Electric grinder

Stepping up to a electric grinder from a manual one is quite a price jump. A top quality manual grinder in around $300. A top quality electric grinder can run in to thousands! But there are some good quality home grinders that won't break the bank.

The Coffee Chronicler recommends both the Baratza Sette series and the Eureka Mignon Specialita.

The Baratza Sette 30 is a good basic grinder but the Sette 270 and 270wi have a finer grind adjustment. The better of the series is the Sette 270wi which doses by weight rather than time which the 270 uses; however, the 270wi is about 40% more expensive. The one criticism of the Baratzas is that they are noisier than the Eureka. The Sette 270wi is available in Canada from Cafuné.ca and Creative Coffee; cost about $800.

The Seattle Coffee Company recommends the Eureka line of grinders, in order: Mignon Specialita, Mignon Libra and the Oro Mignon XL. I prefer the Mignon Libra because it doses by weight rather than time, unlike the others. Their video explains the differences between the models.

I would prefer the Eureka Mignon Libra because it looks like it would produce the same quality grind as the Sette but is quieter. The Mignon Libra is available from I Drink Coffee for $1,299.

Baratza Sette 270wi

Eureka Mignon Libra

In the past few years the most popular higher quality home espresso grinders have been the Niche Zero and the Turin DF64. By experienced users they are noted for producing a high quality grind and resulting flavour. These only do a single dose at a time—no hopper. The Niche by design is not supposed to retain much coffee in the burrs; the Turin has a bellow which blows out most of the retained coffee in the burrs. Compared to the Baratza Sette 270wi, the Turin DF64 is about $500. At $925 the single dose Niche Zero is only slight more expensive as the Baratza Sette 270wi. See a review of the Niche Zero here.

Niche Zero

Turin DF64

Now, for the ultimate in grinders you could get the Weber EG1 which used 80mm flat burrs and is for the ultimate espresso connoisseur — with a deep pocket. It sells for $5,500!

Weber EG1

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Final thoughts
If I buy an electric grinder I think I would go with the Turin DF64. I don't really need a grinder with a hopper because I don't have espresso every day; though the coffee in the grinders with a hopper would retain much of its freshness, the grounds retained in the burrs would go stale. If I did buy a grinder with a hopper, I would get the Eureka Mignon Libra.