Coffee people who grind their beans just before making coffee ☕ - Does a burr grinder make a difference in coffee taste? I currently use a steel one. But the blades have lost the sharpness now and I can’t get an equal grind size. I have to get them sharped. I was looking into burr grinders as we can choose the grind size and maintain consistency. Any recs would be awesome.

Not an expert, but not understanding your comparison between steel vs burr. Do you mean you have a steel blade grinder now?

P.S. If you are new to coffee brewing, @loud-glass-33663 has a great post on it - https://saurabhj.com/2019/08/13/up-your-coffee-game/

I have a Baratza Encore since Oct 2019. I paid 10K for it - shocked that it is selling for 30K now 😬 Might be better to check other places other than Amazon. So yes - burr grinders definitely make consistent grinds. Blade grinders can not give you that consistency. At all. It also depends on what kind of coffee you have. Earlier, I used a blade grinder for a few years and made all my coffee in an aeropress which was forgiving of grind sizes and usually needed larger grind sizes. Now, 80% is espresso -- so I HAVE to use a burr grinder (setting of 1-2). A blade grinder won't cut it.

@damp-coat-97256 yes I have a steel blade one now. Burr is a ceramic one.

Blue Tokai has the Encore for 12K https://bluetokaicoffee.com/products/encore-burr-grinder?_pos=17&_sid=ab08673b9&_ss=r

Ok got it, think i read your post before you did the edit. Burr grinders, the good ones, are made of steel and you can have titanium too. Ceramic ones are not great, relatively.

Burr and blade grinders are apple to orange comparison. They use totally different ways to grind beans. A blade grinder is slashing the beans and hoping it will be OK. A burr grinder is actually grinding the beans and will let it pass through only after the size is smaller than the setting. So will be substantially more consistent.

Thanks @loud-glass-33663 I recently switch to v60 from an aeropress. I can see the larger grinds floating up and smaller ones at the bottom. The inconsistency is obvious 😅

Afaik, manual grinders like Timemore C2 are more bang for buck than a entry level auto like Encore.

@gray-bird-14941 I haven't used a v60 - but I'd suppose it is less forgiving for grind sizes. Tools like the aeropress and french press by their nature tend to be more forgiving. But if you are planning to stick to a v60, then I'd suppose you'd need to get a proper grinder. TBH, the burr grinder did not produce a noticeable difference to me when the aeropress was concerned -- but, I did often get a variety of tastes depending on how I ground my beans using a blade grinder that day 🤷 Now all params alike, the taste tends to be more consistent. @damp-coat-97256 I have used a manual grinder in the past. It is okay if you are alone - but if you have guests like I usually have and making 4-6 cups will kill you. Even for 2 people, everyday in the morning, waking up and grinding for 10-15 minutes is not my cup of coffee. But some people like to do it 🙂 It is more romantic that ways 😬

Yeah true, the grinding experience is what it’s about I guess. Otherwise I would rather just buy pre ground.

Preground only if they grind it in front of you. Else you'll be having very stale coffee. Blade grinders would be better in that case.