Which inexpensive grinder is best for French press coffee?

[DeanM]

Which inexpensive grinder is best for French press coffee? Three of the most popular choices are the Prolex JP-30, the Bodum Bistro, and the Capresso Infinity. Do any of these grinders have a coarse enough and even enough grind to make a very good cup of French press coffee? Many people say yes, but many people also say no? Maybe some people are just more particular about the amount of sediment in their coffee? It would be helpful if people with experience with any of these grinders and a high end grinder would compare the performance of the grinders for French press coffee.

 

[Gliden07]

I would check out some of the videos on you-tube. Seattle Coffee has tons of vids on this subject. And you would have to consider what you feel is inexpensive?

 

[lulin]

Check out ECM

 

[Seb]

I think the best "cheap" grinder for french press is the Baratza Encore.

 

[Musicphan]

+1 Baratza Encore

 

[topher]

I have never heard of a grinder that can not grind coffee coarse enough...fine yes but not coarse. Like others said.. Baratza Encore

 

[shadow745]

Actually some grinders won't grind coarse enough for a good press grind. Also, many that will grind coarse enough often are very inconsistent, having too many fines.

 

[tarik2.0]

i said yes

 

[Jayzoll]

ive brewed plenty of press pots with grinds the same size as a v60 - only steep for about 90sec and produced 19-20% extractions. that depends on how well the coffee is roasted, burrs, grinder, to get a good grind distribution.

i have no evidence to support this statement but to me it seems most grinders (especially lesser expensive home units) have a sweet spot range. if possible, i try to adjust brewing parameters around that range (i.e. contact time) to yield a decent extraction. sometimes certain brew methods are avoided depending on the grinder. but i also own about 3 of everything so take my opinion for what its worth.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DLRuth]

Any of the grinders mentioned would be ok for a french press, the ECM might be a bit excessive as they are more geared towards espresso. With any grinder, in general, the courser you grind the less consistent the grind will be, but like Jayzoll stated they all do have a sweet spot where they work best, you just have to find out where it is on the grind scale.

 

[shadow745]

Any of the grinders mentioned would be ok for a french press, the ECM might be a bit excessive as they are more geared towards espresso. With any grinder, in general, the courser you grind the less consistent the grind will be, but like Jayzoll stated they all do have a sweet spot where they work best, you just have to find out where it is on the grind scale.

I wouldn't say ANY grinder as commercial grade coarse grinders do that and do it well. Not many years ago I had a BUNN LPG with 80+mm flat burrs and that thing was superb at coarse grinding, which is what it was designed to do. Same with Mahlkonig, Ditting, etc... Granted most people wouldn't use a grinder like that in a home setting, but some coffee nerds do.

 

[DLRuth]

I wouldn't say ANY grinder as commercial grade coarse grinders do that and do it well. Not many years ago I had a BUNN LPG with 80+mm flat burrs and that thing was superb at coarse grinding, which is what it was designed to do. Same with Mahlkonig, Ditting, etc... Granted most people wouldn't use a grinder like that in a home setting, but some coffee nerds do.

Agreed, but most of those don't fall into the "inexpensive grinder" range. And oh yea I would be one of those "coffee nerds" with commercial equipment for the home setting

 

[shadow745]

Depends... I've seen used LPGs sell for as little as $100.

No offense, but I think most coffee nerds have commercial equipment at home to make things easier/more consistent as they lack the skill set to make use of lower end equipment. Of course this can be argumentative, but just the way I see it. If I could afford it, my lifelong dream setup would be a modern Olympia Cremina and a quality hand grinder. IMBHO nothing else can compare to that.