Coffee Grinder experiment.

[mawil1013]

Update One: There is an adjustment screw for the Pepper Mill, made a minor adjustment and will run the new grind through in AM. I guess I'm shooting for the magic twenty second of shot time. Nice and consistent size grind still!


I've been using an electric coffee grinder, a no name, bought for $15 marked down from $50. It has done fair in getting my me close to espresso grind. But something has been missing and so I started doing some investigation.

Using my grind it was hit or miss. Sometimes a thick frothy syrup like flow out of the espresso maker but most of the time not. I keep Bustello around and tried adding 1 tablespoon in first, tamping it down. Then adding a Tbsp of my grind and it gives a good thick and syrupy looking flow out of maker.

I did a side by side comparison and where half my grind was OK, there were obvious larger pieces.

I started looking around the Internet for ideas. Let me stop you right here, I cannot afford, nor will I bite the bullit and purchase any grinder over $150.

I saw one website that was showing brass pepper grinders. I said huh! WTH! I have a brass pepper grinder, made in Greece, that was sold through of all places, the old Frugal Gourmet brand. So I dumped out the pepper kernels and put in some coffee beans. It takes a while to grind, might be similar to Hario, don't know as I've never owned a Hario. I plan on grinding enough for a full batch later.

Anyway, I did a three way side by side with grind from my electric grinder, the Bustello and the pepper mill. Folks was I surprised and learned alot. The pepper mill looked just like the Bustello which is espresso grind, and the electric was as I stated before, of various size grind.

So I'm anxious to try a batch with the pepper mill, but waiting for the mill to dry out after a dis-assembly and thorough washing.

Earlier I noted someone mentioning placing shims under one of the plates of the electric grinder but I doubt that would correct for the variations in grind particles.

 

[peterjschmidt]

What are you calling 'espresso' and what are you using to make this 'espresso'?


We've heard it over and over, to use the correct tool for the job. Much of what you're experiencing comes from using the wrong tool for the job.

But it sounds like you're having fun playing around with it, and that's the main thing.

 

[mawil1013]

What are you calling 'espresso' and what are you using to make this 'espresso'?


We've heard it over and over, to use the correct tool for the job. Much of what you're experiencing comes from using the wrong tool for the job.

But it sounds like you're having fun playing around with it, and that's the main thing.

I have a, De'Longhi EC155. (15 bar pump) As long as I allow it to pre-heat about ten minutes, then it does the job for me. I don't drink espresso, I use the espresso solely for use in steamed milk, Latte I guess, plus cocoa syrup. I don't apologize for the use of the low end De'Longhi, that's all I can afford. So for me, my taste's and usage it works splendidly.
I used the grind from the pepper mill and it pushed the pump to it's limits. The grind was too fine, (very consistent though!) I believe but the mill is adjustable so I will open it up a bit.
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[shadow745]

I'm a firm believer in using what you have/can afford and simply make it work with tweaks along the way. A decent pepper mill is probably on par with most manual coffee mills, but more than likely have smaller burr sets and will take longer to crank. Keep in mind 'most' hand mills are more consistent at finer grind levels as the the rotating burr tends to be more stable at this point. Coarser settings often allow the burr to wander a bit as it's the adjustment mechanism by design.

FWIW I have a 50+ year old KyM Turkish style hand mill. It's cylindrical like a typical Turkish mill, but has proper tool steel conical burrs with a spring loaded adjustment mechanism. The housing is all copper. I have used many good-great coffee grinders over the years and this hand mill is right on par with the better electric grinders I have used. Hand grinding can be a great way to get the job done for cheap.

If you can post a few pics of the pepper mill I'd be interested to see how it's constructed.

 

[mawil1013]

The grinder was made in Greece, no springs, the 'gear' is quite rough also, not refined, but it does an excellent job. Made a shot this morning and I'd say the grind is spot on for espresso. I tried some experiments with attaching an electric drill to the shaft, set the drill speed for slow, worked some what, figure on loading it up, strapping it down and letting it grind down a full load.