Best Coffee Grinders To Buy In 2019 (Low To Mid-Range $200-$650)

Best Coffee Grinders to buy in 2019 (low to mid-range $200-$650)

Hey there, Ryd here from Coffee Beans Delivered.

Last year, I looked at which Home Espresso machine to buy and if you want to read that, click here. I still think those are the best options even a year later. Although the machines have released newer versions with minor updates, they are still the top 3 that I’ve seen. This might change later in the year if new machines are released but for now, I am going to focus on coffee grinders.

Why do you need a grinder you ask? Can’t we just grind the coffee for you when you order? The answer is: Of course we can, but if you are looking to advance your home espresso skills, then buying a grinder is a necessity. Just check out my video on why it’s important to invest in a coffee grinder.

There are so many grinders to choose from and, at the end of the day, they all do essentially the same thing – grind coffee – so how are you supposed to make a good decision?

Well, I’ve chosen the top 3 quality grinders which are going to serve you very nicely until you need/decide to upgrade.

3rd place – Quamar 50s $650

The Quamar 50s isn’t the cheapest option for a home grinder, but for those who are looking for a companion to a beautiful espresso machine that demands the attention of the kitchen, the Quamar is a perfect choice.

Speed and consistency is this machine’s main advantage. The 54mm flat burrs are capable of 1400 rpm which means you don’t have to wait very long for your portafilter basket to fill up (about 10-15 secs). Plus it’s nice and quiet too and it won’t heat up your grinds, keeping all the essential oils in your cup.

The downside is that there is no LCD display which means you have to eyeball how much you grind with the continuous grind button. So unless you have scales and can weigh the output, there isn’t really a way to keep track of your grind settings as easily as with the other two grinders (although for an extra $200 or so you can purchase the Electronic version (50E) which have programmable timers.

Even though this is a stepped grinder, it has a large range from the finest of grinds to the coarsest and at all sizes, the grind is very consistent and doesn’t clump a whole lot.

The aluminium body comes in a range of colours from glossy white, red, orange and black to stainless steel and metallic silver, this grinder not only matches most espresso machine designs but also stands out in any home.

Pros:

Sleek, Modern design in a range of colours
Quick and consistent grinds at all sizes
Durable body and components will last a long time
Perfect for Small offices and Prosumers

Cons:

Might be a little pricey for a first purchase grinder
No LCD display

2nd Place – Breville Smart Grinder Pro $200-$250

The Breville Smart Grinder Pro could almost tie for 1st place because not only is it a very consistent grinder, but it also comes in at a ridiculously low price of $200-250AUD.

And whilst it isn’t the be-all-to-end-all grinders, because the price is so low, it’s probably going to exceed many people’s expectations and improve their home coffees immediately.

The Breville Smart Grinder Pro boasts 40mm stainless steel conical burrs which give great consistency for espresso grinds. While it isn’t the quickest grinder in the world (about 30 seconds to fill your portafilter basket) the grinder can dial down to the finest of grind sizes with extreme ease.

It has 60 grind settings from fine to coarse and with a large LCD display, you can easily note which grind settings work best for your setup. The display also shows a timer which you can adjust to control the volume of coffee produced (a finer grind will grind more slowly, so you’ll need to up the seconds on the timer to allow for the same volume.) It also has a continuous grind button to just allow you to grind until you have enough which is great if you aren’t into precision coffee extractions.

Overall the quality is solid as the main components are commercial grade, however, the shell of the grinder is just basic plastic and not the sexiest to look at if your coffee machine is on display in your kitchen.

Pros:

Cheap but still quality
Very easy to use and to learn grind settings
Solid commercial components mean consistent grinds for espresso users

Cons:

Only 60 grind settings might not be enough for the fussy home barista
Does not produce consistent grind at coarser settings (eg: for Plunger)
Slow to grind at finer settings

1st Place – Baratza Sette 270w $435

While the Breville is an excellent second place, the Baratza Sette 270 eeks out the win here for a few reasons but none more important than the 270 different steps of grind sizes! This means total control for the home barista and almost 5 times as many as the Breville. So if you are a coffee fanatic and have a strong need to hone in on that perfect grind size, this is the machine for you.

There are 30 macro steps with 9 micro steps so you can ensure that you get the perfect grind size no matter what machine you use. This is really important because coffee grind can be affected by even the slightest rise in temperature and sometimes the other step grinders cannot make small enough adjustments.

Another feature of the Sette is the timer which can be tuned to within a 10th of a second. There are three memory buttons too, so you can set one up for double shots and the other for single shots.

The speed of this grinder is incredible too for such small conical burrs (40mm). You would typically experience 3.5g per second up to 5.5g per second meaning you don’t have to wait very long even if you are grinding larger doses.

The convertible holder is great too because it not only auto adjusts for different sized portafilters, but you can grind directly into other brewing devices like stainless steel filters.

Another visually stunning grinder with the Z-shaped design means it also becomes a talking point when displayed on the kitchen bench.

All in all, this grinder does it all for us: price, speed, consistency and control. I can’t really fault it and that is why I had to give it first place.

There is also a higher model (Sette 270wi) comes with a built-in scale to help weigh the dose. It does add a couple of hundred dollars to it so you have to decide on what is important to you, but if you are precision-focused, go with the upgrade.

Pros:

270 different grinds size settings
Fastest grinding time with consistency
Beautiful sleek design

Cons:

None that I’ve come across yet