Camera and Coffee

in Denver

in Denver

At the Denver Museum of Nature and Science with my CLE and 28mm color skopar, and a coffee
 

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can anyone recommend a burr grinder? something durable, well engineered and designed, and priced at the point of diminishing returns?
 
aizan said:
can anyone recommend a burr grinder? something durable, well engineered and designed, and priced at the point of diminishing returns?
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This could be a controversial question!

Depends where you live. In Australia, I'd say the Sunbeam EM0480 Cafe Series Conical Burr Coffee Grinder is a great bet and was widely considered to be the least you can pay for a good Conical Burr grinder, some years ago when I bought one.

Sunbeam are of the same quality standing as Breville products are in the US - i.e. good, but only 'home appliance good' not "Tutti-originale' we're Italian good, we're the Leica of Coffee machines good." However you would expect years of daily use out of Breville conical so that brand would meet all your requirements.

If you're in Australia, you can always check out an Aussie Coffee forum "Coffeesnobs" (the name says it all). Plenty of talk about grinders there. I use the Sunbeam myself and, yep, it grinds precisely and consistently and frees me to worry about dosing, tamping, steam, pressure, heat, lunar eclipse, home-roasted v store roasted and so on. I've used it about 4 times a day for 4 years now. Works as good as the day I bought it.

'Coffee' makes questions like "What's the best compensating developer, for me?" seem trivial - cause there are lots of variables about diminishing returns - i.e. stepper, steppless, doser, timer, hand cranked v electrical ...

However if you're Stateside then I'd recommend you look at www.seattlecoffeegear.com and check out their offerings. They have good videos and the lady barrista seems knowledgeable.

Of course as the connoisseurs that we Aussies are, we're used to good coffee here in Australia :eek:, and so what Americans think is good coffee might not be the same thing :angel: :D

But seriously give the Seattle people a go. They have a series of videos on choosing a grinder and there's always the US forum Coffeegeeks, they have a grinder buying guide.

http://coffeegeek.com/guides/howtobuyanespressomachine/getagrinder

I'm sure you know that if you spend less than $1500 on a grinder, you're going to be compromising and if you don't take coffee seriously enough then you'll have to live with the consequences ...

Seriously though, as you no doubt know, an $80-$150 grinder will grind coffee that will let you make better than many coffee shops can produce - and that's a fact. If $80 is too high, look out for a Kyocera hand cranked grinder - Kyocera are Japanese, used to own Yashica and are ceramics experts. Their little coffee grinder has conical ceramic grinding elements and will do the job very nicely apparently. Probably retails for about forty bucks for an adjustable one? There are cheaper hand cranked brands, Hario?
 
aizan said:
can anyone recommend a burr grinder? something durable, well engineered and designed, and priced at the point of diminishing returns?
Click to expand...

Motorized: Cunill Tranquilo. I own one. Can grind fine enough to choke my Gaggia Classic; obviously can grind coarse enough for a pour-over. Bought on recommendation of a Gaggia users group.

Hand-powered: Orphan Espresso Pharos. Availability sporadic; it goes in and out of stock since it's hand-produced in a workshop, so is sort of the MS Optical Perar of coffee grinders. I do not own one, but after I read a lot of raves about it, I seriously considered it before getting a motorized grinder.

Both these are USD250-275, my point of declining returns. Do not muck about with consumer models at ca. USD100-150; the ones I had could not grind to a consistent fineness, and struggled to grind fine enough at all for espresso.

--Dave
 
While I was working a normal morning included two 12 cup pots of the brew. My coffee 1.got me going and 2. kept me going. These days in retirement, well some days I indulge, some days I forget. Purists may draw back in horror but my personal favorite:French Vanilla off the shelf, yes OFF THE SHELF! ! ! ! .(ground, not instant, I DO have my standards) However, as it's said : Different strokes for different folks. So ,summing up, in conclusion, without further a due, let me say this: for some coffee can be, like cameras an important personal decision. So I say grind it the way you want, pick the coffee you enjoy, drink as much as you like, but most importantly, enjoy life with all of its diversity. (I am not a paid coffee spokes-person)
 
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My first camera, saved 20 years ago from landfill by local scrap metal collectors and sold to me. Amazingly, had a box and leather case. I learned a lot with it. Still works well, if rarely.
 
Marihino said:
My first camera, saved 20 years ago from landfill by local scrap metal collectors and sold to me. Amazingly, had a box and leather case. I learned a lot with it. Still works well, if rarely.
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The coffee mug looks like it goes perfectly with the age worn camera and lens.

Great photo and history.
 
aizan said:
can anyone recommend a burr grinder? something durable, well engineered and designed, and priced at the point of diminishing returns?
Click to expand...

I just bought last month a Baratza Encore and use it primarily for pour over grinds. It's wonderful and has a very consistent grind. Very reasonably priced and able to dial in a precise level of grind after experimentating.
 
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