'Logical progression' from good bags of ground coffee to grinding your own ?

2011abc

Ive been going down the 'Coffee Road' for around a year now using french press and half decent bags of ground up to 6 or 7 euro .I thought coffee might be a cheaper and healthier 'hobby' than whiskey but now Im not so sure !!!I read that the french press can release oils not so good for the heart and plenty of roasters seem to be trying to push the 'half decent ' bag size to the wrong side of a tenner (while decreasing it from 250 to 200g in many cases !?)

Anyway I got a gift of a bag of beans for Christmas(from The Natural Bakery 50% Arabica and 50% something else roasted a few weeks ago) and rather than return them for ground I got out my big food processor which wasnt much help but a hand held food/smoothie etc blender seemed to do the trick!I 'rubbed' the grinds into kitchen towel to remove any 'dust' as recommended by James Hoffmann .Ive made three cups and been pleasantly surprised .Nice and smooth and the bigger grind size prob suits french press better than some brands finer grind .

So should I be looking at getting something like a 35 euro Hario manual grinder and start buying beans ?Im worried there will be a big jump up in price from my 6 euro Bewleys etc bags and that local selection will be poor necessitating mail order

Any advice appreciated .I usually make around 500mls and drink without milk .

alec76

You just have to buy 1 kg bags from the local roasters instead of 250g , save some money . Freezing beans helps to keep them fresh.

As for manual grinder , Hario might be not best choice,

timemore c2 probably best entry level (

or Wilfa Svart grinder for electric entry level

caviardreams

Logical progression? Maybe a financing option or an overdraft? Coffee habits get expensive quickly LOL :-))

caviardreams

On this Costa Rican bean from Bean West and it's really lovely - sold out now I think. Picked up the Nepal and Kenya Mt Kenya too but this was teh pick definitely for me:

https://www.beanwestcoffee.com/store/p58/costaricasonora.html#/