PSA: I paid $180 for a hand grinder and it made my $40 drip machine drinkable

Spencer Coleman · 2026-10-16T04:15:06.511723+00:00

I always figured the grinder was the one place you could cheap out, and I used a $20 blade thing for close to two years. My cups tasted burnt and bitter no matter what beans I bought, so I blamed the beans, the water, even the machine. Then a guy at a shop in Sacramento handed me a burr grinder he used and told me to try it for a week before I spent a dime. The difference was not small. Same beans, same machine, same tap water, and the cup went from something I forced down to something I actually looked forward to at 6 in the morning. Now I think a cheap grinder is the fastest way to waste money on good coffee, not save it. Anyone else here upgrade the grinder before the brewer, or am I backwards on this?

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PSA: I paid $180 for a hand grinder and it made my $40 drip machine drinkable | Coffee Enthusiasts - Thought Shares