I deeply appreciate the wonders that a warm cup of coffee can perform in the early morning — especially its effects on my productivity. One of the most essential tools for excellent homemade coffee is a high-quality coffee grinder. Here are five picks; we'd love to know if you've tried any of these out. How did they perform?
It's essential to purchase coffee beans whole and either grind them for each use or grind then store in an air tight container. There are many different brands and grinders on the market that range from beginner to expert. There's no right or wrong grinder to purchase; it's all about finding one that meets your needs and expectations.
A plus side to a smaller, less expensive grinder is that it can double as a spice grinder (just be sure to clean thoroughly after each use). Here are 5 credible coffee grinders:
• Breville Smart Grinder, $199.95 at Sur la Table
• Krups 203 Electric Coffee and Spice Grinder, $19.50 at Amazon
• Hario Skerton Ceramic Coffee Grinder, $49.95 at Williams Sonoma
• Bodum® Bistro Blade Grinder, $29.95 at Crate and Barrel
• Bodum Bistro Black Burr Grinder, $99.95 at Sur la Table
Related: How to Brew Great Coffee: The Pour Over Method
(Images: Sur la Table, Amazon, Williams Sonoma, Crate and Barrel, Sur la Table)
How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
Perfect Summer Cocktail Recipe: Honey Bourbon Lemonade
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Elizabeth Apron fro...
100 DIY Ideas for the 3-Day Weekend
Danielle's Charming, Classic Walk-Up
I have a Capresso Burr grinder that I have been using for 7-8 years and I love it. I can vary how fine the beans are ground from almost a powder to very coarse for an old school percolator.
I had a blade grinder before, and I will not use it again for my coffee at gives inconsistent results and can actually scorch the grounds.
The Bodum burr grinder featured above just broke on us after less than a year :(. We had upgraded to it after having blade grinders break about every 2 years so...I think we might be coffee grinder serial killers.
I just want to say that I have the Bodum blade grinder - I bought it because it looked good, but it sucks! The grind is unbelievably inconsistent, you get a mix of coarse, powder, and whole beans. I have a junky old Mr. Coffee blade grinder that works much better (although it is very ugly).
I have the Hario Skerton grinder and we LOVE it. I can keep it in the cupboard, I don't have to plug it it, it grinds quickly and easily, it is adjustable to vary the grind, it's perfect. We have used it 3 years or so...just like new.
I purchased the Bodum burr grinder a few months ago, and so far so good. (I got it for about $70, though, on Amazon.) It's small and very much consumer-level - don't expect one of those gigantic steel grocery store grinders, it's actually quite compact - but it does what it's supposed to do and has made my coffee drinking experience much more enjoyable.
For anyone using a blade grinder, I highly recommend investing in a burr grinder. I didn't realize how important it was to have a consistent grind until I started using the burr grinder. The coffee-making process becomes completely predictable, without the silt inherent in blade grinding. The Bodum burr grinder is as good as any, as far as I can tell.
I just got the Hario Skerton grinder. It was recommended to me by baristas at Blue Bottle and Four Barrel -- both of them said they use this as their personal grinder at home. Ground my coffee with it for the first time this morning and it worked very well! Oh and by the way, as an added bonus, the bottom jar has a standard mason jar-sized opening. If it happens to break, a regular jam jar makes a fine replacement.
I got the Bodum Burr Grinder a couple months ago and love it. I can especially taste the difference in my french press - before I had problems with it being too thick and bitter, now it's the perfect consistency and smooth in flavor. Worth the bit of extra $ for sure.
I don't have any of these, but I do have a burr grinder that has stood the test of time. Similar to Kat88's experience, coffee grinders in our house used to have a short life expectancy - perhaps a year at best. Then I purchased a Cuisinart burr grinder (the Cuisinart DBM-8 Supreme Grind Automatic Burr Mill) and it is going strong on year 6 with daily use. A record breaker for us! MSRP is $90 and you can get it on Amazon for $40, probably because of all the mixed reviews.
I have the Hario and the Bodum burr grinder. Both are great and I recommend both of them! I used the Hario and an aeropress every day for months and it makes outstanding coffee. Having the Bodum is the lap of luxury.
I second the No on the Krupps blade grinder. We had it for a year. Beans, powder, and varying grinds in between every time. And loud! Louder thank you'd think for such a small thing. There's a hand-cranked burr grinder for about the same price on Amazon. We have that now and it's so, so much better.
I used the Hario for a couple of years. It does well for fine grinds like espresso, but the fact that the center burr is not mounted securely means the wobble causes significant fines on coarse grinds, such as for French Press, resulting in more silt than I would like.
It also requires some patience, because it certainly isn't quick. When I started making cold brew batches that required enough grounds that it took me an hour to grind with the Hario, I bought a Baratza Virtuoso Preciso and couldn't be happier.
I have used the Hario Skerton and the Kyocera grinders, and I prefer the Hario Skerton. I like the ability to adjust the grind for pour over, Chemex, French press, AeroPress, etc.
Bought the Bodum Burr Grinder about 6 months ago... love it so far. We used to go through Cuisinart blade grinders like water (5 and counting - until I said "enough!" and went the burr route). The Bodum has a timer for grinding vs. a setting for volume/quantity - 5 through 20 seconds, so we make sure to give it a rest if we're grinding more than 20 seconds at a time.
We finally upgraded from a blade grinder to the bodum burr grinder a while ago and love it. The blade grinder was definitely the weakest link in our coffee prep routine. My coffee snob dad has a much more expensive grinder ($500 maybe?) which certainly is better but for our needs this is perfect. Use it for french press and chemex.