# New here ...



## andrewparkeruk (Feb 14, 2016)

For many years I have used a cafetière/French press, and "chopped" my beans using a liquidiser "spice mill" attachment.

I buy beans in 1kg trade packs; two different bean/roast varieties: one for me, and one which my spouse prefers. (We have our own cafetières)

After several years of chopping daily, I now chop maybe 300g at a time of each bean/roast into plastic tubs which are stored in the fridge. We have noticed no degradation in quality, and lots of beneficial convenience following this shift.

I'm not planning to change this behaviour; but I have long promised myself a burr grinder to replace the spice mill.

I wonder what type of burr grinder would I need to grind 100/200/300g at a time, rather than just enough for a double espresso shot?

Thank you, Andrew


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## Drewster (Dec 1, 2013)

I would imagine just about any grinder could knock out those sorts of quantities.

If you are happy with knocking out beans like that with a blade may I ask why you are bothering thinking of moving to burrs?

If you don't notice a difference in fresh ground vs grinding a days (or more) worth you probably won't notice much difference anyway.....

.... although if you got some fresh beans and gave them a go you might notice a difference.

Welcome aboard the forum


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## andrewparkeruk (Feb 14, 2016)

Thanks for your reply @Drewster. Sorry, I don't understand your "fresh beans" comment.

When I open a 1kg pack of vacuum sealed beans, they are fresh; or as fresh as I can buy them without roasting them myself.

Whilst I am happy with what I have, I have always assumed that a burr grinder would do a better job than a blade chopper. When I have looked at burr grinders, e.g. the Ibertial MC2, there are doser and doserless versions. If I want to grind several days supply would I choose doserless?

Thank you, Andrew


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

Hi Andrew,

It depends where you're buying coffee but presuming it has a roast date on it then you know that's fresh or not (fresh being using it within more or less a month of roast).

Regarding other freshness.

The grinding of beans allows them to release volatile gases and let's oxygen into more of the bean, this makes the flavours degrade and so the majority of us - on here, from what I've seen - grind beans just before we use them and this makes sure they've retained the maximum flavour etc.

Grinding for a day or several is likely better than stuff that's already ground and bagged up on the shelf but not as good as it could be IMO. If it works for you though that's fine.

In terms of machines that would handle it, you'd perhaps want to check if the grinder manufacturer or information mentions a certain expectation.

I think they're expecting only x amount of use in a single go (as in, to be on for 30 seconds at a time because that grinds 60g. This is just an example) and although most would handle 200 - 300g grinding at a go, I don't know if they would potentially wear out quite quickly because apart from bag or store grinders they aren't designed to grind for that long. Due to that I won't make any recommendations, sorry.

If you decide to only grind for your next cafetiere and its for a cafetiere then that's a bit easier.

Hope that helps.


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## andrewparkeruk (Feb 14, 2016)

Thank you for your reply @jlarkin.

I think I switched from daily blade grinding when my spouse decided she wanted to try a different blend/roast from the one I favour. This meant cleaning out the mill twice daily (we drink coffee only at breakfast)

Maybe two hand grinders is something to consider. I don't have the space (or money) to have two electric burr grinders side-by-side, each filled with a different blend/roast.

Regarding freshness of roast: buying in 1kg bags direct from the roaster, but drinking coffee only at breakfast, means that no matter how fresh the bag is at opening; it is considerably older once we reach the end of that bag. I drink a larger cafetiere than my spouse; so at the end of the bag, my coffee beans will be fresher









Andrew


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

Hi Andrew, yeah makes sense. You always have to try and find what works for you. Maybe you could have an electric grinder for your beans and a hand grinder for your spouse, as it's lower dose in hers. I have a Baratza Preciso and usually put in about 100g or just over in the hopper and grind what I want (weighing grinds before making my coffee) but I've also tried just putting in the amount of beans I want and never noticed a difference. E.g. grind 20g of one bean make whatever, 20g of another bean make another. It doesn't retain much coffee so it's relatively straightforward. Might also be the case with other Baratza grinders as some are even cheaper.


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## andrewparkeruk (Feb 14, 2016)

Regarding cleaning out burr grinders: I thoroughly clean my blade grinder after each use.

Once opened, my coffee beans are kept in the original bag, closed using a large "klippit" and stored in a cool, dry, dark cellar.

Do people using larger electric burr grinders, e.g. Iberital MC2, simply fill up the hopper with beans, leaving them in daylight, at room temperature?

Each time the burr grinder is run, there must be coffee grounds which remain inside the machine mechanism. Do you do a sacrificial grind each day and bin this in order to remove yesterday's stale grind/grounds?

Sorry for all the questions


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## mmmatron (Jun 28, 2014)

Hi Andrew, welcome to the forum. I tend to buy beans in multiples of 250-300g bags, it's a little more expensive but helps with freshness, this also allows me to try out different roasters and beans.

In terms of grinding, I do something called 'single dosing' which is weighing out the amount of beans required for a double shot and grind straight into the portafilter. I do this every time, regardless of how many drinks I make. There's lots of info on the forum around why I do it this way so I won't bore you here!

Some grinders hold on to a small amount of grinds and need a little purge, some don't. There's lots of tips and tricks to do this without taking a grinder apart to clean it outside of usual maintenance. Hope this helps!


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