Grind coffee espresso-fine for less than $100.
A switch flipped in my head last summer and I started drinking espresso again, after a several year stint drinking tea. I had been back on the coffee kick for a few months when a stone from a bag of cheap Trader Joe's beans ended my decade old Baratza. Panic set in.
I tried fixing it. I tried a lot. I have had that grinder open severaltimes, adjusting it for extra-fineness as my espresso machine is pretty picky and the lower-end Baratza was good but not great with every bean or roast. That machine was not going to grind Turkish-fine.
After I fail at fixing something like this I usually email my colleague Mark.
I had read this post about his Capresso grinder just a few months ago, and remembered using it in his home. Mark and I also have the same finicky but excellent espresso machine, the Rancilio Silvia. The machine is mildly picky about the grind you use. Shots will fail until I dial a roast in on my grinder.
I just didn't believe an $80 grinder was going to replace the $400 one. So many internet forums on coffee and espresso recommended spending more on a grinder than an espresso machine. Kinda like the common sense 'don't drive a sports car on cheap tires' advice that is actually good advice, but maybe not?
Mark said buy the cheaper grinder. I bought the cheaper grinder. The cheaper grinder kicks ass.
I am really happy. This grinder is an order of magnitude quieter than my old one. It grinders finer, albeit slower, and is super easy to dial in. I find setting the timer just about 3 grinds me enough for a solid double espresso.
The Capresso is less massive than the dead grinder, but I prefer having some counter space back. I do not have people over to show off my coffee grinder. The coffee grinder was rarely an object of conversation, except folks marveling at how loud it was.
Coffee time!
Capresso 560.01 Infinity Conical Burr, Black via Amazon
