Opinion on the new grind & brew coffee makers? Plus other ?s

[Colin]

Well, I have a cheap burr grinder, two shattered French presses, one of those stove-top espresso makers, and a cheapie auto-drip -- none of which ever get used because I'm either drinking the crap at work, or I'm too lazy to clean out the burr grinder. So my gf suggests I get one of the grind & brew coffee makers. Anyone have on of these? I know they are a bit pricey, but if it's worth it... I like the economy and ease of use with a press, but the dust from the burr grinder passes thru the mesh of the press. The result is less cloudy cup with a bunch of sediment. Any other thoughts? Maybe actually clean my mill more frequently? Do better -- well, I assume better because they are more $$$ -- burr mills create less dust?

Back to work.

Cheers,

Colin

[Clark Kent]

If the grinder breaks down does it render the unit unusable? Vice versa? Thats the only thing I would be afraid of. How easy is it to change the amount of coffee beans that are used per pot? The only one I have messed with was one that dumped the beans directly into the grinder from holding unit. Once again I didnt get to fok with it much but it seemed as though it was a predetermined and unalterable amount, with this unit anyway. That would bum me out.

[Silver]

I'm not a big fan of drip myself.

How about getting a stainless steel French Press and a cheap burr grinder? They aren't hard to clean (just run a hopper of rice through them) and the coffee will be a lot better than drip stuff.

The sediment is because the grinder is cheap. You won't really get around that, so the best thing to do is just to not drink the last gulp in the cup.

[Colin]

They aren't hard to clean (just run a hopper of rice through them) and the coffee will be a lot better than drip stuff.

What will running the rice through it do? Do you have any recommendations on a better grinder?

[Silver]

The rice will clean old oils off the burrs. Works quite well, actually.

For press coffee a "good" grinder isn't worth it. If you want something with a very small amount of dust, you're talking about $250+ for the grinder, and I don't think that's worth it unless you're making espresso.

If you don't mind a little manual work, a Zassenhaus hand mill will give you a great grind for a reasonable price.

[Silver]

What kind of grinder do you have right now?

Another option would be a vac pot, but they aren't nearly as user friendly as a press pot. Cleaner cup though...

[Colin]

Some Mr. Coffee I bought a few years ago -- not too high end... Unfortunately my camera batteries are dead, otherwise I would snap a quick pic.

[Silver]

That grinder should be fine for press pot duties. Like I said, don't drink the last sip in the cup, and you'll be cool.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005YY9X/qid=1098372727/sr=8-3/ref=pd_ka_3/002-7954100-0570401?v=glance&s=home-garden&n=507846

[Yossarian]

My uncle has a combo grinder and brew set and hated it. Diffucult, loud and just plain inconvenient to use. It was a fairly high end model, too. Now it takes up space under the cabinets while an ancient perc pot makes a damn fine cup o'joe up on the counter.

[stosh]

Just to tag along on this thread what do you guys think about this?


http://www.unbeatable.co.uk/resources/images/products/0029100/0029130_03_lrg.jpg

[Silver]

Just to tag along on this thread what do you guys think about this?


http://www.unbeatable.co.uk/resources/images/products/0029100/0029130_03_lrg.jpg

It's not drip, and it's not espresso.

:(

[Clark Kent]

Just to tag along on this thread what do you guys think about this?


http://www.unbeatable.co.uk/resources/images/products/0029100/0029130_03_lrg.jpg

Wow... A plastic blue penis and balls.....

[Honeywell]

That grinder should be fine for press pot duties. Like I said, don't drink the last sip in the cup, and you'll be cool.


Been doing this for a while now and it's worked out great. My cheap grinder gives a horribly uneven grind, but like you said, just don't drink the last sip.

Out of curiosity, how good are the grocery store grinders? If they give a nice coarse grind for a french press maybe I'll buy in small batches and grind at the store.

[Silver]

Been doing this for a while now and it's worked out great. My cheap grinder gives a horribly uneven grind, but like you said, just don't drink the last sip.

Out of curiosity, how good are the grocery store grinders? If they give a nice coarse grind for a french press maybe I'll buy in small batches and grind at the store.

Grocery store grinders are good, usually. The thing is, you're better off with fresher coffee than you are with a more even grind, IMHO.

[TN]

I vote for toughing it out with a press. They make lexan ones too, that are supposedly unbreakable.

[BikeGeek]

Grocery store grinders are good, usually. The thing is, you're better off with fresher coffee than you are with a more even grind, IMHO.

The problem with the grocery store grinders is they're usually tainted by flavored beans because some asshat couldn't take the time to read the signs to determine which grinder to use to grind up his fufu la hazelnut coffee. :angry:

[llkoolkeg]

The problem with the grocery store grinders is they're usually tainted by flavored beans because some asshat couldn't take the time to read the signs to determine which grinder to use to grind up his fufu la hazelnut coffee. :angry:


YEEAAACCCHHH! Nasty hazelnut crap. As odd as this may sound, I just use a food processor to grind up my beans. I can do a week's worth at a time and it seems to work fine by me.

[binary visions]

YEEAAACCCHHH! Nasty hazelnut crap. As odd as this may sound, I just use a food processor to grind up my beans. I can do a week's worth at a time and it seems to work fine by me.
I used a small food processor for a long time.. Worked well. Uneven, of course, but it still worked, and was one less appliance I need to find a place to store.

Lately, I've been relying on Dunkin' Donuts to do my grinding & brewing for me, though, as I haven't even had time to wash my coffee pot :(

The grocery store ones do work great, but as was stated, people can't read signs and don't know which one to throw their beans through. For a while, our local grocery store was cleaning their grinder once a week on Tuesday nights so I was shopping first thing Wednesday morning for my coffee... Unfortunately, they either ceased cleaning it or vary their cleaning schedule now.