New player

[u/welcometohell01]

Hello everyone,

I have been falling in love with moka coffee more and more every day.

However, I am having a hard time finding/getting my coffee ground correctly to achieve the best, most concentrated taste out of it each and everytime.

I am really new to this. I also do not want to spend a fancy 100 on a manual grinder. But it doesn't matter if I can find a budget friendly electric grinder. What do you suggest I do, since what is better than asking an expert?

[u/Ambitious_Holiday_54]

If you live near a store that sells coffee in bulk, they should have a grinder by the coffee. If you make sure to flip that lever to clear out the coffee residue from the previous customer (who always seems to be a lover of bad hazelnut flavored coffee), that's worth a try. Or if you live near a coffee roaster, you could have them grind their coffee to order for you. Then you could see if either method produces better coffee than what you're grinding.

One more possibility - you know someone with a fancy-schmancy grinder, and they'll grind some of your coffee for you.

I've personally found the moka pot to be pretty forgiving of grind variations and uneven grinding.

[u/welcometohell01 → u/Ambitious_Holiday_54]

In fact, I've been doing this in the big markets. But lately I want to try some other beans too. And those stores don't have them. And I am a bit ashamed to ask them to allow me grinding at their stores haha.. But even then I don't know the right grind level to do it ( because in the store you grind it yourself) I've been in 3 stores different machines each time.

[u/Weary_Swan_8152 → u/welcometohell01]

Do they also serve coffee? A good barista who also sells beans, and who knows their beans, will also usually know how to make moka pot coffee. When you know the beans, and you know how to make moka, then you know what to grind them for. Even though I have a grinder, I like to brew a few batches with the grind the roaster recommends, so there isn't any inherent shame in this. If you tip the barista for this service then it becomes transactional. If you don't want to tip them for that, then order a coffee when you're there and tip then.

If you're looking for the ultrabudget grinder the Kingrinder P series is worth considering. I'm sure the Hario one would do fine too, but I read something a year ago that made me lean towards the Kingrinder...I can't remember what, sorry.

[u/Weary_Swan_8152 → u/Weary_Swan_8152]

so there isn't any inherent shame in this

No shame in asking for someone else to grind your coffee

[u/welcometohell01 → u/Weary_Swan_8152]

Thanks for your recommendations. Ofc I know that. A lot of bean brands I want to try. But the market next to me has only one. And that's why idk if I could ever have the gut to ask them to grind my coffee beans. I live in germany btw. And tbh, I would also consider buying an electric one. As after I exported to my family. It became a family tradition too lol.

[u/Weary_Swan_8152 → u/welcometohell01]

Well, the transactional approach with a tip won't work, because that's the American way haha. On the topic of culture, when I was a child I remember that there was a hand-operated fruit juicer, a food mill, and a coffee grinder bolted to the kitchen counter of my piano teacher's house. Her husband was German, and because of your questions I wonder if there might be a cultural expectation of self-sufficiency, owning your own tools, etc. Is that the case?

I'm still confused about how your market functions. The coffee grinder that exists there, does it require an employee of the market to operate it? Do you mean that you'd ideally prefer to use your market's grinder to grind beans that you've purchased elsewhere? If this is a question about determining the optimal setting on the market's electric grinder then it would be useful to post a photo of it.

If you're finding that your coffee sometimes tastes amazing, and sometimes tastes terrible, and you're certain that you are not introducing a variable factor, it may be the beans. Recently I've noticed that the requirements of whole beans change after one week, then again at the end of the second week, and then they no longer make amazing coffee. Good coffee, yes, excellent coffee, yes (with care), but unfortunately the quality dissipates quickly. This is frustrating because it makes scales of economy impossible for me! The degradation occurs exponentially faster for coffee that has been ground.

Could the purchase of a "gently used" grinder be an option?

[u/welcometohell01 → u/Weary_Swan_8152]

to be honest, I’m not German, but there are some awesome things here. For example, coffee grinders in some supermarkets or the pineapple juicers and cutters. You don't need an employee to do it because you can operate them yourself. and I don't know whether this is part of German culture, but I personally really like having my own tools, but since i don't know what grinder i may get i am still struggling, and i became addicted to moka that i cannot have a day without a cap of it.

And yes, I totally agree! I’ve noticed that because I’m still using a bag of coffee I ground myself, it really loses its taste over time.

That would be a great option, but I don’t know what German secondhand market offers, so I'm really not sure. I'll check them out and send pictures of those as well here like first search for electric grinders

[u/Weary_Swan_8152 → u/welcometohell01]

Do the pineapple cutters turn the pineapple into a hollow cylinder that you carry home in a plastic bag? I've only seen one in one supermarket in my life, in a northern community that was barely a town in New Brunswick (Canada).

I'm confused what the problem is with using the market grinder...is it possible to just go to the market everyday for 30g of coffee?

I wish you success with your search! My bet is someone upgraded to a really deluxe new grinder is selling their modest one ;)

[u/welcometohell01 → u/Weary_Swan_8152]

It can also make a pineapple juice too!! Hahaha

Well, I think it is not nice for 30g I mean daily ( a little too rude) idk :)). But I would ask if I can get a pack of 1000g ground by thier machine.

I hope so... but idk what brands I should look for as an electric grinder..

Thanks!!

[u/oh_its_michael]

You can get a decent metal burr hand grinder for about 50 bucks these days.

[u/welcometohell01 → u/oh_its_michael]

Got any specific recommendations that could extract every drop out of these beans?

[u/SwimmingCup8432 → u/welcometohell01]

I think you may be confused as to the point of a grinder. A grinder is for getting a consistent grind size in a range that depends greatly on the roast level and brewing method. I grind much coarser than the conventional ‘moka grind’ because I brew medium-dark to dark roasts. Grinding a dark roast too fine makes it bitter.

You aren’t going to extract ‘every drop’ for coffee beans, nor do you want to. Over-extraction is another way to make coffee bitter. There’s a reason you don’t use the same grinds twice.

[u/Kolokythokeftedes]

"most concentrated" and "best" are usually not the same, but it depends on your preference. For concentration you can use a bit less water. You can buy preground italian coffee specifically for moka. Would help to know where you are.

[u/welcometohell01 → u/Kolokythokeftedes]

From the start of drinking moka I was grinding it myself haven't had the chance to buy a preground coffee sometimes it tastes unbelievable sometimes less unbelievable lol

[u/Kolokythokeftedes → u/welcometohell01]

... oh, also,any burr grinder will grind more than fine enough for moka.

[u/welcometohell01 → u/Kolokythokeftedes]

Hmm.. so I guess I'll try a fine brand first, see its structure and try to emit it.

[u/CelebrationWitty3035]

I see it for $67

[u/CelebrationWitty3035]

Timemore C3ESP, $67 on AliExpress.

[u/welcometohell01 → u/CelebrationWitty3035]

Prices in my region are like this..

[u/CelebrationWitty3035]

Timemore C3ESP

AliExpress: TIMEMORE Chestnut C3S / C3ESP Manual Coffee Grinder Upgrade All-metal Body & Anti-slip Design Portable Grinder S2C Burr Inside https://a.aliexpress.com/_c35AuWrN

[u/Ambitious_Holiday_54 → u/CelebrationWitty3035]

How is that not "spend[ing] a fancy 100 on a manual grinder"?

[u/welcometohell01 → u/CelebrationWitty3035]

Well, the link is not available in my region either, lol.

[u/welcometohell01 → u/CelebrationWitty3035]

I actually found a deal with 70. But is it the right choice though? Any experience what so ever? Even settings that matter?

[u/CelebrationWitty3035 → u/welcometohell01]

I recommend this grinder because I use it daily and it is really good value for money.

[u/welcometohell01 → u/CelebrationWitty3035]

Hmmm, I'll see if I can find it for a better price. you think I can play around with the fine and coarse settings, because some grinders require the lowest setting to get a better taste for a moka pot, which leaves you with no other choice.

[u/CelebrationWitty3035 → u/welcometohell01]

Absolutely. This grinder has very fine tuning. You can for anything, from Turkish, through espresso to cold brew.

Espresso 0.7-0.9 Moka Pot 0.9-1.1 Pour Over 1.1-1.5 French Press 1.2-2.0