Hi guys, I'm rather new to the coffee world and very new to the HB community, but it seems like a great place and I wanted to start off by saying that there is enough information here to keep me learning for a couple years I think.

That being said, one thing that has been made clear to me is the need for a coffee grinder. Now, I am currently an undergrad student and money is extremely hard to come by. I know that buying a blade grinder would be next to useless, but I was thinking about a capresso infinity that I can get for $115 + shipping.

Is this a good deal or are there other grinders I should look into? I know most people recommend going with nothing less than a rocky, but that's money that I just don't have right now. If there are any other suggestions that would run under 200 with shipping and taxes in I would love to hear them.

Thanks in advance,

Devin

Get a hand grinder. They are well under your budget, don't need electricity, and will be a great first grinder for someone on a budget. I have a Peter Dienes (PeDe) that I bought for traveling. It's small and was only 22 Euros (about $30). Grind quality is not quite as good as my Mazzer, but it's much better than you'd get from a cheap *burr* grinder. Another quality name brand is a Zassenhaus. I'm sure there are many others, but if you search eBay for PeDe and Zassenhaus, you'lll have quite a few choices. Good luck.

Thanks for the advice! I was looking at some hand grinders, but wasn't sure if they would provide comparable grind quality and consistency versus the newer electric styles. I guess they were making great coffee before electricity though so it makes sense that the higher end manual ones would be good.

I have been searching around online but haven't found any sites that sell zassenhauses and have them in stock, it would appear that they're all backordered or out of stock. Do you guys have any idea where I could pick one up (I'd really rather not do ebay).

Take a look at http://www.orphanespresso.com. They have reconditioned used hand grinders and specify the ones that will work for espresso. The descriptions are sufficiently good to help you know which would fit your approach to grinding.

Devin,

I just wanted to mention, since I don't think it has been, that electric grinders in the <$150 range are generally awful in terms of grind quality for espresso. I think you will find that, for the money, a hand grinder provides far superior grind quality. Also, I would also recommend Orphan based on what I have read of hand grinders--I've read that newer Zassenhaus mills aren't very consistent--sort of a 'mixed bag.' You will most likely have the best results getting a mill from someone who knows what they are doing and has certified it for espresso, like Orphan.

Hand grinder is by far the way to go if you are a college student strapped for cash. Good luck, man.

Thanks for all the advice guys, if it werent for you I probably would have ended up with a pos i would replace in the next couple months due to frustration. I ordered a Dienes 435 off of orphan for $70. I'll post again when I get it and let you know how it works.