THE TOOLS THAT SURROUND US
Probably the most ubiquitous coffee grinder in cafes that at least pretend to care about coffee is the Mazzer (usually the Super Jolly model, sometimes the Robur or Mini can be seen). Despite its wide use, the Mazzer still stands tall in the field of coffee discourse, which is interesting when set in contrast to the domestic coffee grinder. Here lies a key split in coffee markets – a massive gulf of expectation between consumer and professional. A recent visit to Selfridges, with its vast lower ground floor temple of kitchenware, yielded several options of grinders for purchase, the most expensive of which was a Gaggia ‘MM’ at £80. The fanciest available grinder in Selfridges lacks any serious consideration for the reliable grinding of coffee beans, with its flat (rather than conical) burr, poor quality steel and hyper rotation rate all amounting to a tool probably worse for the job at hand than a pestle and mortar, which of course is how many coffee growing nations would go about the grinding of their crop. The only advantage of the ‘MM’ over the pestle and mortar are factors of time and physical effort. The consumer market is full of bad grinders, most of which are pitched southwards of £100. The essential fault of the blade or steel grinders that flood this market is that the machines aim to pulverise the roasted coffee seed with as much force and speed as possible, usually resulting in a smashing action which crumbles and bruises the beans with no sensitivity to the eventual goal of an even extraction.
The Mazzer, then, sits on the professional side of the gulf, costing upwards of £500 but featuring all the necessary components to deliver excellent and consistent grinds; excellent burrs, consistent mechanism, easy setting changes, simple cleaning processes, etc. The Mazzer’s expense and size, however, place it as an object that would look awkward and quasi-military in most domestic kitchen environments. There are a number of grinders that seek to close this gap between Selfridges and the coffee industry but there is no common consensus that any of these models stand out beyond singular uses (ie. they lack flexibility of use – such as if we used both espresso and syphon brew methods). This middle market has triggered a lot of online reviews and debate. A superb example is available here: http://www.bellabarista.co.uk/pdf/compact-grinder-1-closerlook.pdf).
‘TOWARDS EVENNESS’, Page 1 of 4