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Bought a $95 burr grinder off a marketplace ad and it made my coffee worse
I'm going to go against the grain here because everyone says a burr grinder is the first thing you should buy, so I picked up a used one from a guy in Lansing for $95 back in March. The burrs were shot and he never mentioned it, and I didn't know enough to check, so I was basically grinding beans into a mix of dust and chunks for six weeks. My old $20 blade grinder was honestly making a more even cup than that thing, and my pour overs tasted muddy and bitter the whole time. I gave up and went back to the blade grinder with a few pulses, and it's fine for what I do. Has anyone bought used gear and figured out a way to check the burrs before handing over cash?
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riley_coleman4h ago
Honestly I used to tell people to always buy used and just replace the burrs, but stories like this make me second guess that. Best trick I know is to ask for a pic of the burrs up close and run your fingernail across the edges, if they feel rounded or smooth instead of sharp then they're done. A dull burr smears the beans instead of cutting them, which is exactly why your pour overs came out muddy. For $95 you probably could have got a new hand grinder with fresh burrs, so your blade grinder take isn't as crazy as it sounds.
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