Blade Vs Burr Grinder: The Difference It Makes For Your Coffee

A good cup of coffee is very personal — people enjoy their morning jolt in different ways: strong, more subtle in flavor, with milk or half-and-half, or sometimes just black to really dig into the essence of the coffee flavor. But one thing is the same throughout — a cup of freshly ground coffee is always better. The aroma is better, the flavor is better — it's just an overall more satisfying and rewarding experience.

Now there are different ways to freshly grind coffee, with the two most prominent being using a blade grinder and a burr grinder. The two grinders deliver quite different grounds, which can affect the taste and strength of your cuppa. Coffee expert Andrea Allen is the co-founder of Onyx Coffee Lab, which has been delivering gorgeous coffee since 2012, as well as being the 2020 U.S. Barista Champ and 2021 World Barista Runner-Up (so she really knows her stuff). Allen explained to Tasting Table that "the predominant difference is the hardware and methodology by which they grind beans. A blade grinder utilizes two sides of a blade to chop coffee beans up, much like a blender operates. A burr grinder is two plates that the beans flow through and produce a more uniform size of grinds."

Basically, a blade grinder shreds the whole coffee beans with sharp, fast-rotating blades, while a burr grinder crushes the beans between the two rotating circular plates. You do see quite a notable difference in the coffee grounds that each machine delivers, which in turn influences the flavor.

You'll get little argument in the industry that burr grinders deliver better coffee grounds. In fact, it's widely thought that the burr grinder is actually the gold standard when it comes to grinding coffee beans. This is because the burr grinders break the coffee beans down more evenly for a consistent grind, which results in even brewing and a better quality cup of coffee. However, Allen notes, "a blade grinder produces both large and tiny particles, which make it very difficult to brew a quality cup of coffee."

Different ground sizes extract at different speeds, with fine grounds extracting flavor more quickly, hence being best for brews like espresso. More coarse grounds take longer to extract, making them better for a French press or cold brew. However, these coffee varieties also take longer to prepare. The size of the grind and which brewing methods they're used with are the keys to unlocking the best flavor.

Allen agrees that "there's no argument that burr grinders do a much better job of grinding evenly and giving control of the results of the grind size to the user". But in her opinion, "it's better to have your coffee ground by your local shop or roastery and then utilize the grounds at home than it is to grind fresh with a blade grinder." Let the experts deliver the type of grounds that you want for your coffee, then all you have to do is enjoy the brewing and sipping process at home.

The jury came in very quickly on this one: "Burr grinders are the way to go," says Allen, "and as they have advanced in technology over the years there's a great range of quality and price points in the category." The flat burr technology gives a beautifully even grind, which delivers a uniform grind every time — especially important if you're making coffee for more than one person.

And burr grinders can deliver all types of grinds, from coarse to the finest grounds. "The way you go about preparing it to be used is incredibly important," says Allen. To determine if your grind is the right grind size for the cup you're looking to enjoy, start with a higher setting for a coarser grind and take a look at what your grinds look like. Bigger, coarser grinds are great for more robust, stronger coffees. They take longer for the flavors to extract, but deliver big coffee flavors. Dark roasts in particular do well with coarser grinds for this very reason. Your lighter roasts on the other hand, benefit from a finer grind as the subtle flavors are more easily and more quickly extracted.

Whichever way you enjoy your coffee, always grind just enough for the number of cups you'll be preparing. Coffee starts to lose its freshness the moment it's ground, so keeping the beans whole for as long as possible helps them retain their freshness for longer.