Burr Grinder Vs Blade Grinder Compared – BaristaHQ

Burr Grinder Vs Blade Grinder (Features Considered)

If you want to know which grinder is best for you, the answer will depend on a few things, including your budget, your preference, and how much space your kitchen can accommodate.

For example, some people prefer convenience, while some want the real barista experience. To help you narrow down your choice, this table gives you a breakdown of their key differences: 

The critical differences between burr grinders vs. blade grinders can be seen from the table above.

While blade coffee grinders are more affordable and convenient and can produce an okay-tasting cup of coffee, burr coffee grinders can give you the flexibility and consistency you need to make exceptional coffee drinks.

This is because burr coffee grinders can grind your coffee into almost the same size while allowing you to adjust them depending on what type of brewing device you will use.  

To help you understand their differences even more, below are different types of brewing devices and how these grinders affect the coffee they produce:  

For A French Press 

When you create a French press cup of coffee you can use the freshly ground coffee beans from burr coffee grinders or blade coffee grinders. You won’t notice any distinction in the taste; both have the same aroma and flavor. 

However, the burr grinder had done a pretty good job pulverizing the beans evenly.

Also, in the burr grinder coffee cup, there were fewer flecks of floating coffee grounds, unlike the blade grinder cup. But the difference isn’t too noticeable, especially if you’re not paying too much attention. 

For A Pour-Over 

With the pour-over coffee maker, the clear winner between the two grinders is a burr grinder.

When you use this drip coffee brewing device, you need to have all your grinds the same size to filter all the flavors of the coffee at the same time. Blade grinders can’t produce consistent grounds, which can throw off the taste of the coffee you’ll make.

However, if you aren’t much of a coffee connoisseur and don’t notice the flavor difference, using a coffee grind from a blade grinder for a pour-over machine won’t be much of a sin.  

For A Moka-Pot 

Moka pots require a medium to medium-fine coffee ground to get the best flavor. This means that you need a grinder that can help you achieve this consistency, which is the burr grinder. 

If you try to use a blade grinder for Moka pots, you might get an imbalanced coffee flavor. For example, a blade grinder produces both fine and coarse grinds, and the fine ones will not be effectively filtered out by the Moka pot, resulting in a slurry layer at the bottom of your cup.  

For Aeropress 

Grind size affects the taste of your coffee, mainly when you use an Aeropress. When you have fine coffee grounds, they cover a larger surface area, which affects the speed at which flavor is extracted from the coffee. 

When using Aeropress, a fine grind will also help increase the resistance and relative pressure while you’re pressing down the plunger, creating a richer flavor profile for your coffee cup. 

Pourly ground beans will really impact an AeroPress coffee, so a burr grinder is best to give you finely ground coffee beans and a great cup of coffee.

What Is A Burr Grinder? (Overview & Are They Worth It?) 

A burr grinder, also known as a burr mill, is composed of two revolving burrs with a non-moving surface.  The beans are crushed between these two moving grinders, and the burr grinder work is done when all coffee is grounded to a relatively uniform size. 

Types Of Burr Grinders

There are two main designs of burr grinders:

• A conical burr grinder 
• A flat burr grinder

Both grinders produce consistent and high-quality grind, but each type serves a different purpose.  

Conical burr grinders are the industry standard. They have a cone-shaped center burr with an outer serrated burr that creates well-ground coffee. They are energy-efficient and heat-resistant, which makes them perfect for home baristas and professionals.  

Flat burr grinders are designed to keep the beans between the two donut-shaped burrs to produce perfectly symmetrical grinds. A flat burr grinder is louder than a conical burr grinder and utilizes more heat and energy during the grinding process. This type of burr grinder isn’t ideal for commercial or home use. However, if precision is required, flat burrs are a better option.   

You can also choose between manual burr grinders or electric burr grinders.

Electric burr coffee grinders are more common because they're quicker and easier. It produces uniform coffee grounds without any effort and makes coffee brewing easier. 

Manual burr coffee grinders give you more control over how you grind the beans for your fresh coffee. You can use more precision, but it's more challenging and takes a lot more time. There's also more risk of poorly ground beans.

Why People Use Burr Grinders

So, is a burr grinder worth it? Yes. If you know how to use them effectively then they are a great accessory for your espresso machine. 

Whichever type of burr grinder you use, they allow you to move the ceramic conical burrs (or burr mills) closer or further apart from each other so that you can adjust the size of your coffee grounds. 

Because of this, with a good burr grinder have the flexibility to create different grind sizes, enabling you to use different types of coffee brewers so you can find which brew is best for you.  

Overall, burr grinders can open you to a world of incredible flavors of fresh and balanced coffee; no wonder they are the industry standard across the globe.  

Pros & Cons Of A Burr Coffee Grinder 

Blade Coffee Grinder Overview (Does It Make Good Coffee?) 

Blade grinders are ubiquitous. They are a more common option, especially if you are new to the world of coffee.

Compared to burr grinders, they are more affordable, easy to find and use. However, they don’t offer a consistent grind size, unlike burr grinders.  

Types Of Blade Grinders

There’s only one type of blade coffee grinder, and all are built the same way: a double-pronged blade at the bottom of a chamber that spins rapidly to chop up coffee beans.

Unlike conical burrs, pretty much all blade grinders are electric and only have a single button, which causes the blade to spin when pressed.

When coffee beans hit the blade, they are blasted into differently-sized pieces. The fine grounds fall to the bottom, getting hit by the blade and chopped continuously, and the bigger grounds stay towards the top, almost getting hit by the blade, but not quite enough to grind them finely.  

Because of this grinding style, blade grinders produce inconsistent grinds. In some cases, you can see halved beans left after a blade grinding session, which is a big coffee no-no. 

The heat produced by the spinning blade can also alter the taste of your coffee, eliminating some of the fresh flavors needed to make a great cup of coffee.

Why People Use Blade Grinders

The key blade grinders bad point is that is produces inconsistent grinds from the pre ground coffee. The differently sized coffee grinds brew inconsistently, so grinds coming from a blade grinder can produce an unbalanced and disappointing cup of coffee.   

However, the bladed electric grinders are really affordable, and available at any grocery or kitchen store.

They might not be used by true aficionados in the coffee industry or provide you with the great coffee experience you long for - but they can give you better tasting coffee than your usual instant mix.

Pros & Cons Of A Blade Grinder 

Coffee Grinder Common FAQs

Does a finer grind make stronger coffee? 

The more finely ground your beans are, the more caffeine they can release to your cup. So when it comes to caffeine concentration, a finer grind does make stronger coffee compared to a coarser grind that will brew a weaker cup.  

Do burr grinders wear out?  

Yes, burr grinders wear out. However, a good quality one will last long. If your burr grinders have steel burr, you may need to replace them after grinding approximately 1000 lbs of coffee beans. For ceramic burrs, you need a replacement after grinding 750 lbs of coffee beans.  

Do coffee grinder blades get dull? 

Yes, like any sharp object, coffee grinder blades can get dull. One clear sign of dull blades is when you start to pick some weird taste from your coffee cup. If this happens, sharpen the blades or replace them.  

Can coffee grinder burrs be sharpened? 

Burrs have a more complicated structure than coffee blades, making it impossible to remove them from the machine for manual sharpening. So, if your burrs are starting to get dull, you’ll need to replace them.  

Conclusion

A good coffee grinder is essential for making the most of your coffee maker or espresso machine.

Understanding the difference between burr grinders vs. blade grinders can help you choose the best grinder for excellent tasting coffee.

Blade grinders are more common and can give a consistent grind, but a burr coffee grinder gives you more control. So, if you've got some experience and love making coffee from scratch, we'd recommend investing in a good burr coffee grinder.