You need to get the grind size right when cold brewing to prepare the perfect brew. Therefore, a good coffee grinder is crucial if you want to break whole fresh beans into perfect grounds. Here, we have listed the six best cold brew coffee grinders that best fit all your cold brewing needs.
Our top picks:
Best coffee grinders for cold brew
Here are manual and automatic coffee grinders you will truly love:
JavaPress Manual Coffee Grinder
Loved by many cold brew lovers, this manual conical burr grinder offers 18 grind settings (from extra fine to coarse) and specializes in coarse sizes. It comes with a “cold press” setting and is designed to give you the best grind for cold brewing. Besides, this grinder is:
- Easy to disassemble and clean
- Portable
- Small
- Sleek
- Strong (made out of stainless steel)
- Has ceramic conical burrs (ceramic is a strong material that lasts longer if taken care of properly
- Read our JavaPress manual coffee grinder review.
Pros
- Low price
- Very lightweight
- Quiet
- 18 grind sizes
- Lifetime warranty with great customer service
- cleaning is a breeze because of the brushed steel finish and detachable cranky.
- It incorporates a handy coffee window that displays the status of the grinding process.
- It is small and quiet in both size and volume.
Cons
- Because it is a manual grinder, you will require time.
- Adjusting the grind size is a difficult task.
- Due to the limited size of the container, repeated grinds for cold brew are required.
Hario Ceramic Skerton Pro Coffee Grinder
Hario Ceramic Skerton Pro Coffee Grinder is one of the best-known manual coffee grinders in the market today and comes in three different versions. The Skerton, the Skerton Plus, and the Skerton Pro.
The Pro is designed to create the best cold brew coffee possible. It is strong, portable, durable, and heat resistant, and its glass material lets you see the grinder’s inside when grinding.
Besides, the Skerton Pro is:
- Easy to clean
- Simple to disassemble
- It has a non-slip rubber base to keep the grinder in place
Pros
- A fantastic selection of grind settings
- The Skerton cap is designed to screw onto any regular mason jar
- The non-slip rubber base allows for a simple grind
- The non-slip rubber base keeps it stable during grinding
- Its handle has been improved for easier grinding
- Its hopper contains around 100g
- Add a bell jar to increase the amount of coffee you wish to grind
- Ceramic burrs on a high-quality manual coffee grinder. If properly cared for, it should last for many years
Cons
- In the coarser grind settings, there are some inconsistencies
- Because it is small and manual, you will use a lot of energy
- One of the more costly manual grinders on the market
- It’s not as portable as some other manual grinders
- It will take a lot of effort to perfect the coffee for cold brew
Baratza Virtuoso Grinder
Designed with high carbon steel conical burrs, this automatic grinder produces the right coarse grounds for your brew. It has 40 precision grind settings and a pulse button on the front.
Its consistency in producing an exact grind makes this grinder common among professional baristas. Additionally, Baratza Virtuoso Grinder comes with a 420RPM motor that allows your beans to be ground at a slower rate. A slower motor decreases the heat and friction during grinding, reducing your coffee’s risk of over-extraction.
Pros
- Components of commercial quality
- Grind is constant
- Simple to clean and maintain
- Parts that wear out over time are quite simple to replace
- The LCD screen and precise controls will assist you in achieving consistent outcomes
- A coffee grinder that has won an SCA award
- Its tiny size makes it ideal for even the tiniest kitchens
- Capable of grinding for almost any specialty coffee drink
Cons
- Many people believe that setting up this machine is a little more difficult than setting up other machines
- It is priced at the higher end of the coffee grinder price range
Capresso 560 Infinity Conical Burr Grinder
This is yet another common automatic coffee grinder among professional baristas. Capresso 560 Infinity Conical Burr Grinder is designed with performance and quality in mind and capable of grinding at about 16 different sizes.
It is available in different designs: one made of stainless steel, a bit pricey, and the other made of black BPA-free plastic. Its motor reduces friction, heat, and unwanted noise while grinding. Additionally, it can hold roughly 4 ounces in the container/bin.
Pros
- Price is reasonable
- Grind consistency across all grind sizes
- Grinding at a slow speed
- The upper burr is detachable for cleaning
- a warranty period of one year
- A cleaning brush and measuring scoop are included
- This coffee grinder produces low static, making it easy to clean
- When compared to other coffee grinders, it is relatively quiet!
- Produces consistently high-quality coffee grounds
- Excellent customer service.
Cons
- Grounds entangled in burrs.
- Cleaning is required regularly.
- When preparing finer espresso grinds, you may need to shake the hopper a little
OXO Brew Conical Burr Coffee Grinder
With a one-touch start timer, this automatic grinder does a decent job of creating uniform grounds for optimal cold brewing. It has 40mm stainless conical burrs that create uniform grounds. In addition, its 15 grind settings and micro settings give you more freedom when grinding.
This grinder fits well in any cozy space in your kitchen, and its hopper can hold about ¾ pounds of coffee beans. The grounds container can hold up to 110 grams of coffee.
Pros
- A built-in scale measures them by weight.
- Durable stainless steel conical burrs with a diameter of 40 mm consistent coffee grounds.
- 15 grind settings, including micro settings and a timer.
- Its stainless steel coffee container keeps the coffee fresh and aromatic
- Plastic hopper with a large UV-blocking surface area
- The hopper has a capacity of 50oz
- Surprisingly silent
- Price and weight are both reasonable.
- A warranty period of two years
Cons
- Difficult to “deep” clean.
- It is too tall for overhead kitchen cabinets at 16 inches (hopper included).
Baratza Encore Conical Burr Grinder
Baratza Encore Conical Burr Grinder is an excellent gadget for beginners. It has a pulse button on the front and a simple on/off switch on the side. It also has 40 grind settings for grinding cold brewing, French press brewing, and espresso.
Its high-carbon steel burr combined with a powerful DC motor ensures you get the right grind size every time you grind.
Pros
- The hopper offers 40 different grind settings.
- It features an on/off switch on the side to conserve energy.
- Its clear coffee container provides capacity information at a glance.
- On/off switch and a pulse button
- One-year warranty and excellent customer service
- Steel burrs are relatively silent.
Cons
- The 40 options sound wonderful but aren’t as accurate as they appear. No matter how often you pulse, the grinder problems with anything smaller than 7mm.
- more costly
- Design that is less appealing and feels less lasting
- You may need to re-calibrate your device.
- Heavy
What is cold brewing?
When cold brewing, you use room temperature water to steep coarse coffee grounds for roughly 6-24 hours. This is a slow process; you must be patient enough to enjoy a perfect cup of cold java.
Cold brew coffee is best served over ice, so we recommend storing your finished brew in the fridge. Keeping your drink in the fridge helps it stay fresh longer, and it is recommended to refrigerate it no longer than a week.
What grind do you need for cold brewing?
As mentioned earlier, you need a coarse grind to prepare cold brew coffee that will leave your taste buds thankful. Large grounds are not recommended as they lower the extraction of the essential oils that give your coffee great flavor. On the other hand, finer grind results in the over-extraction of these oils. With coarse grind, these oils are better preserved against the damages of over-extraction.
A fine grind is a no-no for cold brew coffee. It may allow you to soak your coffee for a shorter period, but I guarantee you will not be able to completely remove all of the coffee grinds while filtering your cold-brewed coffee. As a result, you will be left with a foggy, bitter-tasting coffee and unable to savor any nuances and flavors inherent in premium coffee beans.
A medium grind will shorten the extraction time, but you will struggle to filter out all the grinds after steeping your cold brew for 12 hours so that the resultant coffee will be less pure.
What makes a grinder a cold brew grinder?
You’ll need a precise, even grinder that won’t heat your beans as it grinds to get that consistent coarse grind. As a result, the optimum form of grinder is a burr grinder, which consistently produces ground beans at any grind size setting.
Beans are crushed between spinning steel or ceramic burrs in burr grinders. To change the grind size, rotate the bean hopper, which changes the distance between the burrs.
How to choose a cold brew coffee grinder
To choose the right coffee grinder for your cold brew coffee, we recommend you consider the following:
Grind sizes
A coffee grinder with more grind size settings gives you the amount of flexibility you need to make as many coffee drinks as you would like. So make sure to buy one that offers more flexibility to grind accurately and widely.
Automatic or manual?
How much control do you want over the grinding process? Are you looking to exert more energy when grinding? How much time do you want to spend grinding? You should take home an automatic grinder or a manual one by answering these and more questions.
Coarseness selector
Getting a coffee grinder that will get the job done right is very crucial. And since you are looking for a grinder that consistently supports cold brewing, we recommend going for one with coarse settings. Luckily some burr grinders are built with a coarseness selector to help you prepare the right texture for cold brewing.
Size of the bean hopper
The size of the bean hopper determines how many beans you can grind at once. If preparing a large amount of coffee, a large hopper will come in handy. Likewise, buying a small bean hopper makes sense when making small batches at a time.
Wrap up
The coffee grinders above are designed with performance and quality in mind and will do a decent job anytime you crave a cup of cold brew. Whether you settle for a manual or automatic grinder is up to you, but pick one that best addresses your needs.
FAQs
What are the different types of cold brew grinders?
There are four types of grinders in use:
- Manual Burr: These coffee grinders are operated by hand. The hand crank coupled with the abrasive burrs aids in the manual grinding of roasted coffee beans. Despite its vintage appearance, it is ideal for cold brew coffee.
- Electric Burr: These coffee grinders are powered by electricity. It too features abrasive burrs, but you don’t have to turn them by hand because electricity can do the job. Burrs can be conical or flat.
- Blade: Instead of burs, these coffee grinders use blades to ground the coffee beans at a medium speed.
- Blender: Unlike blade-type grinders, which feature blades to blend the ground coffee beans, coffee blenders can be used regularly and constantly to grind coffee beans.
Should you get a burr grinder or a blade grinder?
Burr grinders win whenever it comes to cold brew coffee — and all coffee in general.
Despite being less expensive to purchase, Blade grinders do not yield consistent coarse grind output.
They function similarly to a blender and generate a lot of heat. This can significantly impact the flavor and aroma of the coffee you’ve worked so hard to make.
A conical burr grinder, on the other hand, has two abrasive surfaces that revolve to ground coffee beans slowly.
If you space them wider apart, you’ll obtain a coarser grind. Regardless of the setting, you will receive fairly uniform grounds every time.
The end effect is a fine grind for a far superior drink. They are also superior at creating the coarse grinds required to get the most out of your cold brew coffee.
Which is better for cold brew: Manual or electric?
The simple answer is both. Yes, both manual and electric coffee grinders are suitable for cold brewing.
How much effort do you want to produce your batch of cold brew coffee?
Fortunately, cold-brewed coffee necessitates a coarse grind, which isn’t difficult to achieve with a manual coffee grinder. The finer the grind size, the more sweat you will produce.
One of the primary advantages of an electric grinder over a manual grinder is that they are so basic and straightforward to operate that even your eccentric coffee-loving grandmother should have no trouble grinding for her favorite brew.
You must load the bean hopper, choose your preferred grind size (coarse for cold brew), and turn on the machine. In seconds, you’ll have fresh grounds ready to use in your cold-brewed coffee.
One of the biggest disadvantages of an electric burr coffee grinder is that it can be quite pricey. Sure, there are less expensive options, but before you rush out to your local department store and buy the lowest choice, let me tell you that you will get what you pay for.
My list includes two budget grinders, the Cuisinart DBM-8 and the Hario Skerton, which are fairly priced and ideal for preparing cold-brewed coffee.
It’s also worth noting that an electric grinder can get fairly hot, especially when grinding large volumes of whole beans for a lengthy time. This additional heat might harm your coffee by causing an unnecessary loss of smell and flavor from your beans. The good news is that many of the best cold brew coffee grinders include built-in limiters that control the speed of motors to keep heat to a minimum.
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Disclosure: No compensation or free products were received in exchange for writing this review.
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