Thread: SMALL burr grinder?

Any of the coffee gurus have input on a small burr grinder? I do not keep my grinder out on the counter, it goes away every day. I also do not make coffee every day at home, so no beans will "live" in the ginder. I want to be able to use it a cup at a time with a frech press.

Thoughts?

Many thanks!

The Virtoso by Baratza works good and will go fine enough for espresso if you ever want to give it a try. For drip, vac and press pot the Maestro will do the job nicely. Both are small and can be put in the cabinet after use.

I have the Solis Maestro in my office (I have a Mazzer Mini at home). The Solis works very well -- I generally use it for coffee (drip or french press) rather than espresso. It does a passable job for my office espresso maker (an old Saeco Classico).

cass

You didn't mention that it had to be electric. If you want a manual grinder (small, quiet for grinding while the family is still asleep, versatile - will adjust to any fineness, and decorative) consider a Zassenhaus.
Zassenhaus Conical Burr Coffee Mills.

Thanks a million guys!
I think I am going with the Maestro. I'll just keep the hopper empty
so that I can store my beans ina cool dry place, as I don't use that many at home. I think keeping them in the hopper for a week or more at a time wouldn't be great for their freshness.

Check out the Ascaso I-Mini, conical and stepless for under 200 dollars...

Smokelaw

Keeping the beans in a tight container is great - dark place etc.
But to be honest it really makes NO difference - forget all this vacuum pouch thing from the supermarkets - its all about Carbon Dioxide after roasting.
Gas is expelled for approx 2 -4 weeks after roasting. This sits ontop (heavier than air) of the beans in any container protecting the beans from oxidation. Once the weeks are up the beans go oily on the surface. This is the coffee oil seeping out - this is where the coffee taste is.

Conclusion - you must get yor beans fresh from a source where you know when they were roasted - then afer max 3 months you are just getting a caffeine husk! - hell thats all instant is a caffeine drink!

Sorry if this disagrees with accepted practices - but it is how it is IMHO as a roaster.

Tmax

The Maestro is used by a lot of people who buy from Home Coffee Roasting Supplies - Sweet Maria's Do you roast your beans as well? If you don't, you should seriously consider doing so. Especially since you use the French press, which is what I use. You will be blown away by the difference. You can keep green beans for a very, very, very long time. However, once you roast them the freshness deteriorates rapidly no matter what you do to try to preserve them. I roast every 2 weeks, and even then I can tell they are getting stale. If want to PM me I can discuss this further wih you.

Thanks for all the info. I do buy from a roaster, so I know they are freshly roasted, and never have coffee for more than a month or two.

I would love to get into roasting, but if I pick up yet another weird and expensive hobby my (non coffee drinking) wife will kill me.