When it comes to espresso grinders, there are an infinite number of subjective conclusions and much fewer facts. I find that it’s worth reminding myself of what I can be confident about as the basis for a purchasing decision.
At a certain point there are definitely diminishing returns.
There is also definitely unconscious bias at play when a new toy/grinder lands on someone’s coffee bench. Meaning that we often fall in love with the thing (Honeymoon syndrome) and we normally admire its looks and we may have stretched the budget so much that, thanks to our unconscious mind protecting our ego, we truly believe that the espresso tastes better. Excitement has a role to play in fooling our taste buds too. (Ever noticed how much more delicious a meal tastes when you feel famished?) And we want to not only justify the hole in our bank account but we also want the Significant-Other Purchasing-Approval Committee to know that our nominated grinder was indeed a very wise choice. And the more expensive the grinder is, the greater that all of these things come into play.
And I’ll suggest that there are few more certainties for espresso for which I can offer more specifics:
a. When you go from a spice grinder to the cheapest Sunbeam there is a big leap in flavor and viscosity.
b. When you go from the cheapest Sunbeam to a Breville Smart Pro there is a big leap too.
c. When you go from a Breville Smart Pro to a Niche or Specialta or similar … ditto.
d. After than, not so much. As you journey up the price scale from the last two, any improvements in taste are at best incremental and mostly about personal preference or “difference”, and rarely about “better”.
e. Whilst the quality of the expresso may not change from one titan (expensive) grinder to the other, the flavor and viscosity certainly can. And that change is mostly the result of burr geometry as opposed to burr size. (Still referring to espresso, not filter.)
f. Other factors such as aesthetics, workflow and retention will likely vary too, but most of us would consider those secondary considerations to what’s in the cup. That is to say, not unimportant, but not as important as the espresso itself. “Cream on the cake” if you will.
The only way I can reasonably conclude if I prefer one grinder over another is to have both sitting on my bench simultaneously and to enjoy them both daily for a month or more. Then I like to run back to back grinds/pours and make a call on which one is the champion and which one will be replaced by a new challenger.
At this point of my journey I have no doubt whatsoever that unconscious bias is still at play but the one advantage that I have developed is that I don’t feel the need as much for any particular grinder to be the bees knees. (For better of worse, the Significant-Other Purchasing-Approval Committee was made redundant at the time of divorce from my first wife and was not reformed at the point of my second marriage).
The exception to the above is the Hedone Honne with which I’m still very much in an extended honeymoon phase with. I think that she feels the same about me, despite the fact that she would have clearly seen me fooling around with the newly arrived neighbour, the visually unappealing and yet highly seductive little Swiss hussy (Olympia Moca SD).
