Our coffee grinder bit the dust, just stopped working, and is not under warranty...

[Phentex]

It was a small Capresso burr grinder, nothing fancy. We were at Cooks Warehouse over the weekend thinking we would purchase another but then my husband started looking at grind and brew machines. Naturally, the salesperson was trying to get him on the hook! However, they seemed huge to me and my cabinets are pretty low so I didn't think anything would fit. And I always wonder what happens when one part of the machine breaks. It's like you are out two machines then.

Any suggestions? We don't generally grind beans every day but we like to use them when we can. Just depends what I have on hand.

[digonswine]

1. I've got a 5-yr old Cuisinart grind and brew-

I never, ever use the grinder in the machine-it is a cleaning nightmare.
I got a Mister Coffee grinder at a Goodwill about 12 years ago, and it was from the 70's. No problems. Just get a cheap grinder. I know people are picky about coffee grain size, but it is learned quite easily with whatever grinder you get.

[Phentex]

9. Thanks for the info!

Being able to clean it is important to me.

[Major Nikon]

2. This one is a very good one

It's made primarily for brewed coffee like drip, French press, pourover, etc.

http://www.chriscoffee.com/Baratza_Encore_Coffee_Grinder_p/encore.htm

I don't really recommend cheaper grinders than this unless you want to go with a hand grinder. When you go cheaper than this you generally get into grinders that are made in China and are designed to work OK for a couple of years and then crap out (like your Capresso). This one is made to last many years, if not a lifetime. So it costs more initially, but will be cheaper in the long run.

I have a lot of information in my coffee series posts in the Lounge:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1018287996

[Phentex]

10. I remember those threads...

wonder if we couldn't get them compiled and pinned here? They were excellent.

[Major Nikon]

15. You'd have to send a message to the host if you'd want that

I have no problem with it. I can expand on a few topics or add new ones if there's enough interest.

[Glassunion]

3. Buy two cheap ones.

I have one solely for grinding coffee and the other I use as a spice grinder. The spice grinder became the coffee grinder one morning when the other one bit it.

[A HERETIC I AM]

4. Your grinder bit it?

I don't know why, but that made me laugh.

Don't mean to to belittle the demise of your machine, but "My grinder bit it" just sounds funny as hell!

[Glassunion]

6. I was initially going to say something else.

Glad I did not and brought someone some joy.

Sweet!

[Phentex]

11. I may owe you money!...

Maybe it's a sign of getting old. Or maybe it's a sign I need to look in my kitchen cabinets more often. Because after I read this, I remembered I DO have a small grinder that we used for spices and not coffee. Obviously we have not ground spices in YEARS! doh.

So yeah, I went looking in the space where I remembered it last being and there it was. Works fine, although in small batches. It may not last as a coffee grinder but I don't think I'll buy anything until this one "bites" it!

[noamnety]

5. I'd go with the two separate machines

for exactly the reason you said - if one part malfunctions, you don't have to keep a huge beast around to use for half its purpose. That's why I never got a tv/vcr combo - I'd rather have two separate machines. I have a krups burr grinder, I like that you can adjust the grind size, but also that you can fill the hopper and tell it how much to grind (enough for two cups, or six, etc), and it will stop grinding at the right amount, and leave the remaining beans in the hopper for the next day.

It's the only burr grinder I've used so I don't know if they are all like that, but if they aren't, it's a really nice feature.

[Phentex]

12. Most agree with you...

and it does make sense. So I think I'll stick with two separate things for now.

[Warpy]

7. I used a hand grinder. About the only thing that would have

conked out on it was the cheesy little drawer to receive the ground beans. Folded paper would have sufficed, making it indestructible.

I have a Cuisinart spice/coffee grinder that I've used for 25 years. It sucks up very little cabinet space and is great for grinding spices and mincing ginger and garlic. I use it a lot more often than I use the big Cuisinart.

You'd want something a bit bigger if you make large pots of coffee, though, it only holds about a quarter of a cup before it starts getting uncomfortable.

I usually go for separate applicances, the all-in-one eventually has one component fail and need to be replaced and that starts to eat up cabinet and counter space, which I aint got.

[Phentex]

13. I have cabinet space, dark and mysterious...

so that I can't remember what lurks in there.

I don't want anything too big on the counter for sure. I did find a very small grinder in the dark abyss and we're gonna use that for now. I can't even remember the last time I used it for spices. I sniffed it and it was relatively clean.

[CottonBear]

8. I have a 20 year old Krups coffee bean grinder

which has been used almost daily for those 20 years.

Get a grinder (or two if you want another for grinding spices and other foods) and a plain old coffeemaker with no bells and whistles.

Good luck.

[Phentex]

14. Thanks!

You now how you start looking at machines and thinking ooooh, this could be nice! But then the reality is what everyone here is saying. Keep it simple!