Coffee Mill

If you're the sort of person who really appreciates the best tasting coffee, proper coffee, then you'll likely already know you simply must grind your own beans for maximum freshness.  This is where a coffee mill comes in.

To grind, or mill, your own beans you will need a coffee mill (also called a coffee grinder).  There are two basic types of coffee mill.

The manual coffee mill:

These are often of wooden construction (but not always) and as you'll see below can look very classy. So much so that some people have them in their houses more as an ornament than as an actual working utensil.

They're operated by manually turning a handle which rotates the grinding surfaces to break the beans apart unlocking those very special aromas and tastes ready for use.

The electric coffee mill:

Electric mills come in many guises but are usually either of metal or plastic construction and obviously rotate the grinding surfaces by means of an electric motor.

These will be quicker than a manual mill but some believe it takes some of the magic out of the whole coffee experience.

Which one is for you?

As mentioned above some coffee purists believe the only way to mill is by hand.

There's no denying a quality wooden hand mill certainly looks the part sitting in your kitchen but sometimes you just want a great cup of steaming hot coffee quickly without resorting to instant!

An electric mill's speed clearly wins out here. For day to day use in a busy household an electric machine is probably the way to go but if you have the time to "do it properly" then there's nothing quite like turning the handle your self.

A third way!

Perhaps a good compromise would be to have one of each? The electric for every day use when the speed is important and the manual when you want to indulge in the maximum enjoyment from a leisurely cup of hand made coffee.

Go on, treat yourself!