinder is much better for a consistent grind
> 
> Sent from my GT-S5830 using Tapatalk 2


a blade grinder just chops up the coffee in uneven lumps, it's impossibe to get a reasonable grind on one if your hearts set on electric get the krups gvx2 it'll suffice for filter but it will become redundant as your journey continues into coffee


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## Somnophore

Yeah the hario skerton seems to have good reviews and people using it for espresso, can those of you advocating much more expensive grinders advise what's that much better about them? And why can't the hario do the same thing? Newbie here


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## CoffeeJohnny

The Skerton is a good choice, there are a multitude of things that go into making grinders as they are precision tools that are integral to making good coffee, I was looking at entry level grinders like you and they did what I needed at the time, I however now having run a shop have pretty exacting standards and want as much control as possible over the variables involved in making coffee. The more expensive the grinder, often these variables are something you have control over and as such tend to provide a better cup. That does depend ultimately on the end user though.


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## Somnophore

It's hard because I don't even know why you need really fine coffee for espresso and I've heard you should have more coarse for French press, why is that, I stupidly assumed finer grind would be better for all brewing methods


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## CoffeeJohnny

It's not stupid at all, fine for espresso as water moves through quickly under pressure so smaller extracts quicker. Coarser sits in water for 2-4 minutes so extracts slower. These are all things that you learn. Don't belittle yourself. Just ask away. I'm off to bed now. But I'll be around tomorrow too


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## Spukey

Porlex is acceptable for espresso, infact i would run a Porlex against an mc2 and expect the Porlex to win if the MC2 owner could hear the results! haha


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## photojonny

I use a Hario Slim. About £30 on Amazon. Grind fine enough for espresso no problem, but does take a long time - 4-5 mins constant grinding. Good for burning calories!


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## Anthorn

If not for the "espresso" bit I'd say yeah go ahead the world is your oyster in the sub £100 bracket and there are several machines in the sub £50 which are said to grind consistently but nevertheless can't achieve a fine espresso grind. But as it is you would be better off with a hand grinder. The problem with a hand grinder is that it grinds very slowly and requires some measure of brute force to turn the handle. If grinding for more than a cup or two it becomes a chore and you may look into dumping it and going electric. It depends on your outlook and some people love their manual grinder.

I have a Hario Skerton which works very well on a fine setting but on a coarser setting say for filter or cafetiere, the grind gets inconsistent due to the burr head wobbling. The Porlex long or mini solves that problem with a spring and is overall the better grinder.

I'd say that if it's really, really, really out of the question to triple your money and get an Iberital MC2 then look at the Krups Expert GVX231 which Amazon.co.uk is currently selling for £36.00p and the one I'm considering for my moka pot. This gets mixed reviews on Amazon. Whether it grinds espresso or not is mainly a matter of conjecture and you'll have to get one to find out.


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## Mrboots2u

Somnophore said:


> I am new to the world of good coffee, I'm just looking at a grinder, hand or electric for £50 or less for use in my basic espresso machine or cafetiere for the moment,I'd like to spend more but can't afford it, and I think with limited funds a reasonable grinding and decent beans is the best route into decent coffee. So any recommendations welcome.
> 
> coffee machine I have is very similar to this, maybe the older model version.
> 
> http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B003UMHO8G/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?qid=1372891163&sr=8-7&pi=SL75


Plus one for the hand grinder , what did you end up with?


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## Anthorn

Somnophore said:


> It's hard because I don't even know why you need really fine coffee for espresso and I've heard you should have more coarse for French press, why is that, I stupidly assumed finer grind would be better for all brewing methods


As a general rule which will apply most of the time is the faster the coffee making process the finer the grind. For example if the water zips through the ground coffee there is little time for the coffee to brew so it's a finer grind. At the other end of the scale if we were just adding ground coffee to a simple pot and heating it on a stove we can use a much coarser grind. If we were to use a fine grind with a slow coffee making process the coffee would be overbrewed and bitter. Conversely if we were to use a coarse grind with a fast coffee making process the coffee would be underbrewed and weak. There are exceptions but which mainly come under the category of fine-tuning.


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## MWJB

Anthorn said:


> As a general rule which will apply most of the time is the faster the coffee making process the finer the grind. For example if the water zips through the ground coffee there is little time for the coffee to brew so it's a finer grind. At the other end of the scale if we were just adding ground coffee to a simple pot and heating it on a stove we can use a much coarser grind. If we were to use a fine grind with a slow coffee making process the coffee would be overbrewed and bitter. Conversely if we were to use a coarse grind with a fast coffee making process the coffee would be underbrewed and weak. There are exceptions but which mainly come under the category of fine-tuning.


I don't think the relationship between time & grind is quite that clear cut. Unless you are talking about one specific brew method at a time?

Pourover brewing can often need a coarser grind than a filtered steeped brew, for a comparable brew time. For example, I need a much coarser grind for a V60 (2-3min) than I would for a Clever Dripper (15-35mins).

Long brew times are normally steeps with rudimentary, or no filtering. Coarse grinds are desirable to keep silt out of the cup.

Espresso is a different matter, as the variables should be less (pressure, flow rate, temp, time - more consistent generally).


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## MWJB

+1 for both Hario Slim & Porlex for espresso. You might find yourself making more singles though, to lessen the arm-ache! ;-)


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## SimonB

What about a Cuisinart DBM8U? It's a (relatively) cheap bit of plastic with some annoying static and it doesn't go fine enough for espresso out of the box but if you don't mind opening up you can modify it to get there.


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## Mrboots2u

SimonB said:


> What about a Cuisinart DBM8U? It's a (relatively) cheap bit of plastic with some annoying static and it doesn't go fine enough for espresso out of the box but if you don't mind opening up you can modify it to get there.


There are still £60 from amazon for something which essentially doesn't do what you want out of the box, grind for espresso . Depends if you want to mod it, and i have no idea how successful that would be. Again we are spending more money than the original OP wanted







. But personally I'd rather hang out for a second mc2 of here for £80. It would certainly have more resale value than a modded cusinart does .

Under £50 hand grinder all the way every time .


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## Dylan

As has been said, under £50 and you looking at hand grinders for decent espresso grind. Be aware however that grinding enough even for a single espresso really does take a fair bit of elbow grease. I started off with a hand grinder and bought an MC2 about 3 weeks later... all that grinding *before* I have had coffee was too much for me.


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## CFo

Got my IberItal MC2 for £70 from this forum. If you want espresso, I'd say it would be worth spending the extra £20 on something like this.


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## xiuxiuejar

SimonB said:


> What about a Cuisinart DBM8U? It's a (relatively) cheap bit of plastic with some annoying static and it doesn't go fine enough for espresso out of the box but if you don't mind opening up you can modify it to get there.


My father-in-law had one of these but it is not near fine enough to grind for espresso. I took it apart, broke off the limiters which are basically there to stop you tightening so much that the burrs touch and managed to get coffee grind fine enough. however, this machine suffers from static and coffee gets thrown about everywhere. I ended up giving my father-in-law one of my unused grinders made by demoka.

If you modify the Cuisinart, it will do the job but you are much better off with a different grinder.


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## SimonB

xiuxiuejar said:


> If you modify the Cuisinart, it will do the job but you are much better off with a different grinder.


Oh I agree completely but a £50 budget doesn't offer a great deal of choice and it does just about fit into that budget (£53 from ebay).

I've used both the Cuisinart and an MC2 and the MC2 is in every respect a much better use of money but it is twice the cost (although I did find really large beans a problem on the MC2 and not the Cuisinart).


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## Mrboots2u

Mc2 s come up quite a bit on here tho , there's one for £80 in the for sale at the moment .


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## Geordie Boy

Ooooh, I didn't realise you can mod the Cuisinart! I've one of those lying around at home so will need to investigate


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## Charliej

I used to have a cuisinart grinder which was bought for me by a well intentioned relative, I did the modd to make it grind finer which basically a case of fitting a shim/shims depending on what material you use, I made one from the plastic off a milk carton. All this said it will grind a lot finer then.BUT. its still not great for espresso I upgraded to an MC2 from the modded Cuisinart and even using my Cubika plus, which I used to take on the road with me whilst on tour, and with the Classic it was night and day in terms of difference, far far too many fines from the cuisinart and if you mod it, it wont then grind coarsely very well.

At then end of the day you pay your money and you take your choice, in my opinion if you buy and mod a Cuisinart for £53 you will then end up wanting something better in a couple of months and go after say a second hand MC2 at around £80, so a total cost of ~£123 for both as you won't get much at all if anything for the Cuisinart when you move on , wheras if you buy a used MC2 for £70-80 it will still most likely be worth that when you want to upgrade.


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## Nimble Motionists

Something like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251333614440?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 is also well worth considering in the just above £50 bracket. I've seen two or three of these go for c.£75 in the last month or two.


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## Mrboots2u

Nimble Motionists said:


> Something like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251333614440?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 is also well worth considering in the just above £50 bracket. I've seen two or three of these go for c.£75 in the last month or two.


Is that one of the sunbeam ones ?


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## Mrboots2u

Was looking for something for the office for a mocca master , would any of these krupps or cusinart do ? Any opinions?


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## bignorry

I had a Barista for three years until yesterday and it was a fantastic wee grinder even yesterday as I was showing it to its new owner

I pulled some lovely shots with the ground coffee on my fracinnce modded its fine and more than capable, definitely fantastic value!!

only thing is they are getting harder to come by


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## Geordie Boy

Mrboots2u said:


> Was looking for something for the office for a mocca master , would any of these krupps or cusinart do ? Any opinions?


The Cuisinart feels well made but the grind consistency isn't very good (even on a course setting). I mostly keep mine so I can grind the beans for people at work when they accidentally buy their supermarket coffee wholebean instead of pre-ground (they know I have a grinder). Basically I don't want my normal grinder being seasoned by Starbucks latest extra burnt blend!


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## Geordie Boy

Charliej said:


> I used to have a cuisinart grinder which was bought for me by a well intentioned relative, I did the modd to make it grind finer which basically a case of fitting a shim/shims depending on what material you use, I made one from the plastic off a milk carton. All this said it will grind a lot finer then.


Did the mod improve the consistency of the grinds? I'm suspecting not if it just moves the burrs closer together? I'm only looking for something for brewed coffee so not interested in making it suitable for espresso.


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## Mrboots2u

Geordie Boy said:


> Did the mod improve the consistency of the grinds? I'm suspecting not if it just moves the burrs closer together? I'm only looking for something for brewed coffee so not interested in making it suitable for espresso.


Yeah looking for a cheap electronic brew option too .


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## xiuxiuejar

I can answer about the grind consistancy. Actually, for a cheap machine, it's not bad and indeed, there are two mods. But the mods just make the grind finer, not better quality.

Mod 1. The simple one, break off the stops which limit how you can turn the grinder to move the burrs together -

Mod 2. or do it 'properly' by putting a disc behind the burr, thus moving them together.

It will suffice but that's it. Nothing more. But people must accept that if the man has just a 50 pound budget he may have to do something like this. The bigger problem for me was the static which sent the coffee everywhere which os why I gave my father in law one of my grinders.


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## Geordie Boy

I find the static manageable however it really highlights the grind inconsistency to me as it's only the fines that are affected


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## Nimble Motionists

Mrboots2u said:


> Is that one of the sunbeam ones ?


Thought it was a K3Fresh - maybe not?


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## coffeechap

Yep that is a k3 and was a bargain


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## Anthorn

I had a Krups GVX2 delivered today which I'm using for a Moka Pot stove-top. It's very good with a nice consistent grind and no fines flying about due to static. Easy controls for grind size and number of cups with auto stop when the number of cups is done. My only criticism so far is that the top underside of the lower compartment has a sprung nipple which has already put a scratch on the top of the grounds collector/doser. Other than that all well and good. £36 from Amazon or Debenhams. But for Espresso I still stand by manual or MC2.


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