The ideal coffee grinder produces consistent, accurately sized grind particles. This means that the size of the ground coffee particles must match the coarseness setting of your grinder. The size of the grind produced must match the intended brewing method as described in the product instructions.
To test each grinder for our coffee grinder reviews, we first hand wash and dry all parts as recommended by the manufacturer. Then set each machine to the appropriate level for your drip coffee or automatic coffee brewer (also as indicated in the manual). Sometimes manuals lack specific instructions. In this case, choose a medium-coarse setting for your coffee grind, then increase it to one coarser level (from a fine grind, like an espresso grind, to a coarse grind). For example, if your grinder has a total of 16 coarse grind settings (assuming 16 is the coarsest grind option and 1 is the fine option), set it to coarse level 9.
Watch this: 5 things you need to know before buying a coffee grinder
Next, weigh the entire 10g of coffee beans you want to grind. Basically the test bean looks like this: Kirkland Columbia Roast. These are the same beans we use to test our coffee makers. (Don’t judge.) If you grind your coffee and espresso as much as we do, you’ll love saving.
Sample beans are then passed through a grinder. Also note how long it takes the grinder to grind the coffee beans. Next, carefully collect the residue and sift it through a two-screen sieve for 60 seconds. For this we use the Kruve Sifter system. Our original Kruve Two unit came with two mesh screens with different aperture sizes (800 and 400 microns). This step allows you to measure the grind size and grind consistency of the sample. Kruve Base has now replaced Kruve Two and offers five mesh screens: 300, 500, 800, 1,100 and 1,400 microns.
enlarge image
We used the Kruve coffee sieve system to ensure grind size consistency.
A good electric coffee grinder or hand grinder, preferably with stainless steel blades, will produce a grind with a particle size mostly between 400 and 800 microns (at the selected grind setting). Finally, the accumulated debris is weighed between the two screens (800 microns at the top and 400 microns at the bottom).
A bad grinder crushes particles of various sizes, from large to small. Blade grinders are notorious for this problem. Unlike blade coffee grinders, coffee grinders with steel or ceramic burrs generally produce grounds that are much more uniform in grind size.
Oxo’s coffee grinders are weighed for a more precise grind.
See all photos
Also we grind at least two more times. Here you can record the average optimal production of each grinder.
