7 Best Flat Burr Coffee Grinders (and Why)

I’ve spent a few days researching all the flat burr coffee grinders on the market. There are literally hundreds of burr coffee grinders on the market, which makes sorting through them all time-consuming and overwhelming.  If you are looking for the best flat burr coffee grinders, I have put together a list to make deciding easier.

Krups Precision ranks as the best flat burr coffee grinder. It’s followed by the Urbanic grinder, Eureka Mignon Crone coffee grinder, Fellow Ode brew grinder, Rancilio Rocky espresso coffee grinder, and Baratza Forte grinder. Each one is best for different reasons, including price, style, features, grind consistency, and ease of use.  

If you have started your search for the perfect flat burr grinder, before you head over to Amazon or a coffee retailer, read through the list below.  You are sure to find one that fits your needs on this list.

Best Inexpensive Flat Burr Coffee Grinder: Krups Precision Flat Burr Coffee Grinder

The Krups Precision flat burr coffee grinder is the best option for anyone looking for an affordable grinder. It is perfect for grinding a large amount of coffee at once. The hopper holds up to 8 oz of whole coffee beans, and the grounds container can store up to 32 cups of ground coffee.  It has 12 grind settings so you can adjust the grind size to make all types of coffee including drip coffee, French Press, Pour Over, and espresso.

It comes with a built-in cleaning brush and removable top burr.  This makes it easy to clean.  With a one-touch on and off button, it’s also easy to use. You just fill the hopper with beans and turn the dial to select how many cups to grind. Then adjust the side dial to select the grind fineness, and push the on button. 

Pros

  • Affordable
  • Vast storage capacity
  • About 12 grind settings
  • Easy to clean

While this is a great inexpensive option, there are some drawbacks to choosing an inexpensive grinder. 

Cons

  • Because the storage container is large, it’s difficult to use for single espresso shots or small servings.
  • The grind size settings are also not as precise or as consistent as other flat burr grinders.

Best Flat Burr Grinder for Drip Coffee Makers: KRUPS 8000035978 GX5000

For the price, this Krups coffee grinder is an excellent choice. It has 9 grind size settings. You can grind from 2-12 cups by adjusting the dial to select your quantity. 

It holds up to 7 oz of coffee beans and stores up to 15 oz of ground coffee in a removable ground coffee container. It also comes with a built-in cleaning brush for easy cleaning, as well as an easy on and off button.

This is a nice flat burr coffee grinder for making drip-brew coffee.

Pros

  • User-friendly
  • Option to decide the quantity
  • 9 grind size settings
  • Removable ground coffee container

Cons

  • The grind size tends to be too fine and uneven when used for coarse grinds.

If you are looking for a grinder to make French Press or percolator coffee, the grind size settings for a coarse grind are not consistent. It works best for medium or finer grinds.  This is the perfect grinder to make a daily morning brew of drip-brewed coffee.

Best Flat Burr Coffee Grinder for Style: Urbanic 070s Electric Grinder

While this grinder is definitely the most stylish grinder on the list, it’s also a high-quality flat burr grinder. With very few negative reviews, this grinder is not as well-known as the other grinders on the list. It’s made in Korea and has a vintage look that will look fabulous in your kitchen.  

What people like best about this grinder is how quiet it is and how accurate its grind settings are. Unlike some grinders that have inconsistent grind settings, the Urbanic grinder delivers consistent grinds for coarse ground coffee, medium-ground coffee, and espresso. 

Pros

  • Accurate grind settings
  • Quiet
  • Consistent grinds

Cons

  • It might not suit some coffee types due to grind size.

When reading on this grinder, I only found one negative review and it had more to do with the seller than the grinder itself.  Because this grinder is shipped from Korea, Amazon is one of the few places to purchase it.

Best Flat Burr Grinder for French Press: Eureka Mignon Crono Coffee Grinder

The Eureka grinder has a sleek design. With its stepless adjust feature you can grind your coffee down to the exact grind size you want it. If you like the grind, you can set and save the grind time, This is a great feature that allows you to grind your coffee to precisely the same grind each time you use it.

While this grinder is perfect for French Press, it’s also great for making espresso and other coffee.  If you are looking for a higher quality grinder, but don’t have the budget for an expensive commercial grinder, this is one to consider. It’s easy to use, sturdy and grinds consistently for different types of coffee.

Pros

  • User-friendly
  • Attractive customization features for grind settings
  • Budget-friendly
  • Consistent grounds

Cons

  • Wear and tear in some cases

While this grinder had a ton of positive reviews, there were a few complaints about the durability of the grinder. Some customers had issues with parts breaking quickly due to regular wear and tear.  However, out of almost 250 reviews, most were extremely positive.

Best Single Dose Flat Burr Coffee Grinder: Fellow Ode Brew Grinder

Fellow’s Ode Brew Grider is a powerful single-dose coffee grinder that’s ideal for making your daily cup of coffee. The Old Brew was designed for brewed coffees. If you are looking for a grinder to make drip coffee, pour-over, French press, or Aeropress, the Old Brew is perfect. 

What’s nice about using a single-dose grinder is that you can have the freshest cup of coffee each time you brew. Because you’re only grinding enough coffee for a single serving, you can leave the rest of your coffee beans whole to preserve their freshness.

What people love about the Old Brew grinder is its sleek design and ease of use.  Its 64 mm professional-grade flat burrs and 31 grind settings, allow you to produce consistent grinds.

Pros

  • Has over 30 grind settings
  • Consistent grinds
  • Maintains freshness
  • Ideal for minimal serving quantities

Cons

  • The only drawback of this single-does grinder is it’s not great for espresso or finer grinds. This grinder is intended for daily brewed coffee. 

Best Flat Burr Coffee Grinder for Espresso: Rancilio Rocky Espresso Coffee Grinder

If you are looking for a grinder for espresso, the Rancilio Rocky is your best option. It comes at an affordable price, just under $500. It has a 50mm grinding plate that is often found in commercial-grade grinders.  This grinder is designed for espresso lovers. 

With this grinder, you can grind directly into your portafilter. Its removable fork holds the portafilter in place while you grind. This is one feature you don’t see in other grinders. 

It does come with a learning curve. However, with this grinder, you can grind for almost any type of brew.  The 55 step grind settings allow you to grind your coffee precisely and consistently for any type of brewing method. It can be used as a single dose or doserless grinder.

Another thing you might appreciate is how much effort Rancilio puts into their products. Every product is tested with real coffee beans. When you receive your Rancilio Rocky, you might notice a little coffee dust in the grinder. This is not because you’re getting a used grinder. They test every grinder with real coffee beans before shipping them out.

Pros

  • Affordability
  • Ideal for residential and commercial uses
  • Detachable parts make it easy to clean
  • Consistent grinds
  • High-quality product (supported with testing)

Cons

  • There is coffee dust left as a residue during certain grind settings.

Best Commercial-Grade Flat Burr Grinder: Baratza Forte BG (Brew Grinder)

If you are ready to go all in and purchase the best of the best, the Baratza Forte BG is the king of flat burr grinders. While it is much pricier than other grinders, if you want the best brewing experience, you will not be disappointed with the Barata Forte. 

Baratza grinders are Specialty Coffee Association award-winning grinders. This is a high-performance commercial-grade grinder. However, at just under $1,000, it’s affordable enough for home use.

It comes with a built-in digital scale so your can accurately measure your beans before you grind.  Its programmable timer allows you to preprogram up to 3 presets, which is awesome if you use your grinder for more than one brewing method. Program it to make espresso, French Press, or other specialty coffee.

This is the grinder professionals love. It can grind coffee precisely use after use, and produce consistent even grinds. If you want to brew espresso on par with what you’d get at an expensive coffee shop, this is the grinder to purchase. It is an investment, but if you love expresso, it is totally worth the extra money.

Pros

  • High performance
  • Digital options
  • Ideal for multiple brewing methods
  • Consistent grinds

Cons

  • Can be a little pricey compared to other models

Conical vs. Flat Burr Grinders

Conical grinders grind vertically, and burrs sit inside the other. Contrarily, flat burrs contain two rings lying on each other. These grind horizontally. Both grinders differ in direction and distance between rings.

Flat burr grinders and conical grinders differ in various aspects.

  • Flat burrs make perfect concentricity, unlike conical burrs.
  • Flat burrs produce higher sounds compared to conical burrs. This also implies that flat burrs consume more mechanical force levels.
  • While conical burrs are cheaper and easier to handle, they lack consistency in outcomes. As a result, flat burrs are ideal.

Are flat burr grinders better?

Flat burr grinders are better than most commercial grinders as the former produce consistent outcomes and are highly ventilated. Further, flat burrs are also excellent in retaining flavors, although they run at higher RPMs.

Our list of flat-burr coffee grinders gives a clear picture of how each of them outranks other forms in terms of productivity, quality, reliability, and consistency.

Is a burr grinder worth it?

Burr grinders are exceptionally good on the grounds of coffee extraction quality, consistency of the powder, and durability of the equipment.

Perhaps, burr grinds give you the advantage of brewing coffee and tasting the flavor as expected, unlike other grinders (that suffer in extracting appropriately).

Tim S.

Tim loves roasting, brewing, and experimenting with coffee. After years of perfecting this craft, working as a barista, and owning a small coffee service in college, he has decided to share his knowledge with the world.

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