You need one of these grinders if you want top-quality coffee
You can't beat the smell of freshly ground coffee, which goes some way to explaining why we spend a small fortune at our favourite cafes. There's just something so inviting about that rich, warming aroma, and the incredible flavour variations it can offer.
But if you want to swerve the rising takeaway latte costs, it is possible to replicate your perfect cup at home. You just need the correct gear. And having a good coffee grinder is the crucial first step, especially if you’re into speciality brews, as grinding your beans to the right size is crucial for unlocking those delicious flavour notes and aromas.
The best coffee grinders should produce consistent grounds that are tailored to your drink and bean of choice, from espresso to drip coffee and everything in between.
With your morning coffee on the line, our experts put a range of models to the test in the lab to find the very best buys out there. Because when you've spent hundreds – or even thousands – on one of our tried and tested bean-to-cup coffee machines, you don't want the experience ruined because you don’t have enough grind settings. Well, not on the Good Housekeeping Institute’s watch.
Check out our top-performing picks below and read on for everything you need to know about coffee grinders before buying – including the difference between a burr and blade...
Why is coffee grind size important?
Coffee making is an art; every step requires careful attention to create the perfect cup – right down to the size of your coffee grounds.
We spoke to Henry Ayers, original co-founder of The Gentleman Baristas and All Things Bloom Coffee, to find out just what happens to your morning brew when you get the grind size right – or wrong. “How fine or coarse the grounds are directly impacts the time it takes for water to drip through,” he explains. “Think of a glass of sand versus a glass of pebbles. Pouring the same amount of water through each, you’ll see that water takes longer to pass through the finer particles of sand.”
Unsurprisingly, this has a direct impact on your drink’s flavour. Take espressos. These have short brew times, so to get the best from your coffee, Ayers says you need “a finer grind size to present more of a barrier for the water passing through, ensuring enough flavour is extracted in that short time”.
There are a few tell-tale signs to that let you know if you've got the grind right. According to Ayers, if your coffee is weak, watery or sour then the grind is probably too coarse, so try switching to a finer setting. With a bit of trial and error, you’ll be sure to find your Goldilocks grind.
What is a burr coffee grinder and are they better?
There are three main types of coffee grinders: blade, burr and manual. As the name suggests, with a manual, you have to do the grinding yourself, turning a lever to crush the beans. For that reason, electric blade and burr grinders tend to be more popular – it’s easier to select your preferred setting, and your beans are taken care of at the push of a button.
Blade grinders work in a similar way to food processors, spinning a blade to chop the coffee beans. Burr grinders, however, work like a pepper mill with the beans passing through two metal or plastic grinding surfaces to break them up.
As a general rule, burr grinders are often larger and more expensive than other types, but they also offer more control over the grind size, and therefore, the final taste of your coffee. Unsurprisingly, then, when asked which is better, Ayers is emphatic: “Burr! Always! Blade grinders are fine for spices as you get a mix of fine and big bits. But for a good tasting coffee, you need a consistent, even grind,” he explains.
“Adjustable burr grinders allow for more precision than blade models. As the burrs move together and apart, they create a small gap, and the particles can only leave the grinding chamber once they’re small enough to fit through that space.”
Deciding whether to go for a burr or not really comes down to your palate, go-to drink and budget, so think about how often you’ll be grinding beans and your brewing method before settling for the one.
Things to consider when buying a coffee grinder
With the coffee grinders on our list ranging in price from £20 to £195, it’s important to know you’re ticking all your boxes. Here’s what to consider before you buy.
Hopper
Generally found on burr grinders, hoppers are containers for storing whole beans, and having one means you won’t need to load your grinder every time you use it. While a larger hopper can (obviously) hold more, leave them there for too long and you risk light compromising the taste of your coffee.
Instead, Ayers advises storing coffee beans in “a vacuum container in a cool dark place” to preserve the flavour. If you’re concerned about this though, some premium models boast hoppers with UV filters for this exact reason.
Settings
Burr grinders generally have lots of grind size settings. However, according to Ayers, “Really, a fine grind, a medium grind, and a coarse one are doable for most people. The only reason there are more grind sizes is so you can get an exact grind for certain coffees such as V60s, moka pots and AeroPress.”
As a rule, use a fine grind for espressos, a medium one for filter coffee and a coarse setting for a cafetière.
Blade and manual grinders don’t offer settings – you simply adjust the grind duration to alter the finished result.
Anti-static features
During the grinding process, the coffee grounds pick up an electric charge from rubbing against the metal burrs. The finer you grind the beans, the more static they’re likely to pick up (as they’re pushed up against the burrs for a longer period). This can be annoying because it can result in the grounds flicking onto the counter when you collect them, leaving a mess behind.
Some research suggests that static can impact the taste too. The grounds clump together, changing the way they interact with the brewing water as it passes through and into your cup.
It sounds very technical, but there’s an easy solution: look for grinders with anti-static features. These include magnetic catch cups that reduce friction or even ones made of glass – a poor conductor of electric charges.
If all else fails, some coffee afficionados believe a few droplets of water can stop a build up of static.
How we test coffee grinders
To find coffee grinders that produce the perfect grounds, the Good Housekeeping Institute experts tested each model on its fine, medium and coarse settings.
For consistency, they used the same coffee beans throughout, along with a Kruve Sifter (a professional coffee ground sifter) to separate the grounds by particle size. For every batch, our testers assessed the evenness and quantity of the grounds produced.
Our pros also evaluated the grinders on ease of set up and used a decibel meter to record how loud they were. They rated the overall design, ease of use and instructions too.
The top performers worked quickly and quietly, pouring grounds into a coffee filter without much mess. Check out our winners below.
The Smart Grinder Pro
Score: 89/100
Sage is a market leader when it comes to coffee, topping our best bean to cup machine roundup, so we expected a similarly impressive coffee grinder. We weren’t disappointed; it was durable, intuitive and well-designed.
Using IQ technology, it lets you adjust the grind time by 0.2 second increments, giving great control over the dose. And with 60 settings, it delivered perfect grounds for everything from espresso to French press coffee. Its fine grounds were the most precise in terms of weight and size. Medium and coarse grounds were less accurate but still generally consistent.
It doesn’t come with dishwasher-safe parts, but the clean-up process was still easy – minimal residue escaped from the grinder and there were no major dirt traps either. It's a worthy winner.
Svart Coffee Grinder
Score: 87/100
Our runner up comes from Norwegian brand, Wilfa. As with many Nordic exports, the electric burr grinder has a sleek finish, but it’s practical too. The 250-gram hopper has a UV filter to protect your beloved beans, while its five grind settings are helpfully labelled with the types of coffee they’re designed for (e.g. French press and filter). The timer dial is easy to read too, and it starts grinding at the push of a single button.
Testers found it worked best when grinding finely; its coarse grounds were less accurate than they’d have liked. Static built up too, so when our experts opened its container, the grounds flicked out, making a mess on the countertop. The quick wipe down required was worth it for the delicious coffee, though.
Opus Conical Burr Coffee Grinder
Score: 85/100
Testers loved the unique design features that made this burr grinder a joy to use. First up, the lid – it's divided in two so you can measure out either 20 or 40 grams of beans, only grinding what’s needed. Plus, there’s a handy guide to the grinder settings on it – there are 41, after all.
Testers were also impressed by the collection cup – it’s magnetically aligned and equipped with anti-static technology, which means the grounds travel down the chute without making a mess.
Like the coffee grinder above, it was less accurate on coarser settings, but for finer grounds, it excelled and was the quietest of all the options on this list.
BISTRO Electric Burr Coffee Grinder
Score: 84/100
Bodum claims that the conical-shaped burr spins more slowly than a regular grinder wheel, making it quieter and less messy. While we didn’t find it to be particularly quiet, our experts didn’t notice much residue caught in the burr. And its design, along with the glass catcher, also reduced the build-up of static, helping to preserve the great taste of our grounds.
There are only 12 grind sizes, so it may be trickier to find the right one for your tastes when compared to some other grinders, but there’s still plenty to suit most styles of coffee. Testers found it worked best on a finer setting and appreciated that the catcher and lid are both dishwasher-safe – let’s be honest, no one wants to tackle the washing up first thing in the morning.
Cordless Coffee Grinder with Battery
Score: 83/100
This blade grinder is part of KitchenAid’s Go series, which means it’s a cordless model you can take with you anywhere – yes, even on holiday. The rechargeable battery offers up to six minutes of grinding per charge and it fits all the appliances in the Go range, including the mini chopper (GHI score: 97/100) and hand blender (89/100), which our experts have also tested and loved.
As this is a blade model, there’s no hopper to store your beans, but this is no bad thing; it’s more compact and easier to store in a cupboard. It produced a lovely fine grind too and was very consistent across each of our tests. Plus, our experts liked the fact that the bowl and cover go in the dishwasher for easy cleaning.
KG200 Electric Coffee Grinder
Score: 81/100
Another blade model, this has an easy-to-use, push-to-grind design, so you can effortlessly achieve your desired grind size. Testers found the button responsive and smooth to push and hold and were impressed with the accurate size of the fine grounds.
While there’s a viewing window to watch your beans as they grind, the lid’s dark colour made it difficult to judge when they’d reached the required size. They also noticed quite a bit of residue stuck to the sides of the lid, making it difficult to remove the grounds without making a mess.
Electric Coffee Bean Grinder
Score: 79/100
Don’t let the budget price tag fool you – this is still a great little coffee grinder if you’re taking your first steps towards barista-level brews. It was one of the most accurate grinders for achieving fine coffee grounds, making it a good choice for espresso-lovers.
For medium and coarse grounds, the sizing was consistent but a little off what testers expected. Thanks to its clear lid and responsive button, however, you can quickly stop grinding as soon as you reach the right consistency for your desired coffee-brewing method.
It’s tricky to clean as you can’t remove the blade from the main body, but that’s a minor niggle for a great value tool.
Burr Coffee Grinder
Score: 78/100
With a large 250-gram capacity hopper, this Dualit burr grinder is one for coffee-loving households. Both dosage and grind size are easy to adjust, courtesy of its smooth-turning dial, and 35 different settings will help you get the perfect grind every time.
Testers were impressed with the consistency of its fine grind but found the quantity varied across their tests. The grinder was a little noisier than the others we tested, too.
That aside, our experts loved its thoughtful little details, like the holder, which means you can grind straight into a portafilter, and the included scoop that fits inside the lid of the hopper.
1027-01 Calibra Coffee Grinder
Score: 74/100
Even larger than the Dualit grinder above, this 375-gram capacity hopper provides plenty of space for your fresh beans. And it’s not just its size that stood out on test; there’s an integrated digital scale, so you can grind to the gram, and a user-friendly control panel that clearly shows which of the 39 grind sizes you’re using.
In testing, its fine grind was accurate and consistent; however, the medium and coarse settings produced grounds that varied in size and weight. Testers appreciated that it was on the quieter side, though.
The verdict on coffee grinders
Our winning coffee grinder is Sage’s The Smart Grinder Pro – an electric burr grinder with 60 settings. It impressed with its clear LCD display and ability to grind beans into a fine powder for fresh espressos.
If you’re looking for a blade grinder instead, we recommend the KitchenAid Go Coffee Grinder. It produced fine, consistent grounds and works cordlessly, so you can grind on the go.
For a budget and beginner pick, the Amazon Basics Electric Coffee Grinder is a good choice.
Why you should trust the Good Housekeeping Institute
We know the importance of a standout cup of coffee, so we take great care to find the very best products for brewing at home. And we know what we're looking for as we’ve been testing products in the Good Housekeeping Institute kitchen for over 100 years.
After our experts reviewed each grinder against our rigorous protocols in the lab, the results were passed to our homes writer, Megan Geall, who looks after all our coffee guides. She has written about hundreds of products and analyses all the scores and feedback to turn our experts’ findings into easy-to-read reviews.
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