Contents
You do not need to dedicate a lot of time or effort to feel the bliss of having a finely ground and brewed, fulfilling cup of coffee - the French press is probably the quickest and one of the tastiest ways to prepare your morning cuppa. But you need a grinder to be able to extract the best possible flavor and aroma of your coffee beans, right? Well, look no further - we prepared a fantastic "best coffee grinder for French press" list.
Why Trust Us?
Well, we spend a lot of time testing and reviewing each grinder we tested for this review. Each grinder was put to use for a week and then, out of then total, three were picket. We picked those three bad boys and depending on your specific needs - one of them will do the trick. Once you finish this articles, I really hope you'll get a much better idea of what these needs are and what would be the best coffee grinder for you specifically!
Let's dig in:
Best Coffee Grinder For French Press
Capresso 560.01
16 adjustable grind settings
Dimensions: 14.6 x 9.6 x 7.8 inches
Item Weight: 4 pounds
1-year limited warranty
Our rating
Rancilio HD
55 grind settings
Dimensions: 7.6 x 7.1 x 12.5 inches
Item Weight: 15.4 pounds
2-year limited warranty
Our rating
Baratza Encore
40 grind settings
Dimensions: 9.8 x 4.7 x 13.8 inches
Item Weight: 6.8 pounds
1 Year Limited Warranty
Our rating
Why French Press?
If you want to stay loyal to tradition, then French Press is surely the best option for you. It is a perfect choice for all the lovers of traditional coffee as it allows them to brew a high-quality, rich coffee quite simply If you want to enjoy this simple beauty and unique taste too, always use French Press coffee grinder to crush fresh coffee beans and release their full flavor.
So, French Press coffee is a daily pleasure. Coffee fanatics like me enjoy making great coffee themselves. If you are also the one, then you need to know what grinders are the best choice. You need to select and buy a coffee grinder for French Press with care and, of course, in accordance with your budget.
How To Choose Your Coffee Grinder?
As a coffee grinder buyer, you should consider the following important factors:
1. Decide On The Type
You can choose either a blade or burr grinder. Moreover, you can choose between high-speed and low-speed grinder, manual or electric one, or a grinder with stepped or stepless adjustments. You can also opt for the coffee grinder with a gear reduction or direct drive with a high-quality motor. Baratza Encore and many of Capresso grinders are the best options available on the market at reasonable prices.
Reason Why It Is Important
Finding a decent, reliable and affordable coffee grinder is fairly an easy thing to do; a number of retail stores have good collection of grinders and even the coffee shops sell quality grinders. On the flip side, your life would be easier if you are more of an online buyer. Just a few clicks and you will own a nice grinder.
However, to make a good purchase decision, you must know the types of typically used coffee grinders. Read on to know what type(s) will be the best suitable for your French Press coffee.
1. Blade Coffee Grinder
Often referred to as propeller, as blade move too fast, this is one of the oldest and the most inexpensive type of coffee grinders. It usually produces uneven particles even if you try hard to get a coarse grind because this grinder is nearly similar to a blender that slices, tears and then crush whatever you add to it. You know what does this mean? This grinder is not a good choice for your French Press coffee.
Another reason making it the least suitable grinder for your French Press coffee is that blades can burn your beans because high RPMs produce great amounts of heat. Hence, using a blade grinder to grind beans even for one cup of a French Press Coffee could turn out to be a useless act. To achieve the desired results are near to impossible.
However, if you grind beans for a few seconds, let’s say for about 10 seconds, and keep shaking the grinder in due process, then there might be the chances to get medium fine grains. You have to compromise on the original taste of French pressed coffee if you still want to use this grinder.
Pros. of Blades
Durable, reliable, long-lasting
Budget-friendly. You can get one for even $15
Very small in size. You can fit them at any place.
Easily available in any small store.
Cons. of Blades
Gives inconsistent grind. You cannot get 100% fine grind.
Limited coffee choices such as you can only make cappuccino or espresso
Can burn your beans if you constantly use it for a long time
Noisy and gives low brew quality.
A bit harder to clean
The Best Blade Grinder?
The KitchenAid blade grinder surely has a good ranking in this category. You can easily grind anything from coffee beans to spices, nuts and grains in this low-priced machine. Though somewhat old in production, but it still has the best blade type to get in 2019:
2. Burr Coffee Grinder
The cutting-edge and the best so far is the burr coffee grinder. The burrs inside the machine produce a consistent grind in uniform size. It allows you to choose the grain size for your coffee beans so that you can easily make the best-flavored cup of French press, cappuccino, drip or espresso. This coffee grinder is further divided into two sub-categories depending on the type of the burrs used.
Burr VS Conical Grinder?
Both types come in manual and automatic models, making burrs exceptionally perfect choice for French Press coffee. The reason is simple that you can control and adjust the size of grind beans as per your choice. Although they are costly as compared to blade grinders, but the control and quality they offer are simply matchless.
The beans are grinding by burrs, unlike inconsistent crushing of beans and leaving behind a few in the blade grinders, results in small and homogeneous particles that appear perfect for French Press brewing. This is the key reason that burr coffee grinders are preferably and equally liked by both the coffee lovers and pro baristas.
If you do not want to burn your beans, then consider to buy a burr grinder and enjoy the pleasure of fast and desirable results. Electric burr grinder is the best suitable option for office use as it saves both time and energies.
Burr Pros.
Good quality and reliable
More options and capabilities
Consonant beans grinding
Easy to clean and maintain
Quieter and gives high quality brew
Produce less heat than blade types
Can be used for long time (due to high materials used in its making)
Burr Cons.
Expensive than its counterpart. Normally more than 100 dollars for better one
Bigger in size and hence a bit difficult to handle
The many burr products on the market today may lead to some confusion
The size is bigger than blade mill.
The Type of Grind That You Need
The best grind is your partner in brewing methods. As the methods of creating the real and rich taste in the cup differ for many people the world over, so is the beans grinding.
The secret of a perfect French pressed coffee lies in the beans grind. Better to use moderately ground beans with homogeneity and consistency throughout. The coarsely ground beans may clog the mesh filter of a French Press machine.
On the other side of the spectrum, the medium coarse or fine grinds easily pass the filter and give the best results. Well, this does not mean that you cannot use coarse grinds, but you need to be more careful. In brief, the burr coffee grinder will work the best for you.
A particular grind is associated with each kind of brewing processes and also depends on the type of grinder you use. For instance, espresso needs extremely fine grinds, while French Press can be made with medium to finely ground beans, and even a little coarser beans can be used. If you do not want to muddy the results then always go for the best grinder you can afford.
The market is flooded with a number of brands offering good quality grinders. For instance, you can buy your coffee grinding machine from well-regarded manufacturers such as Baratza, Breville, Capresso, and ASCASO or any other you like the most.
Your Budget
The depth of your pocket will dictate what type of grinder you can buy. Good quality grinders often come hand in hand with high price tags, but with little market exploration, you can find the more affordable grinder that fits both your budget and expectations. Opt for reasonably priced grinders, but, do not compromise on quality. If you can afford to spend a huge amount of money, then choose an expensive brand such as ASCASO or Rancilio.
What Else To Look For - Questions?
You need to ask yourself what features you need to have and want to see in the best coffee grinder for French Press.
- Private or commercial use?
- A grinder with burrs or blade?
- Conical or flat burrs?
- Stepped or stepless grinder motor?
- Manual or automatic?
- Original or refurbished?
- Low, medium or high priced?
- With or without a timer?
- With or without warranty?
- Heavy or lightweight?
- How often you need to grind?
- How easy is it to clean and maintain?
- What accessories are included in the price?
Coffee Grinder Reviews:
1. Best Burr Grinder - Capresso 560.01
Capresso Features:
- 16 grind settings
- Stainless steel material
- Built-in timer (can be set for 5-60 seconds)
- Safety lock system for the bean container.
- Bean hopper capacity is 8.5 oz.
- Grounds container capacity is 4 oz.
- 100-watt gear reduction motor with 450 RPM
- Black in color and weight 4 lbs.
- Dimensions: 14.6 x 9.6 x 7.8 inches
If you are on a budget, but still want to buy a good quality, reliable coffee grinder, then this model is surely the best option for you. It’s the best burr grinder for French press I have ever used in my life.
Besides being affordable, this beautiful conical burr coffee grinder comes with a built-in timer. Only a few grinders that you can buy with a low budget come with this feature. It is a great feature that you will surely appreciate.
Capresso users rightfully call it a great grinder that does an amazing job. You can also get one in stainless steel or brushed silver color.
It is one of the best-selling products on the market, it is ideal for French press and it comes with 1-year warranty. The safety lock system is simply the best. Its elegant, enduring and user-friendly design and easy cleaning make it a must-have grinder for both private and commercial use. You will not find such an amazing combination of components in any other product at the same price range.
Capresso Pros
- Durable and Affordable
- Delivers consistent coarse grind
- Quiet operation
- Well-built
- Easy to clean and maintain
- 16 adjustable grind settings (good results with around 13 of them)
- Low-speed motor - slow grind ( prevents coffee from burning and, at the same time, preserves its real flavor)
Capresso Cons
- You may find it complicated to assemble the machine at first. But, follow the manual carefully, and you will do it for sure.
- Leftover grounds are another problem of this machine. You can try to tap or shake the unit to remove some, but in our experience, you have to clean it after each use.
- None of these problems are grave enough to deter you from getting this rather economical grinder. All you need is a little effort to operate and manage it the right way.
2. Best Conical Grinder - Baratza Encore
Baratza Encore Features:
- 40 grind settings.
- Grind speed: 1.1 g/s.
- Bean hopper with 8 oz. capacity.
- Collection bin with 5 oz. capacity.
- Front-mounted pulse button.
- Adjustable speed (405-495 RPM)
- Black in color with 6.8 lbs. weight
- Dimensions: 7.6 x 7.1 x 12.5 inches
If you want to do your taste buds a big favor by presenting them the original French Press flavor, you should opt for this average-priced Baratza grinder. From design to functioning, this conical burr coffee grinder by Baratza appears analogous to Capresso. But, its biggest advantage, when compared to Capresso Infinity, is the minimal amount of loose grounds left in the container after use.
The low-speed motor installed in this unit will provide you with a slow grinding process which prevents accidental burning of the coffee beans, and perseveres the French Press flavor.
According to Baratza user reviews, this awesome conical machine works great, and we love it because it is consistent, uniform and very good at fine grinding beans for French press and Espresso.
If you do not want to clean your grinder after each use and your budget is tight too, then Baratza Encore is the most convenient, reliable and economical machine - it is just made for you. You may not get a premium quality feel while using Encore, especially compared to its classy and more expensive sibling Baratza Virtuoso, but it does a great job at such an affordable price.
Baratza Pros
- Compact design
- Reliable
- 40 grind settings (start at 24 for French press)
- Good control of the grind size
- Delivers more uniform grind
- Minimal leftover grounds
- No need to clean the unit daily
- Simple use, easy cleaning
Baratza Cons
- You may find it complicated to assemble the machine at first. But, follow the manual carefully, and you will do it for sure.
- Leftover grounds are another problem with this machine.
3. Best Overall Coffee Grinder - Rancilio
Rancilio Features:
- 55 grind settings (start at 25-30 for French Press)
- 50mm grinding burrs (commercial grade)
- Bean hopper with 0.65 lb. capacity
- Variable grinder adjustment control.
- Grinds directly into the portafilter
- Detachable cradle for the portafilter.166-watt direct drive motor.
- Weight: 15.4 pounds
- Color: Black & Stainless Steel
- Dimensions: 9.8 x 4.7 x 13.8 inches
Rancilio is indeed an unbeatable brand when it comes to quality. They always come up with something really stunning and extremely reliable that functions flawlessly.
The Rocky SD burr grinder is one of the best entry-level commercial grinders for all varieties of coffee. This powerful machine can crush coffee beans, within a few seconds, into a fine powder excellent for espresso or a coarse enough grind ideal for French press.
It takes only 20-30 seconds to grind double shot. I can bet you; you won’t find this beauty anywhere else.
The premium functioning of this unit in comparison to the rest of the coffee grinders in the same price range put it on a pedestal .
This well-built, solid and reliable machine is very admired to by its users. There is hardly anyone who ever complains about this grinder. It usually comes with a 2-year warranty and it is as solid as it gets.
If you have a solid grinder budget, then do not hesitate and get this brilliant machine. It will allow you to experience the timeless magic of a genuine French Press.
Rancilio Pros
- Sleek, elegant, durable design
- Simple and quiet operation
- Easy to use and adjust settings
- 55 ways to grind (always delivers a uniform grind)
- Commercial quality grinding burrs
- High quality, powerful and safe
- 2-year warranty
Rancilio Cons
- Heavier than many other burr coffee grinders and will certainly take more space. So, always measure the area you are about to place it before finalizing the purchase.
- The removable cradle portafilter becomes a bit unstable sometimes, so do be a little more careful.
Final Words
When it comes to preparing coffee, most of us have a preference. Some choose to keep things simple and prepare instant coffee in their modest kitchens, while others choose to grind fresh coffee beans every time. In my opinion, the exceptionally ground fresh coffee beans will provide you with a genuine taste. Have a try!
If you want to brim with vitality, start brewing and grinding your own coffee - it makes a world of difference!!!
Buy the fresh beans and grind them with the best coffee grinder for your budget as soon as it is time to brew your coffee. This way, you will not have to regret losing the compounds which actually give your coffee the amazing aromas and delightful flavors. Therefore, avoid grinding your coffee too soon no matter what. Preserve the real flavor. Enjoy the full taste!
I really love Baratza coffee grinder as it’s good at all. Thank for rating!
Hi Lita,
Thanks so much to hear that. Do hope to receive your more assistance on it!