Inside: Check out the best coffee grinders for French Press coffee making including manual or electric styles, burr or blade grinders
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Ask any fan of French Press coffee making and they’ll tell you one of the most important things to a great cup is grinding your own beans. Sounds very manual and hard work, right?
Wrong! Grinding coffee beans is a science but one made easy with the best coffee grinders for French Press coffee making. Let’s check out some of them and see what makes them so good – and how to pick the right one!
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Grinding your own beans can seem like a lot of work just to prepare a cup of coffee. And in some cases, it will be. Sometimes that pre-ground stuff works just fine and you can’t beat a good coffee maker coffee.
But if you want to use a French Press method, there’s one thing that makes grinding beans the best way – you need a medium to coarse grind. Most of the pre-ground coffees out there are either a fine or extra-fine grind which is great for most thing.
But with a French Press, those fine grinds will sneak through the mesh filters and make the coffee have an unpleasant, gritty texture. Plus their flavour isn’t as strong and that makes the coffee produced in this system not as full of taste as it should be.
Grind size at a glance
Here’s a quick glance at where French Press coffee fall in the range of different grinds available:
- Extra coarse: cold brew and cowboy coffee
- Coarse: Percolated coffee, French Press
- Medium coarse: Drip coffee machines like Chemex
- Medium: Pour over coffee makers, drip coffee, siphon coffee, AeroPress
- Medium-fine: Pour over coffee makers, AeroPress
- Fine: Espresso, moka pots
- Extra-fine: Turkish coffee
What’s the best type of coffee grinder?
There are a lot of different coffee grinders out there and there are no right or wrong answers. But there are a few tips on what makes the best type of coffee grinder.
It’s science. Stick with me because it has a direct impact on your coffee.
- Coffee beans have soluble solids that need to be extracted from the grind into the brew in the right balance to get the best flavour
- An ideal brew strength is 98.5% water and the rest brewed solids.
- Grind size has a direct impact on how well the process works. In French Press, it needs to be 100-300 particles, whereas espresso needs much more, in the region of 3,500 particles
- The grind also needs to be uniform otherwise, some of the coffee becomes over or under-extracted
All of this means that you need a grinder that can grind the beans to the right size, that they are a uniform size and that the French Press can extract those solids without needing too much coffee grinds. Complicated but worth learning!
Blade grinders
In terms of types of coffee grinders, the blade grinder is a popular option and is usually less expensive than burr grinders (more on them in a mo). They are great at chopping up the coffee beans and these are caught in a container.
This type of grinder will create a coarse grind but sometimes isn’t as uniform as burr grinders. You also need to watch that they don’t overheat the beans by grinding them too quickly.
Burr grinders
Burr grinders are the more precise style of the coffee grinder and use discs or cones that have grooves on them. One moves while the other stays still. This slices or grinds the beans to a consistent size.
This type of grinder can produce a range of different grinds and will get a consistent size. They are more expensive and do tend to be larger than the blade grinders.
Ceramic or stainless steel?
Another point to consider is if the blades or discs are ceramic or stainless steel. Both are great but there are slight differences.
- Stainless steel – anti-rust and hard-wearing but can conduct heat. Sharper than ceramic but can dull with use
- Ceramic – anti-rust and hard-wearing, doesn’t conduct heat. More prone to damage than stainless steel but will keep a sharp edge longer
Electric or manual?
The final consideration is whether to go for a manual or an electric grinder. Both have great points but to help you consider:
- Electric grinders – faster but louder, needs a source of power but produce ground coffee consistently in a few seconds
- Manual grinders – much less sound but you need to do the work by moving the handle to grind. Portable and usually more affordable, preferred by hard-core coffee fans
Things to look for in a coffee grinder
Whether you want to invest a good chunk of cash in a burr grinder or just keep it simple with a blade grinder for now, there are a few things to look for in these different machines.
Grind consistency
The aim is to get a consistent grind and that’s where burr grinders are outstanding. But even blade grinders should be relatively consistent if they are a good version of the model. Always check reviews to see what people are saying about the consistency of grind.
Ease of cleaning
Coffee has natural oils released during grinding so these can stick to the inside and make a mess. The ease of cleaning any coffee grinder is an important part of the decision-making process. Look for how easy it is to take apart, to clean key parts and bonus if some of the parts are dishwasher safe.
Adjustable grind
While this isn’t crucial, it is handy to have adjustable grind levels. Then if you want to grind some beans for French Press then another time want to make an espresso, the same coffee grinder can handle both tasks.
Size of machine
Again, this won’t matter for everyone but if you only have a limited space, you might want to look for a coffee grinder that’s relatively small or compact. Or you may want one that is manual rather than electric so you can take it away from home with you.
You might also like Best Coffee Maker Under $50: How to Get a Budget-Friendly Coffee Machine by The Coffee Chef.
The best coffee grinders in detail
Now we know why we need a coffee grinder and some of the different variations available, let’s take a more in-depth look at some of the best coffee grinders.
JavaPresse Manual Coffee Grinder
If you are just starting with a French Press coffee maker or grinding your own beans, then a simple manual coffee grinder is perfect.
With JavaPresse Manual Coffee Grinder, you have a stainless steel body and blades for reliability alongside an acrylic container so you can see how many beans you’ve ground. It is a conical burr style of coffee grinder.
Top features:
- Variable grind settings
- Portable design and size to take with you if you are going away
- Doesn’t cause the friction that can happen with electric grinders
- Easy to take apart to clean
Manual Coffee Grinder with Conical Ceramic Burr
The Manual Coffee Grinder with Conical Ceramic Burr is another budget-friendly and simple manual coffee grinder that does the basics for French Press. It has a simple grind adjustment system so you can easily find the right setting.
The longer handle also means you can grind quicker than with other types of manual coffee grinders – but still without being too fast in the way some electric models can be.
Top features:
- Fine or coarse ground settings with adjustable grind control
- Ceramic burr to avoid heating the beans as you grind them
- Easy-to-clean design with removable handle
- Glass jar to hold the ground coffee
- Comes with a coffee thermometer and a cleaning brush
Bodum BISTRO Blade Grinder
Bodum is known for its coffee-making equipment and the Bodum BISTRO Blade Grinder is a great example of a budget-friendly electric model.
The coffee grinder features a stainless steel cutting blade with a powerful 150-watt motor behind it so beans are ground quickly and easily. It can make enough grounds for 8 cups in a French Press in one go.
Top features:
- Compact size with cord storage in the base
- Range of colours to fit in with your kitchen decor (not essential but fun!)
- Push button control with a clear lid to watch the fineness of the grind
- Pulse or continuous grind settings
- Safety feature – grind won’t start until lid is secure
KRUPS Silent Vortex Electric Grinder
KRUPS is another well-known coffee maker and their electric grinder is multi-purpose, grinding coffee beans but also herbs and spices too.
The KRUPS Silent Vortex Electric Grinder is a powerful grinder that can create enough beans for 12 cups in just 15 seconds. But it is also very quiet – grinding can be a really noisy job but this grinder earns its name and is very quiet when operating.
Top features:
- Patented spin technology for fast and efficient grinding
- Dishwasher-safe stainless steel grinding bowl
- Dedicated storage lid to seal the bowl so doubles as storage
- Continuous or pulse grinding with a single-touch button
Sboly Conical Burr Coffee Grinder
If you want to jump in with a more serious coffee grinder, then the Sboly is a great example. It is more expensive than the other models by a good way but offers a level of precision that the French Press coffee fan will love.
The Sboly Conical Burr Coffee Grinder has a 12-cup capacity and a simple design that operates with a single button. It has stainless steel blades and a conical design that ensures none of those delicious coffee oils are lost during the process.
Top features:
- 19 precision grind settings
- 1 – 12 cup adjustable grind amount
- Resealable, dust-proof lid to prolong coffee freshness
- FDA and ETL Certificates for quality assurance
- Safety feature – grinder won’t operate unless the lid is locked into place
Choosing the best coffee grinder
If you are looking for a simple, cost-effective way to grind your beans, then the manual coffee grinder will work perfectly. These are traditional ways to produce coffee grinds and have a good consistency with no static concerns.
For a more high-tech option, electric grinders are quicker and require less work, using the power to do it all for you. There are some issues with noise, although models like the KRUPS work to combat this. And always watch if they aren’t heating the beans and reducing the flavour.
