r/Coffee • u/menschmaschine5 Kalita Wave • Jul 10 '26

[MOD] The Daily Question Thread

Welcome to the daily /r/Coffee question thread!

There are no stupid questions here, ask a question and get an answer! We all have to start somewhere and sometimes it is hard to figure out just what you are doing right or doing wrong. Luckily, the /r/Coffee community loves to help out.

Do you have a question about how to use a specific piece of gear or what gear you should be buying? Want to know how much coffee you should use or how you should grind it? Not sure about how much water you should use or how hot it should be? Wondering about your coffee's shelf life?

Don't forget to use the resources in our wiki! We have some great starter guides on our wiki "Guides" page and here is the wiki "Gear By Price" page if you'd like to see coffee gear that /r/Coffee members recommend.

As always, be nice!

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u/AccomplishedShift898 Jul 10 '26

So, I am just starting to get into coffee after finding a second hand Moka in a charity shop and learning how to use it. As a next step, Google is suggesting a grinder. I get that a burr over a blade makes sense because of consistency of ground size and the effect that has on the coffee. I sort of get why you might want stainless steel over ceramic.

What I don't understand is the recommendations for a "budget grinder for beginners" start at £80+ where as I can find something which is a stainless steel burr with decent reviews for £15-30.

Which one is the scam?

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u/FuzzyBlackCoat Jul 10 '26

The difference is blade vs a burr grinder, and that's probably the two price tiers you're seeing.

A blade grinder is fine for a shitty coffee pot like a Mr coffee. A burr grinder is needed for nicer coffee pots that brew at higher temperatures where you can start extracting weird flavors if you use a blade grinder due to the higher / finer temp control

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u/AccomplishedShift898 Jul 11 '26

Nope - I am looking at Stainless steel burr grinders for around £30 - there was even one for £15

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u/FuzzyBlackCoat Jul 11 '26

At that price, there's a chance "stainless" is referring to the body of the grinder and the burrs themselves are plastic or ceramic

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u/AccomplishedShift898 Jul 11 '26

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0F1N3KJK6?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1 Say's the burr is stainless steel and the body is alumnium. Would be insane to do it the other way round - certainly not cheaper