People often ask what the best coffee brewer is, and then invest the majority of their budget on a great brewer. While your brewer is important, we’d argue that your grinder is just as important. Getting a good grinder is one of the best investments you can make ensuring you maximize the flavor of your coffee.

Low quality grinders, such as flat-blade grinders, can truly ruin your coffee. A flat blade will chop your beans into pieces, leaving you with inconsistently sized grinds. It will also generate heat while chopping that speeds the release of volatile compounds that impart your coffee with flavor. That means your coffee won’t brew properly, and when it does, some of the flavor compounds you want in your coffee will have escaped in your grinder.

To preserve flavor, look for a burr grinder. While they are more expensive, they provide consistently sized grinds, and allow you to select a grind size, while also creating less heat while grinding. This will help you fine tune your brewing extraction, as that is regulated by the size of your grinds, and will preserve more volatile compounds which will enhance your coffee flavor.

If a burr grinder seems to pricey, look for a hand grinder, such as the Hario Skerton Plus grinder, which is both affordable, clean, and quiet. If you want to step up, the Fellow Ode beautiful is a good option.

How you grind matters just as much as how you brew, so make sure you’re treating your quality coffee with the care it deserves!