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* Braun makes the best inexpensive electric burr grinders ($40 and up; try Zabar's). The grind is less uniform than the Zassenhaus, although the very finest particles tend to accumulate separately in the hopper, and can be... See more » * Braun makes the best inexpensive electric burr grinders ($40 and up; try Zabar's). The grind is less uniform than the Zassenhaus, although the very finest particles tend to accumulate separately in the hopper, and can be ditched. This is a disk burr grinder, inferior to cone burr grinders because it spins faster, heating the beans more (but not as badly as a blade grinder). There are little plastic tabs within the Braun that keep the user from adjusting the grind to the point where the two grinding wheels knash and burn out the motor. By unscrewing the top from the base, locating the tabs, and filing off the tab on the base, you can go a step or two finer. This sometimes helps in getting the grind right for espresso, depending on your beans. Watch your house guests carefully if you disable this safeguard. Take the unit apart and clean out the accumulated coffee regularly, or the mill will eventually seize up and burn out. Alternatively, James Kosalos writes: "You might be interested to know that the Braun burr grinder has a thrust bearing adjustment screw on the bottom of its motor shaft. The screw has a lock nut and is accessible by removing the base of the grinder. I adjust mine by first unscrewing the hopper (selecting a finer grind by one or two clicks) and then tightening the thrust bearing screw a little. Then I try it out by turning on the grinder and very carefully/slowly screwing the hopper towards the finest grind. If the burs meet and gnash slightly the thrust bearing screw is holding the motor shaft too high, and I repeat the performance lowering the shaft a little more each time until the burrs do not touch when the finest grind is selected." The coffee newsgroups tend to view Braun burr grinders as defining the bottom end of acceptable, but they are a huge step up from blade grinders. Similar models are said to spew grounds in unwanted directions, and some people experience severe static electricity problems. Static is solved by humidity or an all-metal construction; one writer borrows a darkroom piezoelectric static gun to zap away his problem. Static actually serves to sort the particles by size, which can be an advantage. Call me simple; I like the Braun. In general, be leary of a coffee mill with a "doser" or "dispenser." The coffee's flight path will typically involve an overnight layover in the doser compartment, and Murphy is sure the doser won't be the right size for your espresso machine, anyway. However, David Ross writes: "By the way, don't be so quick to dismiss doser-grinders. The doser itself has both positive and negative aspects, but the burrs on the better doser-grinders are conical instead of flat, which in my experience leads to better uniformity of grind. We retired a Bialetti disk grinder (comparable to the Braun) about a year ago in favor of the Rancilio Rocky. The difference between the two at similar coarseness is very obvious under a magnifier, and our espresso's quality has slightly but noticeably improved." It would be interesting to see the different grinds from various devices under a microscope. If anyone has access to microscopic photography facilities, I'd love to collaborate in posting a comparative study. See less »

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espresso, espresso coffee

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Resources for home espresso

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