Good burr grinder under $50 - is there such a thing?

[Debra]

Has the whole group just broken out into hysterical laughter?

I know nothing about this stuff, but I do have a Capresso MT500 that I
love. It seems silly to make coffee in this thing from a giant tin of
Chock Full of Nuts sitting in my freezer. It's almost an insult to
Capresso (even though all my guests say it's the best coffee they have
ever had from a home brewer).

I have gleaned enough info to know that I'm supposed to be looking at
burr grinders instead of blade grinders. And I want it to be
stainless or at least black to match my kitchen.

Any ideas?

If not, what is the absolute minimum I do have to spend to get a
halfway decent one?

Thanks all!

[CSS]

Maybe not $50, but for $75 or so you can find a new or slightly used
Starbucks Barista (Solis) grinder on eBay. I picked one up a few months
ago,and it works well for espresso and drip grinds. Not stainless, but it
looks good, is fairly quiet, and should last for a while.

If you don't need a grinder for espresso, Bodium also males some sub-$100
grinders that are probably fine for drip, but I have no experience with
them. Check out the consumer reviews of various grinders at
www.coffeegeek.com

Post by Debra
Has the whole group just broken out into hysterical laughter?
I know nothing about this stuff, but I do have a Capresso MT500 that I
love. It seems silly to make coffee in this thing from a giant tin of
Chock Full of Nuts sitting in my freezer. It's almost an insult to
Capresso (even though all my guests say it's the best coffee they have
ever had from a home brewer).
I have gleaned enough info to know that I'm supposed to be looking at
burr grinders instead of blade grinders. And I want it to be
stainless or at least black to match my kitchen.
Any ideas?
If not, what is the absolute minimum I do have to spend to get a
halfway decent one?
Thanks all!

[GoDucks]

That same Barista (Solis) goes on sale periodically at Starbucks for
$99 new. If you know someone who works there, they can get it for you
for $70 using their 30% employee discount during the sale. $60 during
their one-week 40% discount at Christmas-time. There are better
grinders out there, but perhaps not at the discount prices.

Post by CSS
Maybe not $50, but for $75 or so you can find a new or slightly used
Starbucks Barista (Solis) grinder on eBay. I picked one up a few months
ago,and it works well for espresso and drip grinds. Not stainless, but it
looks good, is fairly quiet, and should last for a while.

[Jack Denver]

Bodum Antigua is a decent drip grinder for that price.


http://www.celebrityappliance.com/5670-01usa.html

has it for about $56 delivered in black. Brushed chrome is available for
$15 more. I don't know or endorse this vendor, they just come up lowest on
shopping.com.

Post by Debra
Has the whole group just broken out into hysterical laughter?
I know nothing about this stuff, but I do have a Capresso MT500 that I
love. It seems silly to make coffee in this thing from a giant tin of
Chock Full of Nuts sitting in my freezer. It's almost an insult to
Capresso (even though all my guests say it's the best coffee they have
ever had from a home brewer).
I have gleaned enough info to know that I'm supposed to be looking at
burr grinders instead of blade grinders. And I want it to be
stainless or at least black to match my kitchen.
Any ideas?
If not, what is the absolute minimum I do have to spend to get a
halfway decent one?
Thanks all!

[Seth Goodman]

Post by Jack Denver
http://www.celebrityappliance.com/5670-01usa.html
has it for about $56 delivered in black. Brushed chrome is available for
$15 more. I don't know or endorse this vendor, they just come up lowest on
shopping.com

Caveat emptor on Celebrity Appliance. They claim to be "Bizrate
Customer Certified", but the bizrate logo on their website is *not*
hyperlinked to the bizrate site (which is highly unusual).

Going to the bizrate site, at:
http://shop.bizrate.com/ratings_guide/merchant_detail__mid--30167.html

there seem to be a lot of unhappy customers lately - enough so that
Celebrite Appliance is now deemed *not* customer certified by Bizrate.

I do concur with your recommendation of the Bodum Antigua - you can buy
it in white for $59.95, with free shipping, from amazon.com

www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00006F2LP/104-7541672-9018368

I'd spend the extra $4. ;-)

[Linda Scott]

Post by Jack Denver
Bodum Antigua is a decent drip grinder for that price.

Coffee Bean Corral has it on sale for $52.50 (don't know about shipping). I
like mine and have been using it for a couple of years.

http://www.coffeebeancorral.com/search_results.asp?txtsearchParamType=ALL&txtsearchParamMan=ALL&txtsearchParamVen=ALL&iLevel=1&txtsearchParamCat=6#BodAn
tigua

[Rick Mendosa]

Debra,

My new coffee grinder, the DeLonghi Retro Burr Coffee Grinder Model DCG59
http://www.125west.com/DeLonghi_Kitchen_Grinders_Retro_Burr_Coffee_Grinder_coffee_mill.html),
is much better than my previous one. It consistently produces ground coffee
of the exact coarseness I desire (generally on the coarse setting for french
press). It is inexpensive (street price $50), reasonably quite, and produces
no mess. I like its size and looks too.

It replaced an older DeLonghi model. The ground coffee container of that
model cracked. So I sent it, as instructed, back to DeLonghi for
replacement. Then, it turned out they didn't have any more of the older
model available, so they sent me the new one--at no charge. Great customer
service too.
--
Rick Mendosa: A Writer on the Web: www.mendosa.com
email: ***@mendosa.com Phone: [phone]
Office: 238 Coronado Dr., Aptos, CA 95003-4011

Post by Debra
Has the whole group just broken out into hysterical laughter?
I know nothing about this stuff, but I do have a Capresso MT500 that I
love. It seems silly to make coffee in this thing from a giant tin of
Chock Full of Nuts sitting in my freezer. It's almost an insult to
Capresso (even though all my guests say it's the best coffee they have
ever had from a home brewer).
I have gleaned enough info to know that I'm supposed to be looking at
burr grinders instead of blade grinders. And I want it to be
stainless or at least black to match my kitchen.
Any ideas?
If not, what is the absolute minimum I do have to spend to get a
halfway decent one?
Thanks all!

[Mike Garner]

Post by Rick Mendosa
Debra,
My new coffee grinder, the DeLonghi Retro Burr Coffee Grinder Model DCG59
http://www.125west.com/DeLonghi_Kitchen_Grinders_Retro_Burr_Coffee_Grinder_coffee_mill.html),
is much better than my previous one. It consistently produces ground coffee
of the exact coarseness I desire (generally on the coarse setting for french
press). It is inexpensive (street price $50), reasonably quite, and produces
no mess. I like its size and looks too.
It replaced an older DeLonghi model. The ground coffee container of that
model cracked. So I sent it, as instructed, back to DeLonghi for
replacement. Then, it turned out they didn't have any more of the older
model available, so they sent me the new one--at no charge. Great customer
service too.

Exact, eh? Did you test that with a set of screens?