Hey, burr-ly guys! What was your last blade grinder?

FTGFOP

What blade grinder did you have before you upgraded?

Just idle curiosity on my part, but I'm wondering if some people have had better blade experiences than others.

For me it was a Bodum. I bought it expecting revelations but I was disappointed. It couldn't do much for my cup o' Joe because the grind was so all over the place. Try as I might I never got better than a bimodal mixture of dust and chunks. So I gave up on the thing pretty quickly and went back to pre-ground when I wanted coffee. Later on I had occassion to use a Krupps blade grinder and I was gobsmacked by how much better it was.

Being ecumenical about my caffeine sources, the crappy blade experience didn't spur me on to get a burr grinder any quicker. However, I think if I was somebody who had to have coffee I would upgrade a lot quicker from a Bodum than from a Krupps.

Wondering if other people have had similar experiences between blade grinders...

Khannie

My blade grinding experience continues to this very day believe it or not. I bought one for next to nothing off ebay for home use and found it a big step up then later got a mazzer. I still use the whirly in the office (where we get free bewleys beans) because I'm too cheap to buy a burr grinder. I grind it for short enough that I don't get the powder. Better to have some large chunks and some the right size than some the right size and some too small IMO. I'm brewing in a french press.

The coffee I brew at home is substantially nicer of course.

FTGFOP

Is it a Bodum that you keep in the office?

I've been drinking a lot more coffee the last few months. I bought a big french press for coffee-drinking visitors back in January. Having it around then lead to more and more coffee for me. Which in turn lead to more and more tea, funnily. Kept pushing up that caffeine tolerance, you see. Now I'm out of nearly all my good tea which leads to even more coffee again.:eek:

Might as well have fresh-ground if you're doing it, though, so I bought an Antigua. It took a while to come around to the idea of giving Bodum more money but I read several positive pieces about the grinder. Re*ac*tor's review in particular made it sound good, since all I'll use it for is french press.

So far I've made some gorgeous coffee and some that was no better than what I'd been getting with pre-ground. The best one was with the scoopy scoop method but then again so was the worst -haven't made up my mind on that technique yet. It was the same beans each time. I need to eliminate some more variables, I guess

Khannie

FTGFOP wrote: »

Is it a Bodum that you keep in the office?

No, a micromark.

FTGFOP wrote: »

Might as well have fresh-ground if you're doing it, though, so I bought an Antigua. It took a while to come around to the idea of giving Bodum more money but I read several positive pieces about the grinder. Re*ac*tor's review in particular made it sound good, since all I'll use it for is french press.

Where did you get that from / how much did you pay for it if you don't mind me asking?

Khannie

FTGFOP wrote: »

|The best one was with the scoopy scoop method

Interesting. Gonna give that a bash tomorrow morning.

FTGFOP

Khannie wrote: »

Where did you get that from / how much did you pay for it if you don't mind me asking?

Not at all.
http://www.javarepublic.com/iopen24/product_info.php?products_id=1269
Came to just over 80 euro with shipping.

Edit: I read about it somewhere on this forum. Credit where it's due.
Also, RE*AC*TOR's review of the Antigua.

Khannie

Thanks. I think I read that review back in the day. I think I'm done with the blade grinder actually. I was making pots of it when 3 of us in the office were having it, but now it's down to just 2 I'm not arsed. I think I would be arsed with a decent grinder though.

FTGFOP

If it had still been available I would have got the Hario hand grinder from coffeeangel over the Antigua. Although for a big pot of coffee it might be a pain.

As for the using the bodum I sieve the ground coffee I get from it and get rid of fines that way, it feels a bit wasteful but it definitely makes a smoother, cleaner cup. I may overdo it though, getting rid of long thin shards of coffee as well as dust.

I haven't been able to experiment or perfect as I ran out of beans a few days ago.

As for the scooping method, sieving achieves the same result when it comes to sludge plus the fines don't get a chance to bitter the brew 'cause they don't go in. Still, the scooping removes a lot of the crema/scum (depending on your pov). I guess the crema does taste bitter when you taste it straight, but I'm wondering if that's because it's like a net for the fines, and it's the fines that make it bitter and not the oils. I was sieving and scooping* up until I ran out of beans so I can't answer my own question.

There's nothing else for it, I've got to get more beans...

*does not sound as cool as Shake 'n' Bake

Khannie

I like the sieve idea. I think I'm just too lazy to implement it.

FTGFOP

Have refined my method to:

Grind (very coarsely),
sieve,
put grounds in pot,
add water,
stir vigourously,
start timer,
stir at ~30 secs,
stir again at ~2 minute mark,
at 4 minutes do the scoopy-scoop,
plunge,
serve,
log on to boards,
give tea shop recommendations. :pac:

Using less ground coffee to the cup now too, partly because I'm flying through beans on the course grind but also because I've discovered I get a sweeter cup when I ease off a bit.