Newbie Q: To grind badly or to buy preground?

[ducksredux]

Howdy! I am not someone looking for the ultimate at any price, I am looking for as good as it gets for a moderate/cheap price. I have a local coffee roaster who has a small and wonderful selection. I buy every two weeks and he grinds it for me. I drink stovetop espresso at home, drip cone at work and decaf french press in the evenings. I have three grinders that I was given, and I'm wondering if I'm far better off using one of these rather than having the coffee preground for me every two weeks:

Spong No.3 - An enormous cast-iron wall-mounted grinder. Although it has a knob to adjust the coarseness of the grind it tends to give me a mix btwn coarse to dust no matter how I adjust it.
Krups Coffee Mill - standard cheap blade mill. I use it for spices.
Pavoni Coffee Mill - ditto

I am not willing to spend hundreds of dollars on a grinder. The posts and articles that I've read have made it seem like you need to spend a lot or you're just ignorant. Is there a real difference in quality btwn grinding it fresh in a cheap grinder vs. buying it preground? Can I even get the proper grind for the stovetop espresso with a cheap grinder?

 

[CCafe]

A good conical burr should give you everything you'll need. There are some cheaper units and more expensive units out there. But here is one that can be easily obtained for a fair price and can be fixed just as easily if it breaks.

Capresso 560BK Infinity Conical Burr Grinder - Black

 

[ducksredux]

Thanks for the reply. Is it loud? I'd be grinding in the kitchen at 5 am with sleeping children and wife upstairs. Maybe a hand grinder like the Hario Skerton?

 

[Fred44]

I would use a hammer and smash the beans to dust before I had someone pre-grind them for me. Ground coffee starts going stale within an hour.

As mentioned above, the Cappresso Infinity is a great, inexpensive grinder. If you want a very good, inexpensive hand grinder (great for espresso too), check out the Kyocera from Orphan Espresso, about $80.

 

[ducksredux]

Thanks a lot!

 

[Vucko]

My 2 cents, same as I gave on another post...

Making the investment in equipment that you will always use is worth it. If you drink coffee 3-5x a week, then this is one of those simple pleasures in like. Don't spoil it.

I bought my burr about 7 years ago and it is still going strong. If i paid $60 for it, then the grinder cost me <$10 per year. I drink coffee 7x week, that brings the cost down even more per drink. You can justify it any way you want.

I would either have the big grinder fixed or sell it and one of the others and buy something reasonable and recommended on the site. You don't have the sell your kidney to buy the best one. I think you should be able to find a good one for about $40-60...​

 

[ducksredux]

I ended up buying the Hario Mini Mill. I love it for the Moka pot but it's crappy for the French press. Now that I've taken the plunge and become insufferable about coffee I might buy a second grinder and take the Hario to work. I'd love to get the Capresso Infinity but is it really loud?