If you are serious about your coffee, then you'll want to invest in a decent grinder. Grinders do just that, they grind the whole coffee beans up into a course grain ready for you to use in your preferred coffee making machine. This grinding process is very important as it releases the aromas and oils from the beans right before you make a brew so you can be sure of its freshness. It's the equivalent of a chef tempering his spices in a hot pan for a few seconds so as to release their pungent flavors. It gets the best out of the raw ingredient.

Different types of grinder.

There are two types of grinders, blade and burr. It is broadly regarded that the burr grinder is the better of the two and that the blade grinder is more suited to basic home use. The advantage of using burr coffee grinders is that they tend to give a more consistent grind and coarseness which is needed for an optimal brewing process. It is also worth pointing out that a blade grinder actually bashes the coffee beans around to achieve its goal, a process that tends to heat up the powder and so releases its flavors prematurely. They also tend to give you an inconsistent grind. The opposite is true for a burr grinder as it works at a slower and much gentler pace resulting in perfectly ground coffee beans that are just about ready to release their intestinal flavors. This results in a much fresher tasting drink.

I think it easy and logical to work out that having a good coffee bean grinder is essential if you a keen on searching for your perfect tasting coffee. Grinders can be inexpensive, and most coffee machine makers offer them. Some manufacturer's offer them as add-ons to existing machines for convenience or some machines even have them built in.

I know a lot of people buy the small mainstream grinders, you know the one's you find in department stores and the like, and use them for all sorts of things like grinding their flour or even for their spices. To be honest this is fine as even a department store quality coffee grinder is excellent for such jobs but do not be unhappy if you are then going to use the same grinder to grinder your coffee beans and wonder why your drink is not to your liking . Just remember grinders are built to perform one task, grind coffee beans & that's it.