In France as a kid, I remember grinding beans being almost a community activity. My dad used to sit in the garden with a few neighbours, they'd each have a wooden box hand cranker. They'd be out there for hours, drinking wine, smoking ciggies and generally having a good old time of it. It may or may not have been entirely about grinding beans, but, we always had fresh coffee.
My French grandmother used to make the best smelling coffee. I never got to have any though. My mum and dad would a bowl of black coffee with a croissant in the morning. They had a wooden grinder but they always woke up too early for me to see it.
The real pleasure of coffee has gone away, the smell as your local coffee seller roasted the coffee, it used to permeate the whole area in the mornings.
As someone who accidentally purchased whole bean coffee last week, doesn’t own a grinder, and resorted to using a mortar and pestle this morning to grind my beans, I found this extremely helpful!
@@zacharybennett3249 I've done it once as a test, if you have the patience to do it will make a very fine grind. but it is messier than handgrinding and takes more effort.
My favorite aspect of James Hoffmann’s videos is that he never sounds condescending to people like me who’re just getting started. Even in videos that aren’t just getting started guides, I don’t feel like he’s letting snobbiness overtake educating
I have a 40 + year old Krups 203 blade grinder (serial number 410) that I could barely afford to buy as a poor college student. I learned to rapidly pulse, rotate and shake the little Krups as I ground the beans to get a surprisingly uniform grind. I also learned never to overload it so the ground coffee wouldn't heat up or get compacted on the bottom and sides. I lived in a little house in the hills outside of town and made my coffee from a mountain spring. Fellow students and professors who came out to the house for extended discussions under the trees, including seasoned and prideful coffee aficionados, said I made the best coffee around. The Krups 203 is still going strong, now mostly as a spice grinder.
I've been binge watching this channel for few hours already, I don't even drink coffee... It's fascinating that there's so many tools to just create a cup of coffee.
I am someone that becomes very easily overwhelmed with the many choices I have as a (coffee) consumer. I appreciate how relaxing, informative and balanced your walkthrough is here, so thank you for that!!
I used to have my coffee ground at a local cafe. Stored it in a ziplock bag and I could always tell it was stale within a few days. Got so bad I would make cold brew right away instead.
Here I am looking for a cheap manual grinder cause I've just bought myself a 300 espresso machine thinking that was the most expensive thing to buy in order to make some espresso .... huge mistake 😂. Thanks for your very helpful videos !!
James has a way of pulling you in to his videos. I can spend hours watching his videos and nobody comes close to him with his depth of knowledge, research and presentation manner and delivery. A real pleasure to listen, watch and learn. Thank you!
You have a talent for going into a lot of technical detail while keeping the content entirely accessible and interesting. Clearly a lot of thought goes into exactly how things are explained. Bravo!
Indeed if he hasn't already, James might show up on TV one time and tell us all about the advantage of elliptic burrs over logaritmically shaped ones. Bad joke, that, yet Mr Hoffman would lay out the difference like they were glass beads. A stroke of talent besides that of brewing the most decent of cups !
@@reuireuiop0 talent and very intense and consistent preparation and rigorous editing, this is not "off the cuff" ,spontaneous, "Hay, let's riff on coffee."Mr Hoffman is thoroughly perpaired, and that takes a lot of time and effort.
I stumbled on a Japanese-market hand grinder at a thrift store, and it turns out I really enjoy the process of hand grinding. It also slows me down, each cup I make takes longer, each cup is an event. Helps me keep my consumption down to two cups a day.
At 75 I am enjoying learning about coffee with your video's. Thank you. Over the years I have owned two coffee grinders. A Breville Smart Grinder which failed after several years due to it's electronic. I currently have a Capresso Infinity and enjoy it's simplicity. I make single serve by weighing my beans. Thank you for helping me understand dosing. The Capresso is simple to just turn the switch to 9 and let it grind until it clears. I can hear when it is finished. I tap the catch cup with my knuckles to clear the grounds. Otherwise the left over grounds wind up on my counter.
In the Netherlands, we don't really value coffee for its quality but more for the caffeine. It was beyond eye opening when I went to Indonesia and had amazing quality coffee. Ever since then, to keep things simple, I have owned a blade coffee grinder and a French Press. Up until I discovered your channel I hadn't considered the grind uniformity at all and just thought that the finer the grind, the better the coffee. I'll be looking for a hand grinder to give me a much better grind uniformity.
Of course! In the Netherlands there isn't much value for gastronomy in general! Any country in the world is an incredible source and eye-opener for the Dutch. Greetings from Belgium.
I really really appreciate how your beginner's guides are actually for beginners, no overly complicated coffee language or making me feel dumb or anything, just very helpful information! ☺️❤️
I discovered James Hoffmann 4 weeks ago and yesterday, I bought my French Press. I want a hand grinder next. Here in Namibia, it's next to impossible to get one
Good thing is, uniformity isn't the most important thing when it comes to French press brewing. If it's almost impossible for you to find a burr grinder, just use the next best thing.
Do you guys have aliexpress there? If positive, there are a few awesome options there, from Timemore C2 (50 to 70 USD), through 1zPresso K-plus (350 USD), and many more
Invested in a Bratza Encore this winter and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done for my morning coffee routine. Even convinced my 65 yr old mother that fresh ground coffee is better and she’s been a pre-ground die hard my entire life.
Well, Ive been drinking black coffee since I was... I want to say, 15-16 (and I'm 23 now) because my grandparents always drank a pot or two of Folger's Columbian Black Silk coffee between them every morning. Then, a couple of years ago, I discovered your channel; and at first I was honestly rather skeptical of the idea that coffee could have a flavour that wasn't just the bitter flavour of a dark roasted, pre-ground, rather cheap coffee. But I loved it, even though with having ADD it has never really given me boost of energy that most people experience when drinking coffee. I just loved the flavour, the roastiness, and yes, even the bitterness. There's just something comforting about a cup of coffee drank with loved ones; and even though I no longer live with my grandparents, it's a very strong reminder of simpler times. Despite my skepticism, I became very interested in the videos your team produces, and the passion that you show for coffee and how it can have more complex flavours than I ever thought imaginable. So began my search to find better coffees, better roasts. Living here in America, and being on a poor man's budget, I settled on a compamy called Black Rifle Coffee Company who produce (in my opinion) very nice pre-ground roasts; brewed with the coffee maker that my grandfather gave me that he used to use while he was a truck driver for 40 years; that being a small (2 cup) "cowboy" coffee brewer. I thought it tasted far better than any of the drip coffee brewers I had come to know, and for a few years, was my go-to brewer for a cup of coffee. Recently, I moved to a different state for my new family (my wife and my son), and while walking to the store we passed by a garage sale where a man was selling his recently passed away mother's belongings, and there on the table was a (rather cheap) hand grinder; and I said to myself, "Now I can finally try out whole bean coffee, get in on this whole coffee thing for real." It took a number of months afterwards to be able to afford a whole bean roast (a poor man's budget had turned into a poor family's budget, after all). With some money I was sent for Christmas from my mom, I was able to purchase a nice whole-bean light roast Yirgacheffe, and a (again, rather cheap, being only $10) French Press because I saw it there and I said to myself, "Well, if I'm going to make this coffee taste good, I might as well have something that can brew it very well." Despite the fact that my recently acquired hand grinder is very cheap, being made of mostly plastic (even the burs seem to be made of plastic, though I can't confirm because it just cant be taken apart fully), leading to some rather lacking uniformity in grind size, I searched for your video of the best French Press technique and my foray into the coffee world offically began after 7 years of drinking the same kinds of coffee. After I poured into the hopper what I felt was a decent dose of coffee (for I dont have a scale of any kind to measure it with), boiled about 20oz (566.99g, according to a quick Google search), and used your technique to brew using the French Press I got, I poured it out into my mug and took a sip of the absolute best coffee I'd ever tasted (and this is saying something considering I had been to a coffee shop in Kansas City Union Station that does pour-over using a V60, and the barista did an amazing job with the technique). I could tell right off the bat that it was very over-extracted because I had used too much coffee in my dose, *but the strangest thing is* that it was pleasantly floral, it had notes of sweetness I never expected to exist in coffee, it wasn't insanely bitter like some of the dark roasts and even medium roasts I've drank for my entire coffee life, there was this body that I've never felt before. It was, again, the absolute best tasting cup of coffee I had ever had. So, I just want to thank you and your team for every video that you produce, and the care that goes into those videos, because without them I wouldn't have ever considered anything but a Folger's Dark Roast.
I had a little hario for about 4 years and was very happy with it. I recently bought a wilfa uniform and the pleasure it brings every morning made it completely worth the money. It's so quick and easy I love it.
I started watching James during lockdown last year after I purchased a cheap espresso machine, by the beginning of this year I became a Patreon member of the channel, had bought a La Pavoni Europiccola and the Professional, a Bezzera grinder, a manual puq press and a Genecafe roaster, I’m going to do a coffee course if my state of Victoria,Australia would stop going into lockdown! I must say I’m still learning all aspects of coffee roasting and making, but thank you James for constantly piqing my interest.
10:25 I finagled the mechanism on mine so that I can grind with a power drilll. It's a cheap and efficient upgrade, and as a bonus I get to find more out about people by whether they react with glee or disgust when I make them coffee for the first time
I think it's definitely important to mention the time difference between ceramic and metal burrs I bought the cheapest manual grinder on Amazon and the ceramic burrs took almost 5 minutes just to grind 1 cup for myself (that was about €17). I then upgraded to a hero S01 steel burr grinder which chewed through the beans by comparison, finishing in about a minute, so much nicer to use (for about €40/50) and well worth it.
Hi mate, I have a Bialetti Mokka Express stovetop cafetière.. I’ve been using ground coffee but I’m just wondering how fine does this £40 grinder make your coffee?
@@JLoofie True! I didn't consider the commandante as useful for mel until I saw the guys at Barn Berlin pulling espresso shots from coffee ground by the commandante.
James, I want to thank you for helping me get into making better coffee. I never knew how much of a difference grinding my own coffee at home from whole beans instead of using pre-ground coffee would make. I got a Hario Skerton Pro on sale and brewed a small pot after running through a few grinds to find the size I wanted to use, and I think for the first time since I started drinking coffee about 10 years ago, I'm drinking a cup of black coffee that I can honestly call delicious. I'm not using the fanciest equipment money can buy. I'll probably step up to a metal grinder one day, but good lord, I never realized that coffee could actually be so good. For all of my coffee-drinking life, it's been either horridly bitter or about 30% cream and sugar by weight. I'll probably stick to manual grinders since there's just something primordial about doing something manually. Turning a screw, opening a can...that kind of thing. Plus, they're smaller, and my coffee station needs to take up less room in the kitchen or my wife might be a little unhappy about it lol
When I first bought a coffee grinder I was very impressed with the noticeable improvement in the flavor of my coffee using fresh beans. I didn't care about the grind consistency at first. But then, very quickly, I noticed how the finer coffee particles would silt up the bottom of my cup, as I use a metal mesh filter with the pour over / emersion method.. The coffee I like needs to be ground between fine and medium. In order to grind most of the particles to the best size, I end up grinding almost half the coffee too fine and it passes through the filter mesh. I can't stand to buy paper filters. They reduce some of the flavors in the coffee. And I really just want coffee making to be super simple. I should probably get a dual mesh stainless steel filter. I never thought I was into being a perfectionist about making my morning coffee. Now I'm shopping for a new grinder because it actually matters. Great video.
Glad to see 1Z Presso getting some exposure. Have had a JX for about a year, performing solid. And remember, they are from Taiwan and 1 in Chinese is pronounced like the letter E. Its easy-presso, not One Z-presso. Thank you past me for choosing to minor in Chinese, it finally paid off.
I bought one when a local place became their Canadian distributor. I sort of wish I future proofed myself with a JX-Pro, but espresso grinding is a bit much by hand with lighter roasts. I definitely agree with Hoffman about an electric for daily use, but the JX is perfect for my aeropress and moka pot routine.
the jx-pro is phenomenal. I use it for v60, aeropress, clever dripper, and flair. i've gone through a couple cheap ceramic burr hand grinders and own a baratza, the jx-pro is faster by quite a lot. I've timed 11g, 15g, and 30g grind time and the average speed is like 1g/1.6sec (maybe twice as long for espresso settings). and the uniformity is just about at the commandante level for 100 dollars less (im sure there's some observable difference that is some marginal diminishing return).
Yeah I have a JX pro, really great results from it. I prefer it over most of the commercial espresso machines I've used that haven't been maintained to the extent they should be. Also with darker roasts it makes pour overs that stand up to an ek43 (I prefer the ek43 for nice fruity light roasts still).
I splashed out on the Porlex mini last week based on an old video review, and so far it has been an absolute joy. I did think James was overstating the pleasure of grinding your coffee by hand in the past. Taking something he personally enjoys and assigning significance that was undue. I was a fool, I wish I could have guests round so I could grind more bean.
It's also always an added joy with guests, especially when they're not "into" coffee. My friends realizing that I'm about to put in extra work to make them a great cuppa always starts an interesting conversation. Converting them all one cup at a time.
I use the porlex mini with my Rok espresso machine. Its such a good grinder. Couldn't recommend it more,. Obviously if I was getting a more expensive commercial / or home espresso machine would get a better grinder. But this little manual one for a manual machine is fantasric and will last!
I went for the Porlex Tall. It's excellent. But for some reason it doesn't come with the rubber strap thing that you get with the Mini (why??). So you have to order that as a spare part, but it only costs like £1.50. Without the rubber strap, it's not so easy to grip the thing while you're grinding.
@@richardemerson8075 I have a commandante and this is my only complaint about it. The metal surface is quick slick and that makes it hard to hang onto at times, especially at espresso level grinding. Almost impossible. Thankfully the radius is perfect for slipping on on those rubber 'livestrong' style bracelets, which helps a great deal.
Found this channel a few months back now and it sparked my interest in making good coffee at home. I've since bought my first espresso machine and grinder and I'm having a blast! Thanks for all the help and info James 🙂
I'm in the same journey but in a way previous phase (just starting actually). any tips/gear recommendations? I'm thinking I should start with a french or aeropress and am now looking into grinders
@@sergiogodinho9992 If budget isn’t a thing, I recommend the best in the market, the Comandante C40, mine have been around for 3 years already, still rocking it. I have went through aeropress, v60, slow drip cold brew, and now espresso with it. Best hand grinder in the market imo.
Wow. I've been drinking coffee for 45 years and I know nothing. This journey will continue thanks to Mr James. I currently grind beans the night before in a Krups grinder, then put them in a drip coffee maker. so that is my start point, and as I'm learning my NEED for an education!
As someone who just bought a Specialita after spending the first year of making espresso with only a hand grinder, it was nice to see it representing the 'traditional' style of espresso grinder in this lineup. One thing I've particularly liked about it aside from the quality of the grind is that it is wonderfully quiet. Going from a hand grinder which obviously has no motor noise whatsoever, I've been pleasantly surprised!
@rogue I recently got a Specialita and I typically get 18g in 7 seconds. I may have more tinkering to do with it but I am only using it for espresso. I have an Encore for coarser grinds.
Specialita here. 16g in 10.5 sec. You can open the top, de-install the upper burr - usually you have to do anyway for cleaning from time to time - and just re-install. Videos existing on YT. Maybe it´s getting to a more usual grinding duration.
James...this is a most generous use of your time...and indispensable to those just getting started on their coffee journey. Been there, done that...and wish I would have had this as a reference 30 years ago!
This lead me to the blade grinder hacks video, which is great because it's all I can afford. Together with the coffee buying guide from a couple of weeks ago and the aeropress series I now feel equipped to make great coffee even on my budget. Thank you.
I just bought the Eureka Mignon that you presented in your video (the one with the touch screen) and I can say that this grinder is perfect for home baristas!!!! The grind coffee is in perfect shape and at the same size and the flavor is quite strong. I have a full body in my coffee. One of the good things with Eureka Mignon is that the motor is not noisy! Well, the most important for new buyers is that they have to find their own size of grind, because if we buy different variety of coffee, it needs to change the grind size every time! Thank you for your helpful video!
I’m here after watching your appearance in Tom Scott’s video. I’ve had an interest in making my own coffee and what excites me about watching your videos is envisioning my self discovery and journey of finding the different grinds and methods of coffee I personally enjoy. I’ve watched your French Press video before this one and I’m thinking that style of coffee is both the most affordable as well as enjoyable path for me at the moment. I’m looking forward to seeing how diverse my taste tolerance is along with learning different methods of brewing coffee that I can enjoy practicing.
Such a great video! There is another good reason for a handgrinder: less space is needed. I have a huge kitchen, but I hate cluttered counters. So I have a Commandante and it sits on top a live edge little walnut shelf that looks so pretty. I also just drink two cups a day and I love the grinding by hand. It so rewarding
Also for anyone who has to move a lot! For someone like a college student who’s moving from dorm room to apartment to another apartment and then maybe off to grad school, with trips back to the parents’ place and summer internships and who knows what else... it’s great to have a grinder that can fit inside a shoe when packing up a suitcase to fly across the country yet again
A great video. You smoothly achieved the balance between rough overview / big picture and the essential details of each price category. I can see the amount of work that has gone into the script. You put yourself into the shoes of the aspiring newcomer or advanced espresso aficionado, and this helps to tailor the videos language for the intended purpose. Well done. You may consider teaching / designing scripts / teaching concepts.
I have had inittially a cheap Porlex coffee grinder. I could not get good coffee and I could not understand why. Recently I bought a Commandante. The difference is night and day. When James says “nice, balanced, sweet coffee” I can truly understand what he means now, and could not before. My setup is simple, Clever Dripper, Commandante grinder and Hario scale. You can get amazing coffee with this setup. This guy’s passion for coffee shows in his videos. Well done James!
Just bought my first burr grinder after decades of using a blade grinder. OMG, the flavour of my morning French press coffee is just at a whole new level. Thank you!
IMO a good grinder is the most important piece of equipment. Everything else can be pretty satisfactory if inexpensive- grinders are the difference between good and great coffee results
All my current coffee equipment I have because of James Hoffman. When I discovered him a year ago I had pre-ground coffee (from a good quality coffee shop, mind you) and a Bialetti Venus stovetop coffee maker. My first improvement was to invest in a Comandante C40 hand grinder. I lived out in the countryside in a small cottage and didn't have the counter space for an electric grinder, and I wanted to make espresso, not filter, so the Comandante seemed like a great choice. Instantly my coffee tasted better; fresh ground coffee is so much better. I was using the same technique, and I matched the grind size to what the coffee shop used to sell me pre-ground. The second thing was I started getting coffee direct from Square Mile, freshly roasted. Coffee flavour went up another huge leap. Third thing that happened was I realised I wasn't actually making espresso, stove tops can't do that (no, I didn't realise), but I still had the no counter space issue and certainly no budget for the kind of espresso machines James says do a decent job. So, forth thing was investing in a 9Barista stove top espresso maker, which actually makes espresso! And it does! It obviously comes with some control limitations, but the step up in flavour was incredible. Now I was making espresso. Yes, they all tasted disgusting for about three weeks while I actually got used to how get the best out of the 9Barista, and how the different coffees I was getting needed to be ground, but once dialled in, super improved coffee. My issue now is that I wish my Comandante wasn't a stepped grinder. I have since moved from the complete middle of nowhere countryside to a lovely country village which actually has a few shops, one of which is a coffee shop, and damn it, they make exquisite coffee! I regularly visit a majorly coffee loving city and get high quality espresso there, but this guy in his tiny coffee shop in my tiny village blows them out the water. He nails it every time. So now I get a coffee from him every day. Sometimes weeks go by without me using my Comandante or my 9Barista, and that is a sad, sad story. But the coffee shop guy's coffee is so much better! Final part, despite all this, I still want a Zero Niche.
Love this Beginner's guide series. Would love to see an episode, that we could call How to prioritise when starting with specialty coffee. Where's the biggest return of my investment? Is it worth spending a so-so amount on everything (beans, brewer, grinder, filter water, scale...)? Or is it better to make a bigger investment up front into one of these, while the others can be a cheaper option? Is it worth spending big money on beans if I have a cheap grinder? Or is it most important to focus on training my taste buds and bettering my brewing methods?
Grinder > everything else. Next would be the brewer. Depends what you want - if filter, there’s little point spending more than a simple aeropress. For espresso then you need to spend min £400 for entry level prosumer machine. Scale v marginal benefits beyond a £5er. Beans marginal benefits once you’re buying speciality coffee roasted c2 weeks ago. Water marginal benefit once you’re using appropriate water eg Volvic or Ashbeck.
I'm with the grinder team. If you don't start with good beans (means whatever roast and taste you prefer!) and a fresh (means immediately before preparation) consistent grind appropriate to your brewing method, you will never get optimal results no matter how sophisticated your brewing gear.
James, I’ve just managed to make my first delicious cup of coffee at home, and I e been making coffee at home for years, but after buying a new grinder and following your moka pot advice I’ve just had the best home brewed coffee of my life, thanks man! Exciting new coffee journey awaits! 🎉
James, as a coffee farmer in Panama i find your videos very funny, in a good way. My wife and i have a coffee company and are involved in the whole process from bean to cup.
I just purchased my first grinder (the first one you showed) last week and it's perfect for me. I love it and I appreciate your simple yet very informative explanation.
I started with preground, then got a blade grinder which lasted me a long time and worked fine for my French Press. Finally a few years back I upgraded to the Barazzta Encore and while by no means a super high end machine, it certainly made a huge difference in my coffee. We tend to use the Aeropress and the a French Press, so quite different grind sizes, and it seems to do a really good job at both.
James, I think yours is the very first channel I’ve ever subscribed to, and I’ve been using RUclips since it first came out. I think my blood pressure drops 20 points while watching. Really appreciate your expertise.
This definitely has convinced me to stick to just upgrading my hand-grinder a little. From your advice, I'd already started hand-grinding, and it really has changed my coffee experience for the better. Might have also been good additional physio as I was recovering from broken wrist. But hate the sound of electric grinders anyway, plus space they take up. But that extra minute to two weighing and grinding the beans, and getting those additional aromas, plus, being able to have few different bags of beans on the go, just can't be replaced now! Thank you so much for improving my home coffee making!
I have the Wilfa Svart (first electric grinder in this video), and am 90% happy for pour-over coffee. It was a huge update to not having a grinder at all and for more than a year I can keep on chasing delicious coffee. Bought it based on James's review and am not disappointed. This channel has taught me very much about delicious coffee over the past couple of years.
James, the thing you do here its an academy level educational content with the highest production value could be found on RUclips, super great job!!!! thank you! and please please please, stay fancy...
For sure, I can see why he has such a devoted fan base. His stuff is so well produced, well spoken, and informative. I'm sure he wouldn't want people taking his word as gospel though, as many seem to now. Preferences and differing opinions are important!
I bought a glorified spice grinder with a timer controlling the grind level, and it is satisfactory ... for now. You have made me smarter for my next purchase at some point in the future when I want to move up. Thanks.
I've Purchased a vintage German hand grinder Zassenhaus De Ve Holland Kungenthal I own 6 Vintage German coffee grinders total I love the Vintage German coffee grinder they grinder coffee perfectly Also very tactile to hold And service Also I have collected Italian made varous Vintage Bialetti Moker from 60s 70s 80s all sizes I also go to the Algerian Coffee shop in Old Compton Street Soho London for Bialetti Moker parts an Great coffee beans I love my fresh grind Coffee brew in Vintage Bialetti Moker slowly Its a ritual every morning an afternoon A way of life From London Carlo
I was excited seeing a 1Z Presso grinder featured! I got my JX-Pro in January and I love it. I started with a Hario Skerton in college and then a couple years later got a Handground (not really much of an upgrade but I really liked the idea of a crowd funded coffee grinder). If I could go back I would’ve skipped right to the JX-Pro. It’s definitely more expensive but with it I’ve been making the best coffee I’ve ever had at home.
Sounds familiar to me! I´ve used a Hario Skerton for 4 years until I fnally upgraded to the 1ZPresso Q2 in March 2021. Grinding beans has never been such a quick and enjoyable process before.
Very happy with my regular JX as well (very quick!). Not doing espresso so perfect one for me. Will probably never have to upgrade which is a nice feeling.
James: the joy of grinding coffee me: * carefully spinning the handle of my fragile cheap hand grinder for several minutes * haha... yes... the joy :')
me a beginner: bought a 5 dollar Chinese knock off hand grinder and i spun it with as much power as possible, if it broke i can justify buying a new electric grinder
The 3rd handgrinder he shows is a izpresso q2. Even on finer end of filter coffee that thing churns through 15gr of dense beans in like 20 seconds. Do yourself a favor and make an upgrade:). Do check if it holds enough beans for you
One of the most important lessons I learned very early in my coffee journey is how important a quality grinder is. Every bit as important as the coffee you're buying
I'm hoping my Baratza Encore will serve me well. I've never had a grinder so I'm a bit nervous. I can't physically hand grind so I had to get a machine but from another of James' videos I decided to skip the cheaper "entry level" burr grinders. From what I could tell this is also an entry level grinder, but for serious grinders.
@@spamcan9208 I am also about to purchase my 1st electric grinder, how are you finding the Encore? I am very interested in the Encore too but the reports of it being a very messy grinder are putting me off, can you shed any light on whether these reports are true? Does it leave coffee grounds all over your kitchen worktop everytime you use it?
@@mariosavva999 I'm really happy with it. I've been using it anywhere from 1-4 times throughout my day for the past 6 months now. Having your own grinder is like unlocking a game level. You can buy one bag of whole beans and use it anything from the Aeropress to V60 and everything in between. It also allows you to tweak settings, if for instance your Aeropress is too easy when you push, you can grind a little finer. As for your concern about being messy, I don't have that problem but I think I know why other people are: retention (and perhaps letting the machine over fill the bin past the white line.) I noticed that this machine can hold onto a lot of grinds if you are grinding >10 on the settings (especially the more oily beans.) If I don't account for that by giving a 2-3 taps on the side and 1 on top of the hopper and go to move the grinder without its bin in place then yeah, it can get a little messy. You can use a flashlight to check if the discharge chute is clogged/starting to clog. Which reminds me, get a set of straw cleaning brushes that are used for sports water bottles. You can bend them to fit up the chute better and they (should) have something protective on the tip to keep the metal wire from gouging the plastic. You'll see what I mean with the included brush. A can of compressed air can also be handy but only do that outside! (I've used a squeeze bulb designed for camera lenses inside, however it can still make a mess if you're not careful.) I clean mine once a month, sometimes more, but I also use it a lot on a very fine setting and it's also the type of person I am. You might be fine every 3-4 months. Protip: weigh the grinds not just the beans going in the hopper. You'll not only ensure you have the correct amount for brewing but if you lost a gram or two inside the machine that tapping didn't get out. I made this mistake in the beginning and was wondering why my coffee was so inconsistent at times. Another HUGE plus to this machine is that EVERYTHING is available, from parts (you have access to everything that was used to build that machine) to diagrams and how-to's if it breaks, from Baratza themselves. It's all on their website. Even how to test the motor with or without a multimeter! It's been designed with home diyers in mind, including upgrading the burr set if you want. You can also send it to them for repair. It was it hard to make the jump and click "buy now" but I'm so glad I did. Can it make a mess, absolutely but I think that goes for all grinders because even those thousand dollar plus ones require you to clean them out every so often and nothing is immune from retention.
@@spamcan9208 thanks so much for your very detailed response! I decided to buy one! It has just arrived today, looking forward to giving it a go and seeing how it improves my coffee! I also hate mess, so will follow your advice to try and avoid it...have you been using the water on the beans trick to avoid any static? Yes the fact that this grinder is so serviceable was one of the deciding factors.
James James James. I may be old(er) but new to brewing coffee AT HOME. I've always thought the STUFF I've had at home (be it when Mom made it, or my attempts) was so "blah" compared to going to a sit down restaurant or coffee shop. Now I may not drink a lot of coffee (perhaps due to the poor quality I've had at home over the years), but when I went out and had GOOD coffee it the next best thing to ??? So enter into "it's time" to make great coffee at home time, thus researching the reasons I've failed in the past of delivering that great cup of coffee. I've found yours (and a couple others) to be a wealth of information to begin to see why I was making junk coffee in the past. I have so many questions, but I'll continue to watch you and select others to become more informed. Great channel, and thanks for your help.
Very informative, thanks. Some people really have too much money. That last machine is hugely over engineered, I’d love to see a blind taste test with it up against a handheld grinder, and a £250 electric one. That’s the only way I would overcome my scepticism that it is no more than an overpriced lifestyle accessory for rich people with Smallbone kitchens and Range Rovers. A colleague roasts and grinds beans at home. He brought in some ground coffee , and we each made ourselves a filter coffee. I was completely unimpressed with the taste, it was nothing special, in fact I found it bland. However, I was very high from the caffeine, so much so that I felt seriously uncomfortable. It was very unpleasant.
Last month I went from that exact KRUPS grinder and finally upgraded to the $150-ranged electric grinders, and got a Baratza Encore. I have no regrets at all, the coffee has been great, and honestly I'm kind of wanting to spend more money on better locally roasted coffee now because I know I'm getting much more out of eat bean quality wise with the better grinder. I've also recently been using my AeroPress + Fellow Prismo to make faux-espresso shots for drinks, and that really wouldn't have been worthwhile with my previous blade grinder. I do wish the $150 could go finer than it does, but the reality is I don't have room for an espresso machine anyways so it's not like I truly need espresso fine grinds for those faux-espresso aeropress/prismo shots. The encore does get very fine, just not quite there, but fine enough for my purposes. Thanks for the great video! I'm even more convinced I invested in the right $$ range based on my needs, though I perhaps should have considered manual more than I did.
The ultimate grinding technic for the cheap conical grinder: The uniformity of grain size produced by my cheap-ass soviet plastic conical grinder with aluminum grinding "stones" can be improved dramatically by doing grinding twice! The first time I grind the coarsest possible particles the grinder can produce. The biggest size that goes through is probably 1/8 of a whole bean size. Almost no dust is generated during this step. The second time I grind the desired granularity. There are no big hard beans that cause the cone to rock from side to side during the second pass and the smaller grains are distributed uniformly around the cone, centreing it and making grinding even more uniform. If you are not in a hurry (I am personally not in a hurry if I start my coffee), then you should definitely try this out!
good tip! I use my cheap electric grinder on course, then finish with my cheap hand grinder on the final setting desired. Better coffee, no. time adjusting grinds, less effort with the hand grinder and extended time being cheap before buying the higher priced toy!
interesting technique. I'm really surprised that james showed the EZpresso Q2 which I own, but even that metal grinder can produce a lot of fine coffee dust.
I have the commandante c40 with the red clix and I can thoroughly recommend it! Takes a bit of elbow grease compared to a powered one but it’s superbly consistent, zero retention and easy to dial in and clean! Absolutely love it! If you make coffee twice a day the effort for an 18gr medium roast for espresso is around 40-50secs, and the result is worth it for the price. Tip: it comes with two glass containers, I use the clear one for catching the ground coffee (as intended) and the brown one for dosing coffee in. This way you avoid the pop corning of beans that happens when you try to dose directly in the grinder and I find it easier to just flip and attach the brown jar on the top of the grinder
@@Dralbastaki For sure! You can dial in the grind setting to what you feel is the best and then play with the 0.1gr of coffee weight you’re putting in to get the flow you’re looking for. Even without the RedClix you can get fine enough adjustments
Thank you for all this valuable advice. I'm considering equipping myself, finally. I only drink coffee when I'm working, not often. But I only drink coffee from vending machines, a bit like those on the highways. And I really like it. I'm looking for this same taste experience but at home. By doing my research for a month now, I discovered a world of enthusiasts. And the more I look into it, the more I realize what I would like to have. But here's the problem: the price but also the space on the work surface. I also let myself be seduced by the ritual that revolves around making manual coffee. The distributor, the tamper. I like it, they are beautiful objects. So at the start I had a budget of €300. Now it is 600€ including crusher. And it seems that this is still not enough for the prices charged in France. So I continue my research and thanks to you I discover new products with each video. original : Merci pour tous ces précieux conseils. J'envisage de m'équiper, enfin. Je ne bois du café que lorsque je travaille soi pas souvent. Mais je ne bois que des cafés des distributeurs automatique un peu comme ceux des autoroutes. Et j'aime beaucoup ça. Je recherche cette même expérience gustative mais chez moi. En faisant mes recherches depuis déjà 1 mois que je suis dessus, j'ai découvert un monde de passionnés. Et plus je m'y intéresse plus je me rends compte de ce qui me plairais d'avoir. Mais voilà le problème c'est le prix mais également l'espace sur le plan de travail. Je me suis également laissé séduire par le rituel qui tourne autour de la confection d'un café manuel. Le répartisseur, le tamper. Ça me plait, ce sont de beaux objets. Alors au début j'avais un budget de 300€. A présent il est de 600€ broyeur compris. Et ce n'est pas encore suffisant semble-t-il pour les prix pratiqués en France. Je continue donc mes recherches et grâce à vous je découvre à chaque vidéo de nouveaux produits.
I don’t know the first thing about making coffee & I’ve always been more of a tea drinker, but since this man showed up on my recommended I’ve been completely hooked
I started off my coffee journey with an entry level grinder and espresso machine (both sunbeam in Australia). For me, that was a great entry as it got me used to the process of making coffee and the pressurized portafilter allowed to not worry too much about messing up. I've since upgraded both machines (to the minon specialita and a better sunbeam espresso machine) and it took a while to adjust. But because I had previous success and knew what I was chasing, I started to have sucess. Once I started to have good result with light roasted coffee in a proper portafilter basket, that's when I really started tasting the difference in the upgrade, but I don't know if I'd have been ready if I started there.
Interesting, we have Sunbeam in the US as well. I'm also curious, are Breville products popular in Oz or is it like Foster's, where the... let's diplomatically say "low end" is exported to the world? 😂 (Note I actually don't have anything against Sage/Breville, I just bought a waffle maker and am heavily leaning towards getting the BDB ;) )
@@Shadowguy456234 Sunbeam Australia is a weird offshoot of the US company, but I think the espresso machines they make are just for Australia (and they have quite a range actually). Breville is Australian? I just assumed they were an overseas company.... Yeah, they're very popular here.
I bought my first grinder, a Baratza Encore, about a year ago. It makes great tasting coffee, is easy to use, clean and is nicely made. I'm not interested in making Espresso at home so the Encore works well for me.
I'm similar to you. I got a Baratza Virtusoso as my first grinder. I'm wondering if Baratza doesn't exist in the UK as we've never seen James with one.
Yep, the Encore does a fine job on most lazy days. For workout days, the 1zpresso JX steps in to team up with my arm and keep the good coffee coming. Both at affordable prices.
@@dodaexploda James did a Wilfa Svart v Baratza Encore grinder head to head. They both did a fine job though James' preference was for the Wilfa. I thought the Wilfa was too fussy so went for the Baratza . I bought my grinder in the UK online. I presume it's a euro model as I have to use the included ac adaptor to plug it in to the wall. ruclips.net/video/1gm6UfD9qSc/видео.html
I recently upgraded from a blade to burr style grinder from Kitchenaid. Size uniformity is improved markedly, the motor doesnt seem too labored doing even the finest Turkish style grinds. Retention is there, about 2 grams, so not great,not terrible. I'd love to try my current grinder against a top notch manual one for espresso at some point. However, since espresso is a Daily thing and the current device does a competent job, I'm not sold on the additional investment. Not if the manual mill would sit idle in a cupboard after the initial week of fascination wanes. Speaking of fascination, thanks to our lovely @JamesHoffman I now have a Flair Neo, and have taken to chasing the perfect grind as well. The world of extraction is captivating!
I bought a cheap Hario Mini Slim as my first real grinder, couldn't be happier. When I'm tired of using my own muscle to grind, I just pull out my cordless drill, set it to high torque gear and off we go, no more manual work! 7mm socket fits the Hario very snuggly :D
@@Iconoclast1919 the handle originally is detachable (it's actually how you put the beans in the grinder) and sits on the 7mm. So just removing the handle allows you to attach any 7mm tool, including a drill.
@@Frexus0 Awesome!!! I have the tools to do this, so thank you very much for posting this suggestion and for answering my question. Coffee lovers unite! 😄
I had a Rancilio Rocky grinder for several years now, and have been considering upgrading to a Niche Zero for the reduced retention, and hopefully improved grinding. As always, James Hoffmann is influencing my increasing obsession with the pursuit of the Holy Grail of coffee, the perfect cup.
@@jak50n thanks! I'm using a rocky now for both drip and espresso. Like it a lot but the niche and specialita I can't decide. Seems the niche keeps coming up as a good all around. Thanks for the help!
I've been grinding my coffee manually every day for about four years now and one thing I will add to the manual grinder discussion here is that manual grinders that have a handle that moves vertically are unquestionably easier to use than the ones that are horizontal. A grinder like the ROK and others, with vertical movement, is a more natural motion that takes a lot less work and is a lot more fun. I look forward to hand grinding every morning, getting that first blast of aroma as your hand sweeps by the hopper and feeling the different resistances that various varietals, process and roasts will give you. There are coffees out there that grind like a hopper of feathers and others that go down like petrified wood. It's amazing and you can't experience this tactile distinction with an electric grinder.
You are absolutely right about the Rok, I had one (with matching lever 'presso machine) and it is true that it's a bit like meditation. Except that I like coffee to wake up, so the whole "slow coffee workflow" meant that I ended up making good coffee only at the weekend, and using my press-button bean to cup the rest of the time (or worse, a Nespresso at the office). One day I upgraded the machine to a LaPavoni, and the grinder to a Specialità (the one in the middle beside the one with the bellows). Life changing, very quiet, very fast, very precise. I'm using a separate grinder for filter and V60 though.
I bought the first grinder in that list, the Wilfa Svart for myself and my brother. Both of them broke within a year. The replacement for my brothers broke within a year. I wish I got the Baratza Encore instead. Or the Fellow Ode. For Espresso the Baratza Sette 270 is really nice for single dosing as the retention is only .5 grams. It's also super fast at grinding. Baratza are great for repair-ability, very much on the right to repair line of thinking selling all the parts, making it easy to swap out parts, and providing videos on how to repair.
@@joeees7790 He mentioned that. I agree. Spices that are coarse by default (whole ones for freshness I think) are HELL to grind yourself. ~15-30 seconds with cinnamon or nutmeg electrically is much nicer than minutes by hand.
I accidentally bought a blade smasher once and took it back immediately. The shop people were slightly taken aback by how cross I was about it. I refuse to call it a "blade grinder" because it doesn't grind anything. Useless machines.
I just recently started grinding my own espresso beans, and the difference in flavor is considerable - exactly the sort of big step up that James is talking about. Settled on a Capresso ceramic burr grinder, which does the job quickly and quietly for well under $200. Perhaps most importantly, your partner can sleep through the process. Retention is resolved with a couple of firm taps w/ my coffee cup (works with the stainless steel version; maybe not the best idea if you get the plastic case.)
I've owned a Baratza Encore conical burr grinder for many years now and have been very satisfied, overall. The quality is good - it has ground a great deal of coffee with minimal issues. The grind is also pretty consistent, within a particular coffee. The differing hardness of various beans does show off its lack of internal stiffness, though. A harder bean will result in a coarser grind, with the same setting. It is a bit noisy and unpleasant to listen to, but acceptable for the price. Its biggest weakness, to me, is that the inlet hopper is significantly larger that the outlet bin. If you fill it and walk away, you WILL come back to a horrible jam, often requiring disassembly to clear.
I did not know the grinder made such a difference! I've been using the first one you showed off for a while, and I'm ready to up my game to make a better coffee. You gave me a lot to consider, so thanks for the information. I might go with a hand grinder because it's space and price efficient.
Something I'd take note of when choosing a grinder, particularly something like a hand grinder, is ease of changing the grind settings. If going between espresso and filtered coffee, ease of changing those settings can be important. Some grinders (hand grinders in particular) don't have any obvious indication of what setting they're on; it's trial and error. While stepless adjustment gives the maximum amount of control, some grinders feature easy to read numbers or wheels to change the setting and can save a lot of headache. I ended up choosing the 1Zpresso K-Plus not only because of the improvements in design (the alternating magnet twist release for the chamber is brilliant), but because the 90 steps on the grinder is so effortless to use and keep track of settings when switching from the Aeropress (at work) to the V60 (at home), and I'm hopeful that the 90-steps will give me the refinement I'll need when I get a good espresso machine (until I'm willing to spend $1000+ for a grinder, anyway).
What I need is a "taste off" between - say - a Comandante, a Uniform, a Niche Zero and an EG-1. Some of that exists, but it's the comparison of the hand grinder against the electric models that is interesting
You have to look for commercial-grade electric grinders to fully beat a quality from Comandante. For home set-up, grinders like Baratza Forté or Niche Zero are perhaps better than Comandante but they are still very comparable in terms of grind quality.
1Z Presso is great value and also a necessity for me when I travel. It is machined phenomenally. Ergonomically though, I never understood the desire (besides aesthetically and maybe ease of machining) for perfectly round, smooth finished hand grinders. When your hands are a little greasy or just slippery, gripping the thing can be difficult even with the slightly textured cork "grip".
Absolutely agree about the smells if freshly grounded coffee! Ordered and love the manual TIMEMORE Chestnut C3 Pro Manual Coffee Grinder. Can't believe I waited so late in my life to grind fresh coffee.
I remember James Hoffmann's advice on where to spend your money (on a good quality grinder) during your adventure with coffee when I started in the fall of 2020. That is why I am so pleased with my first and only grinder: Niche Zero. Thanks for another great video reinforcing that.
I bought the Wilfa grinder for my mum a couple of years ago. It's quite good for filter coffee, like you say, and has elevated her coffee experience quite a bit, coming from mediocre pre-grounded coffee.
Just discovered your channel and I am so happy that I did. About to binge watch a bunch of these episodes. Thanks for including the full range of grinders all the way to the top tier, it is very helpful to see what the top quality looks like to acquire a better understanding and gauge the differences between them. Thanks for the great content!
Your videos have been really helpful. Over the last 15 months I've been forced to make my own coffee. I had no idea what to buy because I always relied on a local coffee shop to make my coffee for me. I tried using a hand grinder but with no idea how they actually worked or what made one better than another I had a horrible experience. With no idea what justified the price, an electric grinder just seemed really expensive. In the end, I used a blade grinder because the price was right; free. My plan was to use it until I could figure out how to select a proper grinder. Now that I've watched your video, I have an idea of what I'm looking for. Thank you so much.
I appreciate James's assessment of the *_value_* of the 2nd and 3rd last grinders (the pricey ones) compared to the _crazy pricey_ last grinder. His crystal clear appraisal of the only reason(s) one could possibly _"need"_ such a grinder are refreshingly lucid. It reminds me of a similar *sliding scale of wristwatch quality.* As a newby interested in watches, I've read similar assessments that from a certain price bracket (a few hundred dollars) jumping up to (I forget how many thousand dolllars---maybe $2000 to $3000?) one generally gets a big increase in build quality. But between the 1st 'jump' and the next big price increase, the benefits are marginal or, sometimes none at all.
There's need, yes And then there's the argument of, well " Oh yeah, I still _do_ grind my Beans in this machine here. Cost about 5 grand but hey the bouquet ", Signed Banksy drawing hanging on the wall above. That sort of thing
Thank you for such a helpful video. My passion for coffee is growing so I'm researching coffee grinders. Thanks to you, I will have a more educated shopping experience.
I just put the beans in a ziplock bag and smash them to bits with a heavy saucepan. Coffee so good it wakes up everyone in the house.
I chew them, shit them out then wash them and dry them under the sun.
@@sebaba001 poor man's cat shit coffee
Might be the grinding that wakes everyone up...
@@duffpaddy3996 😂😂😂
Oh, awake for sure, and I bet with your name on their lips LOL
In France as a kid, I remember grinding beans being almost a community activity. My dad used to sit in the garden with a few neighbours, they'd each have a wooden box hand cranker. They'd be out there for hours, drinking wine, smoking ciggies and generally having a good old time of it. It may or may not have been entirely about grinding beans, but, we always had fresh coffee.
My French grandmother used to make the best smelling coffee. I never got to have any though. My mum and dad would a bowl of black coffee with a croissant in the morning. They had a wooden grinder but they always woke up too early for me to see it.
This type of thing, in general, is what the modern world is missing.
I still have a wooden box type grinder, It is very sloooow ! And I don’t use it much, it’s sort of an ornament now.
The real pleasure of coffee has gone away, the smell as your local coffee seller roasted the coffee, it used to permeate the whole area in the mornings.
@@CrimeVid same! I sometimes use it for grinding spices. It has this adorable little wooden drawer to take out the grinds. Love it
As someone who accidentally purchased whole bean coffee last week, doesn’t own a grinder, and resorted to using a mortar and pestle this morning to grind my beans, I found this extremely helpful!
and? how did it go ??
I did the same thing. I used my Ninja blender. It worked decent enough but I’m in the market for purchasing an inexpensive but sturdy coffee grinder
As someone who has a good handgrinder: I was tempted to try this out of shear curiosity. How did it go?
@@zacharybennett3249 I've done it once as a test, if you have the patience to do it will make a very fine grind. but it is messier than handgrinding and takes more effort.
@@aargh93 So it would be worth it for a turkish coffee but probably too much for an espresso without putting it through a sifter?
My favorite aspect of James Hoffmann’s videos is that he never sounds condescending to people like me who’re just getting started. Even in videos that aren’t just getting started guides, I don’t feel like he’s letting snobbiness overtake educating
Yeah all those other coffee influencers come off very snobby and many of them are also paid by certain companies to push certain products/grinders.
I have a 40 + year old Krups 203 blade grinder (serial number 410) that I could barely afford to buy as a poor college student. I learned to rapidly pulse, rotate and shake the little Krups as I ground the beans to get a surprisingly uniform grind. I also learned never to overload it so the ground coffee wouldn't heat up or get compacted on the bottom and sides. I lived in a little house in the hills outside of town and made my coffee from a mountain spring. Fellow students and professors who came out to the house for extended discussions under the trees, including seasoned and prideful coffee aficionados, said I made the best coffee around. The Krups 203 is still going strong, now mostly as a spice grinder.
I've been binge watching this channel for few hours already, I don't even drink coffee...
It's fascinating that there's so many tools to just create a cup of coffee.
Indeed there is
That’s ironic and endearing at the same time.
Its not just drinking coffee, making coffee is fun as well
I am someone that becomes very easily overwhelmed with the many choices I have as a (coffee) consumer. I appreciate how relaxing, informative and balanced your walkthrough is here, so thank you for that!!
This video must be your nightmare then... haha
I never considered buying a grinder until I started following this channel so that has been very informative.
Did you use grind coffee?😳 It's impossible to get any decent result
James is the head of the secret underground burr grinder maffia.
A common problem with JH videos: I always need more expensive gadgets after watching :-)
I used to have my coffee ground at a local cafe. Stored it in a ziplock bag and I could always tell it was stale within a few days. Got so bad I would make cold brew right away instead.
ruclips.net/video/sJe4CH78RiU/видео.html
Here I am looking for a cheap manual grinder cause I've just bought myself a 300 espresso machine thinking that was the most expensive thing to buy in order to make some espresso .... huge mistake 😂. Thanks for your very helpful videos !!
James has a way of pulling you in to his videos. I can spend hours watching his videos and nobody comes close to him with his depth of knowledge, research and presentation manner and delivery. A real pleasure to listen, watch and learn. Thank you!
You have a talent for going into a lot of technical detail while keeping the content entirely accessible and interesting. Clearly a lot of thought goes into exactly how things are explained. Bravo!
Indeed if he hasn't already, James might show up on TV one time and tell us all about the advantage of elliptic burrs over logaritmically shaped ones. Bad joke, that, yet Mr Hoffman would lay out the difference like they were glass beads. A stroke of talent besides that of brewing the most decent of cups !
@@reuireuiop0 talent and very intense and consistent preparation and rigorous editing, this is not "off the cuff" ,spontaneous, "Hay, let's riff on coffee."Mr Hoffman is thoroughly perpaired, and that takes a lot of time and effort.
I stumbled on a Japanese-market hand grinder at a thrift store, and it turns out I really enjoy the process of hand grinding. It also slows me down, each cup I make takes longer, each cup is an event. Helps me keep my consumption down to two cups a day.
Very real😊
= Theory =
01:23 Why do we grind?
03:24 Quality pre-grind vs. cheap fresh grind
04:08 Grinding uniformity
05:15 Grind size control
05:59 Skillshare ad.
06:44 Blade grinder
08:00 Burr grinders
= Hand Grinders =
08:19 £40
09:27 £100
10:47 Expensive
= 11:25 Electric Burr Grinders =
11:39 £125
12:47 £250
13:52 £350 Classic espresso grinder
15:24 £400-£500 Modern universal grinders
16:13 Retention
17:56 Conical vs. flat burrs
18:37 Replaceable burrs
19:26 An expensive grinder
much appreciated 🤗
thanks, saved me some time
Thank you!
非常感谢你分享这些精彩的理论和经验，我认为磨咖啡豆的正确方式是非常重要的，这直接影响着咖啡的味道和口感。我也看过那个Skillshare广告，有点长，但很有用！
you’re awesome, thanks
At 75 I am enjoying learning about coffee with your video's. Thank you. Over the years I have owned two coffee grinders. A Breville Smart Grinder which failed after several years due to it's electronic. I currently have a Capresso Infinity and enjoy it's simplicity. I make single serve by weighing my beans. Thank you for helping me understand dosing. The Capresso is simple to just turn the switch to 9 and let it grind until it clears. I can hear when it is finished. I tap the catch cup with my knuckles to clear the grounds. Otherwise the left over grounds wind up on my counter.
In the Netherlands, we don't really value coffee for its quality but more for the caffeine. It was beyond eye opening when I went to Indonesia and had amazing quality coffee. Ever since then, to keep things simple, I have owned a blade coffee grinder and a French Press. Up until I discovered your channel I hadn't considered the grind uniformity at all and just thought that the finer the grind, the better the coffee. I'll be looking for a hand grinder to give me a much better grind uniformity.
Of course! In the Netherlands there isn't much value for gastronomy in general! Any country in the world is an incredible source and eye-opener for the Dutch. Greetings from Belgium.
The Nehterlands is the land of Senseo investors. I wasn't even into espresso like I am now but when I drank it I wanted to change my nationality.
I really really appreciate how your beginner's guides are actually for beginners, no overly complicated coffee language or making me feel dumb or anything, just very helpful information! ☺️❤️
I discovered James Hoffmann 4 weeks ago and yesterday, I bought my French Press. I want a hand grinder next.
Here in Namibia, it's next to impossible to get one
Good thing is, uniformity isn't the most important thing when it comes to French press brewing. If it's almost impossible for you to find a burr grinder, just use the next best thing.
Do you guys have aliexpress there? If positive, there are a few awesome options there, from Timemore C2 (50 to 70 USD), through 1zPresso K-plus (350 USD), and many more
I think you can actually use a mortar for frenchpress. Good brewing!
As others have said, a mortar and pestle can grind fine enough for French press. Hope you enjoy!
Really?? Oh, how I want to send you one.
Invested in a Bratza Encore this winter and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done for my morning coffee routine. Even convinced my 65 yr old mother that fresh ground coffee is better and she’s been a pre-ground die hard my entire life.
Well, Ive been drinking black coffee since I was... I want to say, 15-16 (and I'm 23 now) because my grandparents always drank a pot or two of Folger's Columbian Black Silk coffee between them every morning. Then, a couple of years ago, I discovered your channel; and at first I was honestly rather skeptical of the idea that coffee could have a flavour that wasn't just the bitter flavour of a dark roasted, pre-ground, rather cheap coffee. But I loved it, even though with having ADD it has never really given me boost of energy that most people experience when drinking coffee. I just loved the flavour, the roastiness, and yes, even the bitterness. There's just something comforting about a cup of coffee drank with loved ones; and even though I no longer live with my grandparents, it's a very strong reminder of simpler times. Despite my skepticism, I became very interested in the videos your team produces, and the passion that you show for coffee and how it can have more complex flavours than I ever thought imaginable.
So began my search to find better coffees, better roasts. Living here in America, and being on a poor man's budget, I settled on a compamy called Black Rifle Coffee Company who produce (in my opinion) very nice pre-ground roasts; brewed with the coffee maker that my grandfather gave me that he used to use while he was a truck driver for 40 years; that being a small (2 cup) "cowboy" coffee brewer. I thought it tasted far better than any of the drip coffee brewers I had come to know, and for a few years, was my go-to brewer for a cup of coffee.
Recently, I moved to a different state for my new family (my wife and my son), and while walking to the store we passed by a garage sale where a man was selling his recently passed away mother's belongings, and there on the table was a (rather cheap) hand grinder; and I said to myself, "Now I can finally try out whole bean coffee, get in on this whole coffee thing for real." It took a number of months afterwards to be able to afford a whole bean roast (a poor man's budget had turned into a poor family's budget, after all). With some money I was sent for Christmas from my mom, I was able to purchase a nice whole-bean light roast Yirgacheffe, and a (again, rather cheap, being only $10) French Press because I saw it there and I said to myself, "Well, if I'm going to make this coffee taste good, I might as well have something that can brew it very well."
Despite the fact that my recently acquired hand grinder is very cheap, being made of mostly plastic (even the burs seem to be made of plastic, though I can't confirm because it just cant be taken apart fully), leading to some rather lacking uniformity in grind size, I searched for your video of the best French Press technique and my foray into the coffee world offically began after 7 years of drinking the same kinds of coffee. After I poured into the hopper what I felt was a decent dose of coffee (for I dont have a scale of any kind to measure it with), boiled about 20oz (566.99g, according to a quick Google search), and used your technique to brew using the French Press I got, I poured it out into my mug and took a sip of the absolute best coffee I'd ever tasted (and this is saying something considering I had been to a coffee shop in Kansas City Union Station that does pour-over using a V60, and the barista did an amazing job with the technique). I could tell right off the bat that it was very over-extracted because I had used too much coffee in my dose, *but the strangest thing is* that it was pleasantly floral, it had notes of sweetness I never expected to exist in coffee, it wasn't insanely bitter like some of the dark roasts and even medium roasts I've drank for my entire coffee life, there was this body that I've never felt before. It was, again, the absolute best tasting cup of coffee I had ever had.
So, I just want to thank you and your team for every video that you produce, and the care that goes into those videos, because without them I wouldn't have ever considered anything but a Folger's Dark Roast.
I just love youtube. I don't drink coffee, never cared for it. But I find the window into other communities absolutely facinating.
Incredible timing on this video, because my coffee grinder just broke yesterday and I'm in the market for a new one.
Couldn't have come at a worst time. My coffee grinder broke and I just bought one yesterday
@@underscrutinyallnight I’m sure the Aldi Crack o Matic will serve you well.
@@windowdoog the burrs sound like putting razor blades in a garburator
Same here! I’ve been looking for an upgrade and this couldn’t have been a better surprise!!
After watching the entire video, this is pretty basic information. I thought he was going to get into more detail like motor wattage or clean up
I had a little hario for about 4 years and was very happy with it. I recently bought a wilfa uniform and the pleasure it brings every morning made it completely worth the money. It's so quick and easy I love it.
I started watching James during lockdown last year after I purchased a cheap espresso machine, by the beginning of this year I became a Patreon member of the channel, had bought a La Pavoni Europiccola and the Professional, a Bezzera grinder, a manual puq press and a Genecafe roaster, I’m going to do a coffee course if my state of Victoria,Australia would stop going into lockdown! I must say I’m still learning all aspects of coffee roasting and making, but thank you James for constantly piqing my interest.
Like I'm looking in a mirror from England! 😂😂
Well that escalated quickly
10:25 I finagled the mechanism on mine so that I can grind with a power drilll. It's a cheap and efficient upgrade, and as a bonus I get to find more out about people by whether they react with glee or disgust when I make them coffee for the first time
Genius… just saved me £400
If I saw that last grinder in someone's kitchen my first thought would be "that's a cool telescope"
"microscope" come to my mind.
I though he would compare the different textures or something crazy like that. hehe
🤣🤣🤣
Telescope would be cheaper.
@@rerikm yes!
@@hothmobile100 not if it is a Leica XD
I started with a skerton, for...8years before upgrading to a Niche Zero...it changed my life in the morning..
Skerton for me too. Upgraded to Wilfa Svart. Next step up will be Wilfa Uniform.
I think it's definitely important to mention the time difference between ceramic and metal burrs
I bought the cheapest manual grinder on Amazon and the ceramic burrs took almost 5 minutes just to grind 1 cup for myself (that was about €17).
I then upgraded to a hero S01 steel burr grinder which chewed through the beans by comparison, finishing in about a minute, so much nicer to use (for about €40/50) and well worth it.
Yeah I had given up on cheap manual since my ceramic was so bad and time consuming. Move a slightly more expensive metal one and it is perfect.
Are you able to make espresso with it?
@@alexcarra918 I'm not sure tbh since I don't have an espresso machine but I think it might not be that fine
Hi mate, I have a Bialetti Mokka Express stovetop cafetière.. I’ve been using ground coffee but I’m just wondering how fine does this £40 grinder make your coffee?
I heve the comandante C40, extremely satisfied and will recommend it. I don't do espresso, so I can't comment on that. Have a nice weekend you guys.
Comandante smashes Espresso fine grinding. Had some delicious espresso from it. Great, versatile, and durable
@@JLoofie True! I didn't consider the commandante as useful for mel until I saw the guys at Barn Berlin pulling espresso shots from coffee ground by the commandante.
James, I want to thank you for helping me get into making better coffee. I never knew how much of a difference grinding my own coffee at home from whole beans instead of using pre-ground coffee would make. I got a Hario Skerton Pro on sale and brewed a small pot after running through a few grinds to find the size I wanted to use, and I think for the first time since I started drinking coffee about 10 years ago, I'm drinking a cup of black coffee that I can honestly call delicious.
I'm not using the fanciest equipment money can buy. I'll probably step up to a metal grinder one day, but good lord, I never realized that coffee could actually be so good. For all of my coffee-drinking life, it's been either horridly bitter or about 30% cream and sugar by weight.
I'll probably stick to manual grinders since there's just something primordial about doing something manually. Turning a screw, opening a can...that kind of thing. Plus, they're smaller, and my coffee station needs to take up less room in the kitchen or my wife might be a little unhappy about it lol
When I first bought a coffee grinder I was very impressed with the noticeable improvement in the flavor of my coffee using fresh beans. I didn't care about the grind consistency at first. But then, very quickly, I noticed how the finer coffee particles would silt up the bottom of my cup, as I use a metal mesh filter with the pour over / emersion method.. The coffee I like needs to be ground between fine and medium. In order to grind most of the particles to the best size, I end up grinding almost half the coffee too fine and it passes through the filter mesh. I can't stand to buy paper filters. They reduce some of the flavors in the coffee. And I really just want coffee making to be super simple. I should probably get a dual mesh stainless steel filter. I never thought I was into being a perfectionist about making my morning coffee. Now I'm shopping for a new grinder because it actually matters. Great video.
Witch grinder do you have now? I have a Bratza encore, but I don't like it.
Welcome to the rabbit hole of coffee making at home 🤣👌
Just be mindful of those diterpenes.
Glad to see 1Z Presso getting some exposure. Have had a JX for about a year, performing solid.
And remember, they are from Taiwan and 1 in Chinese is pronounced like the letter E. Its easy-presso, not One Z-presso.
Thank you past me for choosing to minor in Chinese, it finally paid off.
waiting for mine to arrive .. gonna be a bit of a long wait , but hopefully worth it ..
I bought one when a local place became their Canadian distributor. I sort of wish I future proofed myself with a JX-Pro, but espresso grinding is a bit much by hand with lighter roasts.
I definitely agree with Hoffman about an electric for daily use, but the JX is perfect for my aeropress and moka pot routine.
the jx-pro is phenomenal. I use it for v60, aeropress, clever dripper, and flair. i've gone through a couple cheap ceramic burr hand grinders and own a baratza, the jx-pro is faster by quite a lot. I've timed 11g, 15g, and 30g grind time and the average speed is like 1g/1.6sec (maybe twice as long for espresso settings). and the uniformity is just about at the commandante level for 100 dollars less (im sure there's some observable difference that is some marginal diminishing return).
Yeah I have a JX pro, really great results from it. I prefer it over most of the commercial espresso machines I've used that haven't been maintained to the extent they should be. Also with darker roasts it makes pour overs that stand up to an ek43 (I prefer the ek43 for nice fruity light roasts still).
That little Q2 in the video is a fantastic travel grinder. I kinda laughed a bit when James compared the construction materials of the C40 and the Q2.
James Hoffmann: Here's another 20+ minute video about something about coffee...
Me: You had me at James Hoffmann
OMG Did you really say that?!?
I splashed out on the Porlex mini last week based on an old video review, and so far it has been an absolute joy.
I did think James was overstating the pleasure of grinding your coffee by hand in the past. Taking something he personally enjoys and assigning significance that was undue. I was a fool, I wish I could have guests round so I could grind more bean.
It's also always an added joy with guests, especially when they're not "into" coffee. My friends realizing that I'm about to put in extra work to make them a great cuppa always starts an interesting conversation. Converting them all one cup at a time.
I use the porlex mini with my Rok espresso machine. Its such a good grinder. Couldn't recommend it more,. Obviously if I was getting a more expensive commercial / or home espresso machine would get a better grinder. But this little manual one for a manual machine is fantasric and will last!
I went for the Porlex Tall. It's excellent. But for some reason it doesn't come with the rubber strap thing that you get with the Mini (why??). So you have to order that as a spare part, but it only costs like £1.50. Without the rubber strap, it's not so easy to grip the thing while you're grinding.
@@richardemerson8075 I have a commandante and this is my only complaint about it. The metal surface is quick slick and that makes it hard to hang onto at times, especially at espresso level grinding. Almost impossible. Thankfully the radius is perfect for slipping on on those rubber 'livestrong' style bracelets, which helps a great deal.
Found this channel a few months back now and it sparked my interest in making good coffee at home. I've since bought my first espresso machine and grinder and I'm having a blast!
Thanks for all the help and info James 🙂
I'm in the same journey but in a way previous phase (just starting actually). any tips/gear recommendations?
I'm thinking I should start with a french or aeropress and am now looking into grinders
@@sergiogodinho9992 If budget isn’t a thing, I recommend the best in the market, the Comandante C40, mine have been around for 3 years already, still rocking it. I have went through aeropress, v60, slow drip cold brew, and now espresso with it. Best hand grinder in the market imo.
@@RobertitoAtlas unfortunately , budget is a major thing as I'm just starting out , but definetly appreciate the tip !
ruclips.net/video/sJe4CH78RiU/видео.html💪
What machines did you decided to buy?
Wow. I've been drinking coffee for 45 years and I know nothing. This journey will continue thanks to Mr James. I currently grind beans the night before in a Krups grinder, then put them in a drip coffee maker. so that is my start point, and as I'm learning my NEED for an education!
As someone who just bought a Specialita after spending the first year of making espresso with only a hand grinder, it was nice to see it representing the 'traditional' style of espresso grinder in this lineup. One thing I've particularly liked about it aside from the quality of the grind is that it is wonderfully quiet. Going from a hand grinder which obviously has no motor noise whatsoever, I've been pleasantly surprised!
I just have the crono and it’s fantastic! (Not to say I’m not saving up for a new one! 🤣🤣
@rogue I recently got a Specialita and I typically get 18g in 7 seconds. I may have more tinkering to do with it but I am only using it for espresso. I have an Encore for coarser grinds.
I get 20g in 9.2 seconds (typically, it varies with each different beans) on my Specialita.
@rogue Or the motor is running too slow. Maybe a 230V model running on 120V?
Specialita here. 16g in 10.5 sec. You can open the top, de-install the upper burr - usually you have to do anyway for cleaning from time to time - and just re-install. Videos existing on YT. Maybe it´s getting to a more usual grinding duration.
James...this is a most generous use of your time...and indispensable to those just getting started on their coffee journey. Been there, done that...and wish I would have had this as a reference 30 years ago!
This video currently has 2.7 million views, I'm sure he's getting compensated for his time (and expertise)! :)
@@BillHicks420 As he should. He EARNED the respect.
@@robertjason6885 Of course? I never said otherwise. He deserves all the views he gets.
This lead me to the blade grinder hacks video, which is great because it's all I can afford. Together with the coffee buying guide from a couple of weeks ago and the aeropress series I now feel equipped to make great coffee even on my budget. Thank you.
I just bought the Eureka Mignon that you presented in your video (the one with the touch screen) and I can say that this grinder is perfect for home baristas!!!! The grind coffee is in perfect shape and at the same size and the flavor is quite strong. I have a full body in my coffee. One of the good things with Eureka Mignon is that the motor is not noisy! Well, the most important for new buyers is that they have to find their own size of grind, because if we buy different variety of coffee, it needs to change the grind size every time! Thank you for your helpful video!
I’m here after watching your appearance in Tom Scott’s video.
I’ve had an interest in making my own coffee and what excites me about watching your videos is envisioning my self discovery and journey of finding the different grinds and methods of coffee I personally enjoy.
I’ve watched your French Press video before this one and I’m thinking that style of coffee is both the most affordable as well as enjoyable path for me at the moment.
I’m looking forward to seeing how diverse my taste tolerance is along with learning different methods of brewing coffee that I can enjoy practicing.
Gives us an update in one year on money spent 😆😂
1Zpresso JX Pro has become my favourite grinder by far, it's just addictive and works so well!
I've heard is even better than comandante
I have the 1ZPresso Q2 and it also works pretty well for any kind of filter coffee. It's not quite as nice as the JX Pro of course.
Such a great video! There is another good reason for a handgrinder: less space is needed. I have a huge kitchen, but I hate cluttered counters. So I have a Commandante and it sits on top a live edge little walnut shelf that looks so pretty. I also just drink two cups a day and I love the grinding by hand. It so rewarding
Also for anyone who has to move a lot! For someone like a college student who’s moving from dorm room to apartment to another apartment and then maybe off to grad school, with trips back to the parents’ place and summer internships and who knows what else... it’s great to have a grinder that can fit inside a shoe when packing up a suitcase to fly across the country yet again
but not for serving more than 5 cups for guests.. but yeah commandante is a heck good grinder
A great video. You smoothly achieved the balance between rough overview / big picture and the essential details of each price category. I can see the amount of work that has gone into the script. You put yourself into the shoes of the aspiring newcomer or advanced espresso aficionado, and this helps to tailor the videos language for the intended purpose. Well done. You may consider teaching / designing scripts / teaching concepts.
I have had inittially a cheap Porlex coffee grinder. I could not get good coffee and I could not understand why. Recently I bought a Commandante. The difference is night and day. When James says “nice, balanced, sweet coffee” I can truly understand what he means now, and could not before. My setup is simple, Clever Dripper, Commandante grinder and Hario scale. You can get amazing coffee with this setup. This guy’s passion for coffee shows in his videos. Well done James!
Just bought my first burr grinder after decades of using a blade grinder. OMG, the flavour of my morning French press coffee is just at a whole new level. Thank you!
IMO a good grinder is the most important piece of equipment. Everything else can be pretty satisfactory if inexpensive- grinders are the difference between good and great coffee results
All my current coffee equipment I have because of James Hoffman. When I discovered him a year ago I had pre-ground coffee (from a good quality coffee shop, mind you) and a Bialetti Venus stovetop coffee maker.
My first improvement was to invest in a Comandante C40 hand grinder. I lived out in the countryside in a small cottage and didn't have the counter space for an electric grinder, and I wanted to make espresso, not filter, so the Comandante seemed like a great choice. Instantly my coffee tasted better; fresh ground coffee is so much better. I was using the same technique, and I matched the grind size to what the coffee shop used to sell me pre-ground.
The second thing was I started getting coffee direct from Square Mile, freshly roasted. Coffee flavour went up another huge leap.
Third thing that happened was I realised I wasn't actually making espresso, stove tops can't do that (no, I didn't realise), but I still had the no counter space issue and certainly no budget for the kind of espresso machines James says do a decent job.
So, forth thing was investing in a 9Barista stove top espresso maker, which actually makes espresso! And it does! It obviously comes with some control limitations, but the step up in flavour was incredible. Now I was making espresso. Yes, they all tasted disgusting for about three weeks while I actually got used to how get the best out of the 9Barista, and how the different coffees I was getting needed to be ground, but once dialled in, super improved coffee. My issue now is that I wish my Comandante wasn't a stepped grinder.
I have since moved from the complete middle of nowhere countryside to a lovely country village which actually has a few shops, one of which is a coffee shop, and damn it, they make exquisite coffee! I regularly visit a majorly coffee loving city and get high quality espresso there, but this guy in his tiny coffee shop in my tiny village blows them out the water. He nails it every time. So now I get a coffee from him every day. Sometimes weeks go by without me using my Comandante or my 9Barista, and that is a sad, sad story. But the coffee shop guy's coffee is so much better!
Final part, despite all this, I still want a Zero Niche.
Love this Beginner's guide series.
Would love to see an episode, that we could call How to prioritise when starting with specialty coffee. Where's the biggest return of my investment?
Is it worth spending a so-so amount on everything (beans, brewer, grinder, filter water, scale...)? Or is it better to make a bigger investment up front into one of these, while the others can be a cheaper option?
Is it worth spending big money on beans if I have a cheap grinder?
Or is it most important to focus on training my taste buds and bettering my brewing methods?
Yessss I’m just starting out and I don’t know what to get/ progress! I only have a grinder and a basic filter coffee machine that pours water
Grinder > everything else.
Next would be the brewer. Depends what you want - if filter, there’s little point spending more than a simple aeropress. For espresso then you need to spend min £400 for entry level prosumer machine.
Scale v marginal benefits beyond a £5er. Beans marginal benefits once you’re buying speciality coffee roasted c2 weeks ago. Water marginal benefit once you’re using appropriate water eg Volvic or Ashbeck.
Grinder! Is the most important thing to spend money on
Definitely the grinder!
I'm with the grinder team. If you don't start with good beans (means whatever roast and taste you prefer!) and a fresh (means immediately before preparation) consistent grind appropriate to your brewing method, you will never get optimal results no matter how sophisticated your brewing gear.
James, I’ve just managed to make my first delicious cup of coffee at home, and I e been making coffee at home for years, but after buying a new grinder and following your moka pot advice I’ve just had the best home brewed coffee of my life, thanks man! Exciting new coffee journey awaits! 🎉
Which grinder have you bought?
James, as a coffee farmer in Panama i find your videos very funny, in a good way. My wife and i have a coffee company and are involved in the whole process from bean to cup.
Funny why?
I just purchased my first grinder (the first one you showed) last week and it's perfect for me. I love it and I appreciate your simple yet very informative explanation.
So happy to see a 1Zpresso grinder on the table, I've loved my JX grinder
I started with preground, then got a blade grinder which lasted me a long time and worked fine for my French Press. Finally a few years back I upgraded to the Barazzta Encore and while by no means a super high end machine, it certainly made a huge difference in my coffee. We tend to use the Aeropress and the a French Press, so quite different grind sizes, and it seems to do a really good job at both.
The Encore is a fantastic value and it's my go-to recommendation for most people.
@@BenCotten oh good, because I just got mine and I'm still nervous that I paid too much money for something that I'm not good enough to use lol
@@spamcan9208good luck. Figuring out what grind makes the best coffee is one of the joys of grinding yourself
James, I think yours is the very first channel I’ve ever subscribed to, and I’ve been using RUclips since it first came out. I think my blood pressure drops 20 points while watching. Really appreciate your expertise.
This definitely has convinced me to stick to just upgrading my hand-grinder a little. From your advice, I'd already started hand-grinding, and it really has changed my coffee experience for the better. Might have also been good additional physio as I was recovering from broken wrist. But hate the sound of electric grinders anyway, plus space they take up. But that extra minute to two weighing and grinding the beans, and getting those additional aromas, plus, being able to have few different bags of beans on the go, just can't be replaced now! Thank you so much for improving my home coffee making!
I have the Wilfa Svart (first electric grinder in this video), and am 90% happy for pour-over coffee. It was a huge update to not having a grinder at all and for more than a year I can keep on chasing delicious coffee.
Bought it based on James's review and am not disappointed. This channel has taught me very much about delicious coffee over the past couple of years.
Glad to hear this, as I am just about to purchase a Wilfa Svart as my 1st grinder too :)
James, the thing you do here its an academy level educational content with the highest production value could be found on RUclips, super great job!!!! thank you! and please please please, stay fancy...
The amount of amazing content James puts out is just incredible!
For sure, I can see why he has such a devoted fan base. His stuff is so well produced, well spoken, and informative.
I'm sure he wouldn't want people taking his word as gospel though, as many seem to now. Preferences and differing opinions are important!
I love reading the comments in his videos…. Then I realize how manny innocently hilarious things he says
I bought a glorified spice grinder with a timer controlling the grind level, and it is satisfactory ... for now. You have made me smarter for my next purchase at some point in the future when I want to move up. Thanks.
I've Purchased a vintage German hand grinder Zassenhaus De Ve Holland Kungenthal
I own 6 Vintage German coffee grinders total
I love the Vintage German coffee grinder they grinder coffee perfectly
Also very tactile to hold
And service
Also I have collected Italian made varous Vintage Bialetti Moker from 60s 70s 80s all sizes
I also go to the Algerian Coffee shop in Old Compton Street Soho London for Bialetti Moker parts an Great coffee beans
I love my fresh grind Coffee brew in Vintage Bialetti Moker slowly
Its a ritual every morning an afternoon
A way of life
From London Carlo
I was excited seeing a 1Z Presso grinder featured! I got my JX-Pro in January and I love it. I started with a Hario Skerton in college and then a couple years later got a Handground (not really much of an upgrade but I really liked the idea of a crowd funded coffee grinder). If I could go back I would’ve skipped right to the JX-Pro. It’s definitely more expensive but with it I’ve been making the best coffee I’ve ever had at home.
Sounds familiar to me! I´ve used a Hario Skerton for 4 years until I fnally upgraded to the 1ZPresso Q2 in March 2021. Grinding beans has never been such a quick and enjoyable process before.
Very happy with my regular JX as well (very quick!). Not doing espresso so perfect one for me. Will probably never have to upgrade which is a nice feeling.
Love my JX-Pro, amazing grind quality and so easy to use.
James: the joy of grinding coffee
me: * carefully spinning the handle of my fragile cheap hand grinder for several minutes * haha... yes... the joy :')
me a beginner: bought a 5 dollar Chinese knock off hand grinder and i spun it with as much power as possible, if it broke i can justify buying a new electric grinder
biggest part of why i often drink instant nescafe coffee even though i have beans, grinder, and whatnots
When you upgrade dont throw it out! Makes for a terrific pepper mill.
I have outsourced it to my daughter these days.
The 3rd handgrinder he shows is a izpresso q2. Even on finer end of filter coffee that thing churns through 15gr of dense beans in like 20 seconds. Do yourself a favor and make an upgrade:). Do check if it holds enough beans for you
One of the most important lessons I learned very early in my coffee journey is how important a quality grinder is. Every bit as important as the coffee you're buying
I'm hoping my Baratza Encore will serve me well. I've never had a grinder so I'm a bit nervous. I can't physically hand grind so I had to get a machine but from another of James' videos I decided to skip the cheaper "entry level" burr grinders.
From what I could tell this is also an entry level grinder, but for serious grinders.
@@spamcan9208 loved my Encore had if for a long time, enjoy!
@@spamcan9208 I am also about to purchase my 1st electric grinder, how are you finding the Encore? I am very interested in the Encore too but the reports of it being a very messy grinder are putting me off, can you shed any light on whether these reports are true? Does it leave coffee grounds all over your kitchen worktop everytime you use it?
@@mariosavva999 I'm really happy with it. I've been using it anywhere from 1-4 times throughout my day for the past 6 months now. Having your own grinder is like unlocking a game level. You can buy one bag of whole beans and use it anything from the Aeropress to V60 and everything in between.
It also allows you to tweak settings, if for instance your Aeropress is too easy when you push, you can grind a little finer.
As for your concern about being messy, I don't have that problem but I think I know why other people are: retention (and perhaps letting the machine over fill the bin past the white line.) I noticed that this machine can hold onto a lot of grinds if you are grinding >10 on the settings (especially the more oily beans.) If I don't account for that by giving a 2-3 taps on the side and 1 on top of the hopper and go to move the grinder without its bin in place then yeah, it can get a little messy. You can use a flashlight to check if the discharge chute is clogged/starting to clog. Which reminds me, get a set of straw cleaning brushes that are used for sports water bottles. You can bend them to fit up the chute better and they (should) have something protective on the tip to keep the metal wire from gouging the plastic. You'll see what I mean with the included brush. A can of compressed air can also be handy but only do that outside! (I've used a squeeze bulb designed for camera lenses inside, however it can still make a mess if you're not careful.) I clean mine once a month, sometimes more, but I also use it a lot on a very fine setting and it's also the type of person I am. You might be fine every 3-4 months.
Protip: weigh the grinds not just the beans going in the hopper. You'll not only ensure you have the correct amount for brewing but if you lost a gram or two inside the machine that tapping didn't get out. I made this mistake in the beginning and was wondering why my coffee was so inconsistent at times.
Another HUGE plus to this machine is that EVERYTHING is available, from parts (you have access to everything that was used to build that machine) to diagrams and how-to's if it breaks, from Baratza themselves. It's all on their website. Even how to test the motor with or without a multimeter! It's been designed with home diyers in mind, including upgrading the burr set if you want. You can also send it to them for repair.
It was it hard to make the jump and click "buy now" but I'm so glad I did. Can it make a mess, absolutely but I think that goes for all grinders because even those thousand dollar plus ones require you to clean them out every so often and nothing is immune from retention.
@@spamcan9208 thanks so much for your very detailed response! I decided to buy one!
It has just arrived today, looking forward to giving it a go and seeing how it improves my coffee!
I also hate mess, so will follow your advice to try and avoid it...have you been using the water on the beans trick to avoid any static?
Yes the fact that this grinder is so serviceable was one of the deciding factors.
James James James. I may be old(er) but new to brewing coffee AT HOME.
I've always thought the STUFF I've had at home (be it when Mom made it, or my attempts) was so "blah" compared to going to a sit down restaurant or coffee shop. Now I may not drink a lot of coffee (perhaps due to the poor quality I've had at home over the years), but when I went out and had GOOD coffee it the next best thing to ???
So enter into "it's time" to make great coffee at home time, thus researching the reasons I've failed in the past of delivering that great cup of coffee.
I've found yours (and a couple others) to be a wealth of information to begin to see why I was making junk coffee in the past.
I have so many questions, but I'll continue to watch you and select others to become more informed.
Great channel, and thanks for your help.
Very informative, thanks. Some people really have too much money. That last machine is hugely over engineered, I’d love to see a blind taste test with it up against a handheld grinder, and a £250 electric one. That’s the only way I would overcome my scepticism that it is no more than an overpriced lifestyle accessory for rich people with Smallbone kitchens and Range Rovers. A colleague roasts and grinds beans at home. He brought in some ground coffee , and we each made ourselves a filter coffee. I was completely unimpressed with the taste, it was nothing special, in fact I found it bland. However, I was very high from the caffeine, so much so that I felt seriously uncomfortable. It was very unpleasant.
Last month I went from that exact KRUPS grinder and finally upgraded to the $150-ranged electric grinders, and got a Baratza Encore. I have no regrets at all, the coffee has been great, and honestly I'm kind of wanting to spend more money on better locally roasted coffee now because I know I'm getting much more out of eat bean quality wise with the better grinder. I've also recently been using my AeroPress + Fellow Prismo to make faux-espresso shots for drinks, and that really wouldn't have been worthwhile with my previous blade grinder. I do wish the $150 could go finer than it does, but the reality is I don't have room for an espresso machine anyways so it's not like I truly need espresso fine grinds for those faux-espresso aeropress/prismo shots. The encore does get very fine, just not quite there, but fine enough for my purposes.
Thanks for the great video! I'm even more convinced I invested in the right $$ range based on my needs, though I perhaps should have considered manual more than I did.
The ultimate grinding technic for the cheap conical grinder:
The uniformity of grain size produced by my cheap-ass soviet plastic conical grinder with aluminum grinding "stones" can be improved dramatically by doing grinding twice! The first time I grind the coarsest possible particles the grinder can produce. The biggest size that goes through is probably 1/8 of a whole bean size. Almost no dust is generated during this step.
The second time I grind the desired granularity. There are no big hard beans that cause the cone to rock from side to side during the second pass and the smaller grains are distributed uniformly around the cone, centreing it and making grinding even more uniform.
If you are not in a hurry (I am personally not in a hurry if I start my coffee), then you should definitely try this out!
good tip! I use my cheap electric grinder on course, then finish with my cheap hand grinder on the final setting desired. Better coffee, no. time adjusting grinds, less effort with the hand grinder and extended time being cheap before buying the higher priced toy!
interesting technique. I'm really surprised that james showed the EZpresso Q2 which I own, but even that metal grinder can produce a lot of fine coffee dust.
Thanks for the tip! It's greatly appreciated
Best grinder we've used, is one of those SPONG #1 cast iron coffee grinder. We've had ours for over a decade, and it's still going strong.
I did the same
I have the commandante c40 with the red clix and I can thoroughly recommend it! Takes a bit of elbow grease compared to a powered one but it’s superbly consistent, zero retention and easy to dial in and clean! Absolutely love it! If you make coffee twice a day the effort for an 18gr medium roast for espresso is around 40-50secs, and the result is worth it for the price.
Tip: it comes with two glass containers, I use the clear one for catching the ground coffee (as intended) and the brown one for dosing coffee in. This way you avoid the pop corning of beans that happens when you try to dose directly in the grinder and I find it easier to just flip and attach the brown jar on the top of the grinder
I dont hav red clix, can i still do it?
@@Dralbastaki For sure! You can dial in the grind setting to what you feel is the best and then play with the 0.1gr of coffee weight you’re putting in to get the flow you’re looking for. Even without the RedClix you can get fine enough adjustments
Thank you for all this valuable advice.
I'm considering equipping myself, finally. I only drink coffee when I'm working, not often. But I only drink coffee from vending machines, a bit like those on the highways. And I really like it. I'm looking for this same taste experience but at home. By doing my research for a month now, I discovered a world of enthusiasts. And the more I look into it, the more I realize what I would like to have. But here's the problem: the price but also the space on the work surface. I also let myself be seduced by the ritual that revolves around making manual coffee. The distributor, the tamper. I like it, they are beautiful objects.
So at the start I had a budget of €300. Now it is 600€ including crusher. And it seems that this is still not enough for the prices charged in France. So I continue my research and thanks to you I discover new products with each video.
original :
Merci pour tous ces précieux conseils.
J'envisage de m'équiper, enfin. Je ne bois du café que lorsque je travaille soi pas souvent. Mais je ne bois que des cafés des distributeurs automatique un peu comme ceux des autoroutes. Et j'aime beaucoup ça. Je recherche cette même expérience gustative mais chez moi. En faisant mes recherches depuis déjà 1 mois que je suis dessus, j'ai découvert un monde de passionnés. Et plus je m'y intéresse plus je me rends compte de ce qui me plairais d'avoir. Mais voilà le problème c'est le prix mais également l'espace sur le plan de travail. Je me suis également laissé séduire par le rituel qui tourne autour de la confection d'un café manuel. Le répartisseur, le tamper. Ça me plait, ce sont de beaux objets.
Alors au début j'avais un budget de 300€. A présent il est de 600€ broyeur compris. Et ce n'est pas encore suffisant semble-t-il pour les prix pratiqués en France. Je continue donc mes recherches et grâce à vous je découvre à chaque vidéo de nouveaux produits.
I don’t know the first thing about making coffee & I’ve always been more of a tea drinker, but since this man showed up on my recommended I’ve been completely hooked
I use a Kinu M47 Simplicity hand grinder for espresso and it’s fantastic. It was Hoffman’s number one choice in his review of hand grinders.
I started off my coffee journey with an entry level grinder and espresso machine (both sunbeam in Australia). For me, that was a great entry as it got me used to the process of making coffee and the pressurized portafilter allowed to not worry too much about messing up.
I've since upgraded both machines (to the minon specialita and a better sunbeam espresso machine) and it took a while to adjust. But because I had previous success and knew what I was chasing, I started to have sucess. Once I started to have good result with light roasted coffee in a proper portafilter basket, that's when I really started tasting the difference in the upgrade, but I don't know if I'd have been ready if I started there.
Interesting, we have Sunbeam in the US as well. I'm also curious, are Breville products popular in Oz or is it like Foster's, where the... let's diplomatically say "low end" is exported to the world? 😂
(Note I actually don't have anything against Sage/Breville, I just bought a waffle maker and am heavily leaning towards getting the BDB ;) )
@@Shadowguy456234 Sunbeam Australia is a weird offshoot of the US company, but I think the espresso machines they make are just for Australia (and they have quite a range actually).
Breville is Australian? I just assumed they were an overseas company.... Yeah, they're very popular here.
I bought my first grinder, a Baratza Encore, about a year ago. It makes great tasting coffee, is easy to use, clean and is nicely made. I'm not interested in making Espresso at home so the Encore works well for me.
I'm similar to you. I got a Baratza Virtusoso as my first grinder. I'm wondering if Baratza doesn't exist in the UK as we've never seen James with one.
Yep, the Encore does a fine job on most lazy days. For workout days, the 1zpresso JX steps in to team up with my arm and keep the good coffee coming. Both at affordable prices.
@@dodaexploda James did a Wilfa Svart v Baratza Encore grinder head to head. They both did a fine job though James' preference was for the Wilfa. I thought the Wilfa was too fussy so went for the Baratza . I bought my grinder in the UK online. I presume it's a euro model as I have to use the included ac adaptor to plug it in to the wall. ruclips.net/video/1gm6UfD9qSc/видео.html
@@markrocks692 ahhh, that's from 2017 which is why I haven't seen it. Thanks for the link.
@@markrocks692 Why did u think the Wilfa was too fussy? I am trying to decide between the two.
I recently upgraded from a blade to burr style grinder from Kitchenaid. Size uniformity is improved markedly, the motor doesnt seem too labored doing even the finest Turkish style grinds. Retention is there, about 2 grams, so not great,not terrible. I'd love to try my current grinder against a top notch manual one for espresso at some point. However, since espresso is a Daily thing and the current device does a competent job, I'm not sold on the additional investment. Not if the manual mill would sit idle in a cupboard after the initial week of fascination wanes.
Speaking of fascination, thanks to our lovely @JamesHoffman I now have a Flair Neo, and have taken to chasing the perfect grind as well. The world of extraction is captivating!
Serious, you are the man. Not just in coffee but your presenting is awesome.. thank you
I bought a cheap Hario Mini Slim as my first real grinder, couldn't be happier. When I'm tired of using my own muscle to grind, I just pull out my cordless drill, set it to high torque gear and off we go, no more manual work! 7mm socket fits the Hario very snuggly :D
You attach the 7 mm to the center point where the handle is connected or does the handle come off? Where do you attach the drill?
@@Iconoclast1919 the handle originally is detachable (it's actually how you put the beans in the grinder) and sits on the 7mm. So just removing the handle allows you to attach any 7mm tool, including a drill.
@@Frexus0 Awesome!!! I have the tools to do this, so thank you very much for posting this suggestion and for answering my question. Coffee lovers unite! 😄
I had a Rancilio Rocky grinder for several years now, and have been considering upgrading to a Niche Zero for the reduced retention, and hopefully improved grinding. As always, James Hoffmann is influencing my increasing obsession with the pursuit of the Holy Grail of coffee, the perfect cup.
Did you upgrade and was it worth it?
@@VinceM797 I recently did upgrade, and the difference is night and day. Was it worth it? In my opinion, yes.
@@jak50n thanks! I'm using a rocky now for both drip and espresso. Like it a lot but the niche and specialita I can't decide. Seems the niche keeps coming up as a good all around. Thanks for the help!
@@VinceM797 I was pushing the limit of the Rocky’s grind settings for espresso, but no such problem with the Niche
I've been grinding my coffee manually every day for about four years now and one thing I will add to the manual grinder discussion here is that manual grinders that have a handle that moves vertically are unquestionably easier to use than the ones that are horizontal. A grinder like the ROK and others, with vertical movement, is a more natural motion that takes a lot less work and is a lot more fun. I look forward to hand grinding every morning, getting that first blast of aroma as your hand sweeps by the hopper and feeling the different resistances that various varietals, process and roasts will give you. There are coffees out there that grind like a hopper of feathers and others that go down like petrified wood. It's amazing and you can't experience this tactile distinction with an electric grinder.
You are absolutely right about the Rok, I had one (with matching lever 'presso machine) and it is true that it's a bit like meditation. Except that I like coffee to wake up, so the whole "slow coffee workflow" meant that I ended up making good coffee only at the weekend, and using my press-button bean to cup the rest of the time (or worse, a Nespresso at the office). One day I upgraded the machine to a LaPavoni, and the grinder to a Specialità (the one in the middle beside the one with the bellows). Life changing, very quiet, very fast, very precise. I'm using a separate grinder for filter and V60 though.
James is talking about Stepped and Step-less, and here I am with a Baratza Sette 270 Wi.
It’s stepped with a semi-step-less tuning dial.
I bought the first grinder in that list, the Wilfa Svart for myself and my brother.
Both of them broke within a year.
The replacement for my brothers broke within a year.
I wish I got the Baratza Encore instead.
Or the Fellow Ode.
For Espresso the Baratza Sette 270 is really nice for single dosing as the retention is only .5 grams.
It's also super fast at grinding.
Baratza are great for repair-ability, very much on the right to repair line of thinking selling all the parts, making it easy to swap out parts, and providing videos on how to repair.
James calmly describing a blade grinder as performing “acts of violence” on coffee beans is exactly why I watch this channel.
James just called using a blade grinder an act of violence 😂😂
He's not wrong.
Bean flavor death by a thousand whacks.
I love them for spices.
@@joeees7790 He mentioned that. I agree. Spices that are coarse by default (whole ones for freshness I think) are HELL to grind yourself. ~15-30 seconds with cinnamon or nutmeg electrically is much nicer than minutes by hand.
they work good for herbs, making powdered sugar and when you want a thinner granule flour
I accidentally bought a blade smasher once and took it back immediately. The shop people were slightly taken aback by how cross I was about it. I refuse to call it a "blade grinder" because it doesn't grind anything. Useless machines.
I just recently started grinding my own espresso beans, and the difference in flavor is considerable - exactly the sort of big step up that James is talking about. Settled on a Capresso ceramic burr grinder, which does the job quickly and quietly for well under $200. Perhaps most importantly, your partner can sleep through the process. Retention is resolved with a couple of firm taps w/ my coffee cup (works with the stainless steel version; maybe not the best idea if you get the plastic case.)
I've owned a Baratza Encore conical burr grinder for many years now and have been very satisfied, overall. The quality is good - it has ground a great deal of coffee with minimal issues. The grind is also pretty consistent, within a particular coffee. The differing hardness of various beans does show off its lack of internal stiffness, though. A harder bean will result in a coarser grind, with the same setting. It is a bit noisy and unpleasant to listen to, but acceptable for the price. Its biggest weakness, to me, is that the inlet hopper is significantly larger that the outlet bin. If you fill it and walk away, you WILL come back to a horrible jam, often requiring disassembly to clear.
I did not know the grinder made such a difference! I've been using the first one you showed off for a while, and I'm ready to up my game to make a better coffee. You gave me a lot to consider, so thanks for the information. I might go with a hand grinder because it's space and price efficient.
Something I'd take note of when choosing a grinder, particularly something like a hand grinder, is ease of changing the grind settings. If going between espresso and filtered coffee, ease of changing those settings can be important. Some grinders (hand grinders in particular) don't have any obvious indication of what setting they're on; it's trial and error. While stepless adjustment gives the maximum amount of control, some grinders feature easy to read numbers or wheels to change the setting and can save a lot of headache.
I ended up choosing the 1Zpresso K-Plus not only because of the improvements in design (the alternating magnet twist release for the chamber is brilliant), but because the 90 steps on the grinder is so effortless to use and keep track of settings when switching from the Aeropress (at work) to the V60 (at home), and I'm hopeful that the 90-steps will give me the refinement I'll need when I get a good espresso machine (until I'm willing to spend $1000+ for a grinder, anyway).
What I need is a "taste off" between - say - a Comandante, a Uniform, a Niche Zero and an EG-1. Some of that exists, but it's the comparison of the hand grinder against the electric models that is interesting
A blind test
High end hand grinders compete with electric grinder up to about the $600 mark. The niche zero is only slightly better than something like the c40
You have to look for commercial-grade electric grinders to fully beat a quality from Comandante. For home set-up, grinders like Baratza Forté or Niche Zero are perhaps better than Comandante but they are still very comparable in terms of grind quality.
@@dtonpbac the forte is noticeably better than the c40
@@Adam-vx6to Not really, if you compare their grind size distribution analysis.
1Z Presso is great value and also a necessity for me when I travel. It is machined phenomenally. Ergonomically though, I never understood the desire (besides aesthetically and maybe ease of machining) for perfectly round, smooth finished hand grinders. When your hands are a little greasy or just slippery, gripping the thing can be difficult even with the slightly textured cork "grip".
Absolutely agree about the smells if freshly grounded coffee!
Ordered and love the manual TIMEMORE Chestnut C3 Pro Manual Coffee Grinder.
Can't believe I waited so late in my life to grind fresh coffee.
I love the aesthetics of your openings!! And you've gotten me passionate about the simple pleasure of a good cup of coffee in the morning.
I remember James Hoffmann's advice on where to spend your money (on a good quality grinder) during your adventure with coffee when I started in the fall of 2020. That is why I am so pleased with my first and only grinder: Niche Zero. Thanks for another great video reinforcing that.
Lelit Mara X and Eureka Mignon Specialita make a fantastic combo for most people looking for prosumer grade gear
Nice, I almost ended up with this combo but got a second-hand Strega instead.
I bought a Specialita and printed a single dose hopper. It's exactly what I need at a very reasonable price
I bought the Wilfa grinder for my mum a couple of years ago. It's quite good for filter coffee, like you say, and has elevated her coffee experience quite a bit, coming from mediocre pre-grounded coffee.
I handgrind every morning. It's very satisfying to earn your cup of coffee.
I have a Hario MSS-1 and I am very happy with it. 😁
High quality hand grinders take about 30 seconds and are very easy to turn
Just discovered your channel and I am so happy that I did. About to binge watch a bunch of these episodes. Thanks for including the full range of grinders all the way to the top tier, it is very helpful to see what the top quality looks like to acquire a better understanding and gauge the differences between them. Thanks for the great content!
Your videos have been really helpful. Over the last 15 months I've been forced to make my own coffee. I had no idea what to buy because I always relied on a local coffee shop to make my coffee for me. I tried using a hand grinder but with no idea how they actually worked or what made one better than another I had a horrible experience. With no idea what justified the price, an electric grinder just seemed really expensive. In the end, I used a blade grinder because the price was right; free. My plan was to use it until I could figure out how to select a proper grinder.
Now that I've watched your video, I have an idea of what I'm looking for. Thank you so much.
I appreciate James's assessment of the *_value_* of the 2nd and 3rd last grinders (the pricey ones) compared to the _crazy pricey_ last grinder. His crystal clear appraisal of the only reason(s) one could possibly _"need"_ such a grinder are refreshingly lucid.
It reminds me of a similar *sliding scale of wristwatch quality.* As a newby interested in watches, I've read similar assessments that from a certain price bracket (a few hundred dollars) jumping up to (I forget how many thousand dolllars---maybe $2000 to $3000?) one generally gets a big increase in build quality. But between the 1st 'jump' and the next big price increase, the benefits are marginal or, sometimes none at all.
There's need, yes
And then there's the argument of, well " Oh yeah, I still _do_ grind my Beans in this machine here. Cost about 5 grand but hey the bouquet ", Signed Banksy drawing hanging on the wall above. That sort of thing
Thank you for such a helpful video. My passion for coffee is growing so I'm researching coffee grinders. Thanks to you, I will have a more educated shopping experience.
This was an absolute pleasure to watch. I had no idea that there was so much info on a bag of coffee or that I was so ignorant to it. Thank you