The Baratza Encore can be had for under $100 and is a decent pourover grinder.

yes I agree, The Encore is good for pouover but I just doubt its durability

Chris205 wrote:What is the least amount of money I could spend on an automatic Burr grinder for it to at least do an okay job and what are some models that you suggest?

$95 - Baratza refurb (same 1 year warranty as a new one)

http://www.baratza.com/cgi-bin/commerce ... egory=RFRB

If you don't see an Encore, they post refurbs on Thursdays... Just head back next Thrus and there will be a full slot of grinders to choose from

CoffeeBar wrote:yes I agree, The Encore is good for pouover but I just doubt its durability

Baratza is top notch with customer service. I've had 3 Encores over the years and all were just fine and durable enough for home user. Plus, he's going from preground 25 minute brews. The Encore would be a HUGE upgrade over what he has on every level.

My suspicions are a combination of factors:

Stale beans pre ground, too fast at first

Combined with overdosing a single serve cone and keeping water level too low for overdosing means super slow once the beans absorb water.

If you do put more water the beans are probably failing to absorb, being old and already saturated now, and so once you have enough water to push through the overdosed and clogged hole the water can break through very quickly-leaving you with watery garbage.

Temporary solution is to reduce dose to 12g

day wrote:Temporary solution is to reduce dose to 12g

Wouldn't a 12 gram dose leave me with very watered down coffee if I am using 10oz of Water? Or do you mean a 12g dose and then adjusting the dose of water proportionally?

I would aim for 216grams of water to start, less if desired.

Made Melitta w/pre-ground (supermarket decaf) at lunch, and just had another thought - perhaps the paper filter is collapsing around the hole? One can minimize this possibility by doing two things (if you aren't already):
1. Folding the bottom of the filter in one direction/side, and then the side of the filter to the other side. This makes the corrugations on bottom of the filter be the part of the filter that rests more-or-less flat on the bottom of the Melitta cone;
2. After rinsing/wetting the filter in the cone, you may well see that the filter is plastered flat against the cone (especially with a plastic Melitta-brand). Lift the filter out and replace it gently so the paper filter is resting on only the side ridges. Then add coffee, etc.

I don't think that using pre-ground coffee is the culprit. Pre-ground coffee is ground with roller grinders, which actually grind much better for pourover/drip than a conical burr grinder like the Encore mentioned above - assuming that the pre-ground is for pourover/drip, of course! (Some Italian coffees are pre-ground for "espresso.") While there are very good reasons to grind just before brewing, the physical requirements of brewing pourover/drip is not one of them.

As an aside, with my Melitta-brand 1-hole plastic, with Meltta-brand white filters (generic cones/brands may have different properties), 19g pre-ground supermarket decaf, 11.2 fl.oz.(US) poured @ 200F, and 10 second bloom (all that coffee needs ): 2:10 total extraction time, 18.5% extraction yield.

Hi Chris,

If you can swing around $130 for a Baratza Encore, that's what I recommend. I've used mine for 4 years and it works just like the first day. I'd be suspicious of anything much cheaper than that.

Chris205 wrote:What is the least amount of money I could spend on an automatic Burr grinder for it to at least do an okay job and what are some models that you suggest?

Baratza Encore about the lowest grinder I'd recommend. New around $150 but Baratza often has refurbs with 1yr warranty for around $100 IIRC.