A Man And His Gear

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Is a Coffee Grinder The Same As a Spice Grinder?

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For most people, all grinders are the same. If a grinder is one of your daily companions in the kitchen, then you should realize that not all grinders are the same. Their difference lies in what you are going to grind with them. With this said, keep in mind that a coffee grinder is not the same as a spice grinder. Read on to find out why.

So are coffee grinders and spice grinders the same thing? Coffee grinders and spice grinders are not the same thing, as spice grinders use blades, while coffee grinders utilize burrs to make consistent grinds. You are able to use a spice grinder to grind coffee, however it will be inconsistent and just not as good as a dedicated burr coffee grinder.

What is a spice grinder?

The majority of these grinders use spinning blades for grinding. Hence, the spices that you put them are actually chopped instead of ground. Because of it, they don’t produce uniform-sized grounds.

Also, the grounds produced by these grinders are bigger compared to those that are produced by coffee grinders. Since spice grounds usually don’t need to be uniformly shaped and sized, spice grinders get the job done.

You should also keep in mind that since spice grinders use blades, they are ideal for grinding soft vegetables.

These grinders usually make a good kitchen companion since they are affordable and quite easy to find.

You can get one of them in local shops. Because of their small size, they are easy to store and would make a great tool for most kitchen tasks.

What is a Coffee Grinder?

Unlike spice grinders, these more grinders use wheel burrs. They work by crushing coffee beans with the wheels pressing against a hard and static surface.

Because of this, coffee grinders produce smaller and more uniform grounds. Due to the nature of how they work, coffee grinders cannot be used for grinding soft vegetables.

It is recommended that these grinders should be used solely for grinding coffee beans to keep them from breaking.

However, don’t let the fact a coffee grinder is a dedicated unit scare you, you can get a good manual coffee grinder for under $30. Although, if you want to get better and better units, you can spend $300 or more on one.

Using a Spice Grinder to Grind Coffee

While we did mention earlier that there truly is a difference between coffee grinders and coffee grinders, some people (including me in the past) have used spice grinder style electric grinders to grind coffee. These are even advertised as coffee grinders, however they just quite up to the task.

These blade grinders produce an extremely inconsistent grind which makes it harder for you to get the best taste out of your coffee beans, and can cause some parts of the grind to oversaturate, while other grounds under-saturate.

For occasional coffee drinkers, this isn’t much of a drawback. If you are a regular coffee drinker, you might consider investing in a coffee grinder.

Some Considerations To Take Before Buying a Coffee Grinder to use as a spice grinder

In most cases, using a coffee grinder for vegetables and nuts will negatively affect its negative performance so you should only use it for grinding coffee beans.

With this in mind, buying a coffee grinder may not be a practical option for those who don’t drink coffee regularly. Besides, coffee grinders are more expensive than spice grinders.

If you drink coffee on a regular basis, then getting one of these will surely serve you well in the long run.

Mostly what I have talked about in this article is what I would consider a manual coffee grinder. However please, even if you think it will work, never use spices in your electric automatic coffee grinder, as these are tuned to handle coffee, and no one wants to spend the hundreds of dollars it costs to service one of these.

On Purchasing Any Type of Grinder

Some spice grinders are advertised as coffee grinders and vice versa. So, you should take a closer look before making a purchase. In the end, it is definitely worth buying a coffee grinder for coffee, and a spice grinder for spices, due to the reasons we just talked about.

Even if those reasons didn’t exist, it still is important to not contaminate your morning coffee with spices and other items that need ground, as they will get into your coffee and affect the taste and enjoyment of the cup.