The first step to getting the most flavor out of your coffee is to use a high quality grinder that allows you to achieve a consistent grind. Brewing coffee from freshly ground brews will improve the flavor and quality of your cup, and allow you to get the most out of your coffee.
It’s also a good idea to grind before each brew because the texture of the grind is dependent on the brew method. French press coffee will require a coarse grind, whereas espresso requires fine. Mix up the two and you’ll end up with a bitter or sour drink.
A lot of people try to skip the fresh grind step in favor of buying coffee that has already been ground, simply because they don’t know enough about different grinds for preparing coffee, or because they find that a grinder is too expensive.
Not all grinders are expensive, and the variety of products available makes it easy to find the right grinder for each lifestyle. There are plenty of small grinders, available, as well as larger, more industrial ones. And then there are some in between.
We’re going to take a look at two budget-friendly grinders today. We’ll be comparing the Cuisinart DBM8 with the Krups GX5000.
Main Features of The Cuisinart DBM 8
This grinder uses burrs and a heavy duty motor to provide a consistent grind each time. The housing on the machine is stainless steel, providing a nice, sleek look.
There are 18 total grind settings, all falling in between the main three settings of fine, medium and coarse. The six in between each main setting allow for precise grinding, from ultra-fine to extra-coarse.
You can also choose between four and 18 cups and the grinder will automatically grind the selected amount. The removable grind chamber can hold enough coffee for 32 cups. The bean hopper can hold eight ounces.
The grinder uses a rotating dial which easily allows you to select between grind settings and set a timer. The timer will automatically shut off when the machine has finished its grind cycle.
It also comes with a scoop for easy measuring and a cleaning brush to easily keep the machine in great shape.
Main Features of the Krups GX5000
This grinder uses burrs as well, this one using steel flat burrs. The housing is stainless steel and black plastic.
You can choose between a total of 45 grind settings, this one with nine main settings and five options in between each main. The grinder can also go from extra fine to extra coarse.
The burr system is meant to prevent overheating which could affect the flavor of the coffee. It also will not grind if there is no coffee present in the machine, which prevents any accidental damage to the grinder.
Like the previous, this grinder has an eight ounce bean hopper. You can select between a quantity of two and 12 cups to grind at a time. It also has an auto stop function so you can grind a specific amount and have it stop when you program it to.
This grinder uses two dials, one knob to program the grind settings, and another to select the type of grind you want.
It has a removable 15 ounce container, and a removable top burr, which makes cleanup easy and safe. It also comes with a brush to make cleaning the grinder even easier.
Main Differences Between Cuisinart DBM 8 and Krups GX5000
These two grinders are similar in quite a few ways, so figuring out which one will be best for you can be a bit of a challenge.
They’re both relatively low-cost grinders and would work great in a personal setting. The two are very similar in price, though it does fluctuate. You can check on the current pricing for the Cuisinart DBM 8 here, and the Krups GX5000 here.
They both use stainless steel burrs as well, so you can count on either grinder to achieve a consistent grind for each brew method you’re going for. This is important for making the best tasting coffee.
The Cuisinart model is all stainless steel, adding a very sleek and modern look whereas the Krups machine has some black plastic among the stainless steel. Both look pretty sophisticated and would sit well among other kitchen products.
The Krups machine offers more in terms of coffee quality, as the grind system is meant to prevent overheating. This can affect the taste and aroma of the coffee.
With the Cuisinart, you can select between 18 different grind settings. There are three main settings, and six sub-settings within. The Krups packs 45 different grind settings, with 9 main settings and five sub-settings. Both will allow you to fine-tune your grind, but the Krups offers more grind settings which translates to more precision.
The Cuisinart has more capacity to hold grinds than the Krups. It also has a slide dial which allows you to select between four and 18 cups, and will shut off automatically once you’ve reached your desired amount. This is a convenient feature for those trying to save time in their daily routine.
The Krups offers less capacity, and can grind between two and 12 cups to get the correct quantity you need. It also offers an automatic shut off timer to save energy and make your life easier. The Krups also will not grind if there are no beans in the machine, making it a bit more safe than other grinders.
Conclusion
Both grinders offer a lot of functionality for their size and price. Either would be a great choice for someone who is looking to start making better coffee, but doesn’t want to go overboard with the heavy duty grinders out there.
It’s important to think about what you need most out of a grinder before making the decision to purchase your next one. The good news is either of these grinders will get you on the way to making the most bold, rich coffee you can. One might be better for different lifestyles than the other.
If you are not expecting to move around much between a few settings, the Cuisinart may be a good choice because it only offers 3 main settings, and 15 sub-settings as opposed to the Krups with 9 main settings and 36 sub-settings. If you don’t need that much, you may feel like you’re wasting your grinder.
If you want to experiment with your grind settings to see what makes the perfect brew for your tastes, the Krups grinder would be a good choice. It is not significantly more expensive, but does offer more settings and room for experimentation.
The Cuisinart offers more in terms of capacity, so if your biggest reason for needing a grinder is to be able to quickly and efficiently get through grinding certain amounts at a time, the Cuisinart will offer more functionality than the Krups. Cuisinart allows you to slide between 4 and 18 cups to grind for, and Krups lets you choose between 2 and 12 cups.
Based on the price and functions, I have to lean towards the Krups GX5000 over the Cuisinart DBM 8. The choice is difficult, as they both have a lot in common and would serve me well for making my coffee each day.
I even prefer the look of the Cuisinart over the Krups, although the Krups looks quite sophisticated as well. But I still go with Krups over Cuisinart because of the extra settings.
For around the same price, I can experiment between 45 settings as opposed to the 18 in the Cuisinart. If you already have your methods down, you might not even need to experiment and can just go for a main setting. I like to be able to experiment and play around and find what tastes best to me.
The Krups also offers more convenience and safety features. Even the top blade is removable for easy access to clean up. The grinder will not grind unless there are beans inside, which is a useful safety feature.
It is also built to prevent overheating in order to preserve taste and aroma. I want a grinder that will help improve the quality of my coffee, so I’m going to opt for one with extra features to preserve the freshness and flavor.
While the Cuisinart has more capacity, I find the extra features of the Krups to be worth choosing it. Others may be looking for other features entirely, so be sure to think about what you want and need personally before going out and buying a new grinder.
Consider whether you’ll want more grind settings versus capacity, and what kind of look you prefer for your kitchen. Figuring out the right grinder will come as you consider what it is exactly you are looking for.
Whatever you end up choosing, you’ll have better coffee in no time. Grinding your beans fresh is a great start to making better coffee every day.
KRUPS GX5000 vs Cuisinart DBM-8
It’s no secret that the grind of your coffee has a lot to do with how good your brewed cup turns out to be. Unfortunately, many people tend to skip on buying a grinder due to the fact that they’re usually quite expensive. However, that’s not the case when it comes to the two budget grinders we’ll be comparing today.
The Cuisinart DBM-8 and KRUPS GX5000 are both under $50, which makes them a perfect buy for anyone on a budget. What are those critical details that make one favorable over the other? That’s what we will be answering in this post.
The Cuisinart DBM-8
Admittedly the name sounds more like a droid from Star Wars than anything associated with coffee. Still, that might speak to its high level of efficiency!
The Cuisinart features a large grind chamber. It’s got enough room for thirty-two cups of grounds. While you can feed beans into the eight-ounce hopper if you have a proper way to store your grinds it could be to a great advantage to have the large grind chamber. This is certainly a grand feature to have in a large household or just for convenience sake.
The Cuisinart is surprisingly easy to use for dosing after a little trial and error. The automatic stop is particularly handy but it’s not the Bluetooth controlled upper tier automatic grinder one might think it is.
Although it is automatic it might require some practice to achieve ease-of-use and get easily accustomed to single dose creations.
The fact that this affordable grinder has 18 settings is an impressive feat unto itself.
KRUPS GX5000
If the Cuisinart is named like a droid then the KRUPS might be a sports car. It’s not that either is any less impressive than the other but it’s certain that they shine in different ways. Let me explain further.
The KRUPS features a sleek metallic frame. While the inside is harkened with a fast 110-watt burr mill system. Made with efficiency in mind it avoids overheating, preserving aroma and has grind fineness selector for a precise grinding. There are 9 grind levels altogether, from fine espresso style to coarse for a French press-style coffee.
The KRUPS is equipped with an eight-ounce bean container, and is grindable by quantity, from two to twelve cups. For safety, if the bean container and lid are not properly in place to activate the microswitches, the grinder will not operate. Saftey first!
What Class of Grinder Are They?
Grinders function in various ways, and with various success. What we do know is that the quality of the grind has a lot to do with the quality of your coffee. Thus, treating your beans with a proper grinding mechanism is very important. Especially if you’re spending the extra money on great organic coffee.
A flat burr grinder does a very different job with because it is a very different shape than a conical burr.
Both of these grinders we’re comparing today have flat burrs sit on top of each other, while conical burrs are cone-shaped and are nested into each other with a grinding mechanism that is on a slightly vertical plane.
While these burrs work differently, both can provide consistent results.
Recent years have seen a decided shift towards flat burr grinders. Perhaps the reason for this is the affordability factor. While many will find the conical burr grinder to be immensely efficient, they also come with the much larger price tag.
True to their name, flat burrs feature two matching burrs that sit flush against each other. This creates a very uniform particle size distribution. That factor is what contributes to extracting more of the coffee without worrying about bitter, dry flavors drawn from finer particles.
The lack of flow restriction with flat burr grinders, because there are fewer fine grinds, typically, forces the baristas to either grind finer grounds or pull longer shots. Now we’re getting into some advance coffee preparation lingo but the move toward much larger shots was made possible by these grinders, and if you’re hoping to break out of SCAA parameters for your espressos, you’ll likely need a flat burr grinder to do it.
If you’re looking at high-end burr grinders there are some significantly notable options out there.
If you thought the flat burr grinder was out of style, then the return of its popularity can be linked to the famous Matt Perger’s 2013 World Barista Championship routine, in which he impressed the coffee world at large by preparing all of his beverages with a Mahlkönig EK 43.
Keep in mind, the Mahlkönig was designed to grind spices. So the two grinders we’ve chosen to compare today, are actually intended to grind coffee beans.
Still, the application of a flat burr grinder is tested and proven. The quality of the flat burr is likely a determining factor, but it’s important to understand that these are gateways to better and better grinding!
Things to Consider When Spending Under $50 On A Grinder
It seems like an act against the bylaws of the order of coffee monks, but buying a grinder under $50 isn’t a crime.
Though it should be noted that most coffee enthusiasts would tell you to simply avoid any electric coffee grinders under $50.
Sure, grinders in that price range are of mostly questionable quality. Typically one will find the build material cheap and the resulting grind to be inconsistent and frustratingly hard to hone in on. There’s still some hope though.
For the coffee enthusiast, the homebrewer with an experienced taste, it’s likely that the there will be some gripes with these entry-level machines. These cost-effective grinders aren’t going to provide the level of quality necessary for a truly on-the-nose pour-over, and their consistency will be lacking. Still, it’s worth just making the small investment if you’re interested in pursuing these styles.
On the other hand, one of these grinders may be just perfect for the homebrewers just looking for a solid cup of coffee. Basically, if you’re looking to grind beans fresh and make a pot of drip coffee, plain and simple, this is a great place to start.
Most of these will put out a grind good enough for an automatic drip brewer and are a step up from blade grinders. They are a great way to take advantage of freshly ground drip coffee at a very inexpensive price.
Blade grinders are really just poor uses of your beans and money. The blades will continuously pummel your beans, breaking them down into smaller and smaller unusable bits. Sure, you can get away with using one, but it’s going to seriously hinder the investment of buying fresh beans. You’ll be missing out on the proper oils and flavors that go along with fresh ground coffee as they splatter against the walls of the blade grinders chamber.
That sounded a bit harsh, let’s move on.
The benefits of a burr grinder are that it simply processes the beans down to a uniform size. There is very little, if any, grind size control with a blade grinder. The only way to get course grinds is less time, and fine grinds come with more time in the deadly chamber of blades.
Still too dramatic? Okay, let’s talk comparison of the two grinders again. But if you’re still stuck on the blade grinders, check out the ones we’ve reviewed previously.
The Point-by-point Comparison
There are a few things this sort of buyer wants to look out for before buying one of these grinders:
Both of these grinders have some intriguing aspects to them. It’s also a matter of understanding what you’re getting for your dollar. So, we thought it would be wise to pair these grinders up and break down the pros and cons right up against one another.
The biggest difference here is in the details. The KRUPS GX5000 is well designed and inexpensive. However, its burr tends to produce a lot of fine particulates. This means that regardless of the size of the grind, there’s going to be some fine coffee dust that sneaks through filters and French presses to impart a bitter taste. Additionally, this makes the cleaning of this grinder a bit of an added chore.
While it’s likely that grinding anything will make a bit of a mess, one will find the added static and coffee dust to be a notch against the grinder.
Still, this is an affordable grinder that functions with ease, and thanks to a very simple operating system. It’s likely that anyone new to grinding fresh coffee beans will appreciate the user experience and the price tag.
The DBM-8, on the other hand, has its own issues. The grinder doesn’t offer a high enough grind quality for espresso or pour-over brewing, but, as stated, it works just fine for auto-drip and French press. There’s still a range of espresso grinders for various price points out there if that’s what you’re searching for. Additionally, many users report this to be a loud grinder, and there isn’t much resolve from that. Understand, though, that you’re grinding beans quickly and unless you’re worried about waking up roommates this shouldn’t be much of an issue.
Besides, you should be waiting for the perfect time of day to have your coffee anyway.
All and all, Cuisinart has produced a really good grinder at a really decent price point. It won’t give you the perfect grind to win the national coffee competitions, but then again it’s a great investment that you won’t be disappointed with.
If you are new to the craft coffee idea, and fresh ground beans are the next step on your list, then these are great grinders to start out with. If you’re interested in looking into coffee grinders further, then check out our great coffee gear reviews here.