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10 Best Coffee Grinders in the UK in 2024: Reviews & Top Picks

actual use of Maison & White Manual Coffee Bean Grinder

Getting the right coffee grinder can make the difference between a decent cup of coffee and a great cup that is aromatic and offers all the flavours that the bean boasts. Typically, burr grinders give the best and most consistent grinding results, but they cost more than blade grinders, which do a decent job on a budget. And then there are manual grinders, which require quite a bit of effort to ensure consistently good results but can be used when camping or in other situations where there is no power. They also give a sense of manual satisfaction that some home baristas love.

Below, you can find reviews of 10 of the best coffee grinders in the UK including manual and electrical, bur, and blade grinders to cover all budgets and all preferences and help you enjoy the best cup of coffee.

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A Quick Comparison of Our Favourites in 2024

Image Product Details
Best Overall
Winner
TwoMeow Coffee Grinder TwoMeow Coffee Grinder
  • Grind timer is convenient and helps ensure more consistent results
  • Cup can be removed and is dishwasher safe
  • Can be used as a general all-purpose grinder
  • Best Value
    Second place
    Maison & White Manual Coffee Bean Grinder Maison & White Manual Coffee Bean Grinder
  • Very cheap
  • Quieter than electric grinders
  • Manual grinder doesn’t need power
  • Premium Choice
    Third place
    Sage Smart Grinder Pro Coffee Grinder Sage Smart Grinder Pro Coffee Grinder
  • Multiple settings enable you to customise your ground coffee how you want it
  • 540-gram hopper capacity means it holds a lot of beans
  • Electrical settings and conical burr ensure consistent results
  • De’Longhi Coffee Grinder KG79 De’Longhi Coffee Grinder KG79
  • Decent price for an electric grinder
  • Can grind up to 12 cups of coffee in one go
  • 17 grind and 12 dose settings offer good control of coffee output
  • Sage Dose Control Pro Grinder Sage Dose Control Pro Grinder
  • Conical burr ensures the beans don’t get too hot when grinding
  • Dose and fineness can be controlled
  • Can grind fine enough to make good espresso
  • The 10 Best Coffee Grinders in the UK

    1. TwoMeow Coffee Grinder – Best Overall

    TWOMEOW Coffee Grinder

    Grinder type: Blade
    Capacity: 80 grams
    Dimensions: 10 cm x 10 cm x 20 cm

    The TwoMeow Coffee Grinder is a reasonably priced electric blade grinder. It allows you to add a reasonable amount of coffee and then set the grinder to operate for between 0–30 seconds, offering any grind from coarse to fine espresso. The timer is not only convenient because it means that you don’t have to hold the button down, but it means that once you achieve the grind consistency you want. You can get the same results next time by grinding for the same time. The results aren’t perfectly consistent, but they are close.

    TwoMeow says that the extra distance between the grinder blade and the coffee beans means that they undergo a thorough grind while still maintaining the aroma and full flavour of the beans.

    It claims to be a quiet grinder that can grind enough for up to 10 cups of coffee at a time, and the grinder cup is easily removed and is dishwasher safe. While blade grinders don’t offer the same consistency and regularity as burr grinders, the TwoMeow is a cost-effective electric option with a decent capacity and a good range of grind times, making it the best available coffee grinder in the UK.

    Pros
    • Grind timer is convenient and helps ensure more consistent results
    • Cup can be removed and is dishwasher safe
    • Can be used as a general all-purpose grinder
    Cons
    • Doesn’t grind as consistently uniform as a burr grinder

    2. Maison & White Manual Coffee Grinder – Best Value

    Maison & White Store Manual Coffee Bean Grinder

    Grinder type: Manual
    Capacity: 50 grams
    Dimensions: 21 cm x 9.1 cm x 9.1 cm

    Although electric grinders tend to be quicker, easier, and provide more consistent results, it is difficult to deny that manual grinders do offer a certain sense of satisfaction, and they make you feel more involved in the coffee-making process. They also work with no power, which makes them a useful tool for camping, hiking, or anywhere else where there might not be access to electricity. They’re also quieter.

    The Maison & White Manual Coffee Bean Grinder is an inexpensive manual grinder that uses a crank handle. It can be set to different coarseness levels in much the same way that you set the coarseness on a pepper grinder, and it will hold approximately 50 grams of coffee in the feeder with about five times the capacity in the bottom container. If you are hoping for espresso fine ground coffee, though, you should be prepared to crank the handle for some time.

    With its really low cost, decent durability, and its ease of use, the Maison & White Manual Coffee Bean Grinder is the best coffee grinder in the UK for the money and is ideal for its mobility and convenience. However, if you regularly grind your own coffee, it may prove too much hassle to manually grind coffee.

    Pros
    • Very cheap
    • Manual grinder doesn’t need power
    • Quieter than electric grinders
    Cons
    • Takes a lot of grinding if you want a fine or espresso-level ground coffee

    3. Sage Smart Grinder Pro Coffee Grinder – Premium Choice

    Sage BCG820BSSUK the Smart Grinder Pro Coffee Grinder

    Grinder type: Conical Burr
    Capacity: 540 grams
    Dimensions: 16 cm x 21.4 cm x 38.9 cm

    The Sage Smart Grinder Pro Coffee Grinder is a serious coffee grinder with a serious price tag. It is a conical burr grinder, which has 60 different grind settings and allows you to control the time of the grind in 0.2-second increments and determine the amount of ground coffee you want. You can even choose between shots or cups, depending on whether you’re preparing espresso or brewed coffee.

    It uses a conical burr grinder, which ensures an even grind and provides consistently good results every time you have coffee delivered, and it can be delivered to your choice of a paper filter, airtight container, or portafilter. The Smart Grinder has an LCD screen that displays all of your chosen settings, and there is a dial and two buttons to control the grinder on the front, as well as another dial on the side.

    The Sage Smart Grinder Pro Coffee Grinder is an expensive grinder, and it does take up nearly as much room as some smaller coffee machines. But with some experimentation, it allows you to achieve exactly the coarseness of ground coffee you want and in the quantity you require. Plus, it provides consistently good results without damaging the coffee beans too much.

    Pros
    • Multiple settings enable you to customise your ground coffee how you want it
    • Electrical settings and conical burr ensure consistent results
    • 540-gram hopper capacity means it holds a lot of beans
    Cons
    • Very expensive
    • Takes up quite a lot of room

    4. De’Longhi Coffee Grinder KG79

    De'Longhi Coffee grinder KG79

    Grinder type: Grinding Wheel
    Capacity: 120 grams
    Dimensions: 16 cm x 13 cm x 26 cm

    The De’Longhi Coffee Grinder KG79 is sold as a burr grinder, although it doesn’t really use true burrs to grind instead of using burr wheels. These wheels do offer a slightly more even grind than a blade grinder, but still not as good as a true burr. Nevertheless, the De’Longhi Coffee Grinder KG79 is decently priced, has 17 grind settings and 12 dose settings, and it has a 120-gram hopper capacity and can grind the full 120 grams in one go, which provides roughly enough grounds for 12 cups of coffee, depending on your preferences.

    The grinder does claim to be able to grind to an espresso coarseness, but you won’t enjoy full flavour extraction from the resulting grounds.

    This is a decent option for those that don’t want to splash out on a proper burr grinder, but it isn’t the best option for the espresso aficionado, and it does tend to produce some really fine powder even when you choose the coarsest setting. This can cause problems clogging up your coffee filter.

    Pros
    • Decent price for an electric grinder
    • Can grind up to 12 cups of coffee in one go
    • 17 grind and 12 dose settings offer good control of coffee output
    Cons
    • Produces a fine powder, even at coarse settings, that can clog up filters
    • Not a true burr grinder and doesn’t produce the same quality results as one

    5. Sage Dose Control Pro Grinder

    Sage BCG600SIL the Dose Control Pro Grinder

    Grinder type: Conical Burr
    Capacity: 380 grams
    Dimensions: 26 cm x 20. 7cm x 44.9 cm

    The Sage Dose Control Pro Grinder is a conical burr grinder that lets you set the fineness of the ground and uses a conical burr design to ensure that you can grind to a decent fineness for the best espresso flavour.

    You can control the dose level, although this is done using the timer, rather than by weight. It can take some getting used to, and if you use different beans and different settings, you will find that you need to alter the timer settings to ensure that you get the desired dose. It is a little inconvenient if you do make different coffees, as it can take some getting used to. It’s especially odd considering the name of this machine is the Dose Control Grinder Pro. The Sage is also quite expensive, but you are paying for a proper burr grinder, so that is to be expected. There are also some problems with the impeller, which pushes the grinds away from the burr, starting to shed plastic when it gets worn down.

    Pros
    • Conical burr ensures the beans don’t get too hot when grinding
    • Can grind fine enough to make good espresso
    • Dose and fineness can be controlled
    Cons
    • Expensive for an entry-level burr grinder
    • Some problems with the plastic impeller breaking over time

    6. Melitta Grinder Calibra

    Melitta 1027-01 Grinder CALIBRA EU

    Grinder type: Conical Burr
    Capacity: 375 grams
    Dimensions: 37 cm x 12 cm x 23 cm

    The Melitta Grinder Calibra is an entry-level conical burr grinder that is cheaper than most other conical burrs and only a little more expensive than some of the blade machines. With that said, it doesn’t quite achieve the same fine ground espresso that the more expensive grinders can produce. The hopper capacity is 375 grams, and perhaps the most notable feature of this machine is that it has scales on the base that can be used to weigh the amount of coffee you grind. The scales aren’t super accurate, though, and if you use a portafilter rather than an airtight or other container placed on the base, the Calibra obviously won’t be able to weigh the amount of coffee.

    The Calibra is a good choice for brewed and pour-over coffee drinkers, but like all but seemingly the most expensive, it will struggle to produce a fine enough ground coffee for espresso filters.

    Pros
    • Weighing scales on the base
    • Cheap for a burr grinder
    • LCD display makes it easy to track what you’re doing
    Cons
    • Finest setting still not fine enough for espresso
    • Scales are useless if you use a portafilter

    7. Duronic Electric Blade Coffee Grinder

    Duronic Coffee Grinder Electrc Blade CG250

    Grinder type: Blade
    Capacity: 5 grams
    Dimensions: 10 cm x 10 cm x 21 cm

    The Duronic Electric Blade Coffee Grinder is an electric blade grinder with a 250-watt motor. You can place up to 75 grams of beans in the machine and then operate it by pushing the top down until it is ground to the coarseness you want. This manual technique means that it can be difficult to consistently achieve the results you want while the blade operation, even with the reasonable 250-watt motor, will not be able to grind beans fine enough to make espresso.

    Ground coffee is collected in a stainless-steel bowl. Plastic bowls can become electrostatically charged which means that they cling on to some of the ground coffee, but this isn’t a problem with a stainless-steel one like is found in the Duronic.

    The Duronic is a good price, and it is suitable for those that like precise control over how long they grind beans, but it isn’t the best option for espresso drinkers or if you want to ensure the same uniform results every grind.

    Pros
    • Decent price for a grinder
    • 250-watt motor is reasonably powerful
    • Stainless-steel bowl doesn’t hold on to your coffee grounds
    Cons
    • Won’t make espresso-fine grounds
    • Manual operation means it’s difficult to get consistently similar results

    8. Gaggia MD15 Coffee Grinder

    Gaggia RI8123:01 Coffee Grinder MD15

    Grinder type: Conical Burr
    Capacity: 300 grams
    Dimensions: 23 cm x 15 cm x 35 cm

    The Gaggia MD15 Coffee Grinder is another entry-level conical burr grinder, so it does a better job of grinding beans than blade grinders but can still struggle with grinding really fine espresso. It has 15 grinding options, including an espresso setting which produces decent coffee in a machine with a pressurised basket.

    It also has a 300-gram hopper and a timer that enables you to grind the right amount of coffee for your brew. The Gaggia is an attractive coffee grinder, and it does a good job for certain espresso machines, pour-over, and brewed coffee, all at a decent price. It’s also quieter than blade machines.

    Pros
    • Conical burr grinds beans well for all but the finest espresso
    • 15 grinding options to get the right setting for you
    • Good price for a conical burr
    Cons
    • Struggles with really fine espresso grounds

    9. Cuisinart Burr Mill

    Cuisinart Burr Mill

    Grinder type: Burr Mill
    Capacity: 225 grams
    Dimensions: 22 cm x 31 cm x 19 cm

    The Cuisinart Burr Mill is a conical burr grinder with an entry-level price tag. It is a fairly basic grinder, but while that means that it might be lacking LCD screens and additional features of more expensive grinders, it also makes it easy to operate and keeps the cost down.

    Like most affordable burr grinders, it struggles to produce espresso grounds that are fine enough for use in a non-pressurised portafilter but produces good coffee grounds for any other style of machine. It has a 250-gram hopper and, as well as 18 grinding settings, it also allows you to choose between 4–18 cups worth of grounds. The chamber and container can be easily removed and put in the dishwasher, too, but it is a noisy grinder and tends to cause quite a mess during use, however.

    Pros
    • Affordable burr grinder
    • Easy to operate
    • Hopper and container are dishwasher safe
    Cons
    • Makes a lot of mess during use
    • Quite loud
    • Not good for fine espresso grounds

    10. Barista & Co Core Electric All Coffee Grinder

    Barista & Co Core Electric All Coffee Grinder

    Grinder type: Conical Burr
    Capacity: 240 grams
    Dimensions: 34.5 cm x 11.5 cm x 22 cm

    The Barista & Co. Core Electric All Coffee Grinder is a conical burr grinder that is on the upper end of the entry-level price tag for this type. Although early models of this grinder struggled to get espresso fine enough for a single-walled espresso filter, the company claims that newer models will grind finer, and it should work with all espresso machines.

    This machine uses smaller grinders than most other models, giving a more consistent grind uniformity. It does have a plastic container, though, which will grab hold of ground coffee and refuse to relinquish the last few dregs. The timer, which offers 10-second increments, could do with some more settings, though, because holding down the button for smaller time slots than every 10 seconds is inconvenient.

    The Barista & Co. Core Electric All Coffee Grinder is a reasonable conical burr grinder at a reasonable price, but it does have a few cons.

    Pros
    • Company says that new models of the machine will grind even finer beans
    • Smaller conical burrs provide more particular uniformity
    Cons
    • Ground coffee sticks to the plastic coffee holder
    • Coffee tends to spill
    • Would benefit from more time increments

    Buyer’s Guide: Selecting the Best Coffee Grinder in the UK

    If you’re looking at buying a coffee grinder, chances are that you already own a coffee machine and are either replacing an existing grinder or are looking for ways to get more flavour and enjoyment from your favourite hot drink. Good coffee beans ground in a good coffee grinder can produce a much better-tasting coffee than pre-ground, and grinding beans for every cup or every couple of cups of coffee ensures that they are fresh when you use them.

    Benefits of Using a Coffee Grinder

    There are plenty of ground coffee options available to the consumer, so why bother buying and using a separate grinder?

    • As soon as coffee is opened, it starts to oxidise, losing some of its flavour to the air. Although beans will go stale, it takes a lot longer, and with a grinder, you will know how long the coffee has been ground. Not only does coffee lose its primary taste, once exposed to air, but it loses the extra flavour characters and oils.
    • You can control the fineness or coarseness of the coffee and you can alter it according to the beans and according to the type of coffee you want to drink. Pre-ground options tend to be limited to fine, medium, or coarse grind, whereas some coffee machines have a virtually limitless number of grind settings.
    • As well as losing its flavour to the air, coffee can also take on the flavour of other things in the kitchen. This can be prevented, to an extent, by storing ground coffee in an airtight container, but some contamination is still not unusual. Grinding beans fresh for every cup helps negate this problem.

    Types of Coffee Grinders

    There are various types of grinders on the market, and the ideal type for you will depend on the type of coffee you prefer and the results you seek. The most common types are:

    • Electric Blade Grinders: Electric blade grinders have a rotating blade inside the container. As the beans are hit by the blade, they are cut and smashed into smaller pieces. These are inexpensive and are usually very easy to operate, but they can’t produce a fine enough grind consistently enough to produce the best espresso. Blades can heat up, especially when attempting to cut down to a fine particle size, and this can change the flavour of the coffee. These are best for cafetieres and brewed coffee.
    • Grinding Wheel Grinders: A grinding wheel grinder, or flat burr grinder, is, literally speaking, a type of burr grinder. It uses a disc-shaped burr, rather than a conical one, however, and this type of design tends to suffer the same problems as the blade grinder. It can’t produce a consistently fine espresso grind, despite costing more than good blade grinders. Again, these are best for medium to coarse ground coffees such as coffee made in a French press.
    • Conical Burr Grinders: The conical burr grinder uses a similar gear technique to grinding wheel grinders but the burrs, or gears, are conically shaped. They don’t heat or scorch the beans during grinding, can produce a finer and more consistent powder for espressos, and may be able to grind larger volumes of coffee. Conical burr grinders are a good choice for single-walled basket espresso machines and are usually the most expensive type of coffee grinder.
    • Manual Grinders: A manual grinder has a crank handle that you have to turn manually rather than being electric powered. They typically use a conical burr and are a budget-friendly way of getting burr-ground espresso powder without having to pay hundreds of pounds for an expensive electric machine. But they do require some effort on your part and can usually grind enough for one or two espressos. These are best for espresso machines, those on a budget that still want good coffee, and where electricity isn’t available.
    black coffee grinder
    Image Credit: Crew, Unsplash

    What to Look For

    As well as choosing the type of grinder, there are other features to consider when buying.

    Grind Settings

    Grinders offer some way to control the coarseness of the grind and most offer a range between fine, which is suitable for espresso machines, and coarse, which is typically used in French presses. Be aware that unless it is a conical burr grinder, the espresso setting is likely meant for double-walled filter espresso machines and not the traditional style of single-walled filters.

    Dose Control

    Whether you’re making a morning espresso or filling the pour-over machine with enough coffee for the whole family, you will ideally want to be able to grind enough coffee in one go. Some of the smaller grinders, especially manual ones, can only grind enough for one or two shots of espresso or cups of brewed coffee. Others can grind enough for up to ten cups. Some have cup-based settings while others let you alter the amount of time that the grinder grinds for, ultimately making it a manual dose control.

    If you enjoy the journey of making the perfect cup of coffee for yourself, you may enjoy a manual machine or, at least, one with a lot of different time or dosing settings.

    Hopper Capacity

    The hopper is the section of the coffee grinder where the unground beans are placed. Some hoppers can be used to store the beans and should be UV protected to ensure the beans don’t degrade while waiting to be used. Capacity can range from enough beans for one or two espressos to several hundred grams, which is enough to hold even the largest bag of coffee beans.

    How to Store Coffee Beans

    Whether you are storing ground coffee that you have ground yourself or the beans you will be grinding down later, keep them in an airtight container to prevent oxidation or further dehydration. Store the container in a dark, cool place and do not sit it in direct sunlight. Although many people store their coffee in the fridge, this increases the likelihood of the coffee becoming contaminated with the smells and flavours of other ingredients. It is also more likely to get damp and be ruined.

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    Conclusion

    It is surprising the difference that having your own coffee grinder can make. No matter how good the quality of your pre-ground coffee is, grinding your own beans always means fresher coffee. This means that your coffee will retain more flavour, have a deeper aroma, and will stay fresh for longer, too. But there are many different grinders on the market. Hopefully, our reviews of the best coffee grinders in the UK, and the guide to buying one, have helped you find the ideal model for your coffee-making journey.

    We found the TwoMeow to be the best overall grinder. It is a blade grinder, so isn’t suitable for fine espresso, but it is affordable and does a good job on all other grounds. The Maison & White Manual Coffee Grinder is not only the cheapest on our list, but it is even a conical burr grinder. It is also a manual grinder, though, which is beneficial for portability and cost but means some effort to use it.

    See Also: 10 Best Travel Mugs in the UK: Reviews & Top Picks

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    Kate MacDonnell

    Kate is a lifelong coffee enthusiast and homebrewer who enjoys writing for coffee websites and sampling every kind of coffee known to man. She’s tried unusual coffees from all over the world and owns an unhealthy amount of coffee gear.

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