Burr mill

Burr grinder for poppy seeds, burr visible on front

A burr mill, or burr grinder, is a mill used

to grind hard, small food products
between two revolving abrasive surfaces
separated by a distance usually set by the
user.[1][2] When the two surfaces are set far
apart, the resulting ground material is
coarser, and when the two surfaces are set
closer together, the resulting ground
material is finer and smaller.[2] Often, the
device includes a revolving screw that
pushes the food through. It may be
powered electrically or manually.

Burr mills do not heat the ground product

by friction as much as blade grinders
("choppers"), and produce particles of a
uniform size determined by the separation
between the grinding surfaces.[1]
Food burr mills are usually manufactured
for a single purpose: coffee beans, dried
peppercorns, coarse salt, spices, or poppy
seeds, for example.[3] Coffee mills are
usually powered by electric motors;
domestic pepper, salt, and spice mills,
used to sprinkle a little seasoning on food,
are usually operated manually, sometimes
by a battery-powered motor.

Coffee grinders
Traditional manual coffee grinder

Burr mill mechanism inside a mechanical coffee

grinder

The uniform particle size and variable

settings of a burr grinder[4] make it well-
suited for coffee preparation, as different
methods of coffee preparation require
different size grinds. The size of the grind
is determined by the width between the
two burrs, into which the coffee beans fall
and are ground a few at a time. [5] A finer
grind allows a larger surface area to come
into contact with the water, which yields a
more complete extraction of caffeine and
flavor.[6] The grind spectrum ranges from
Turkish coffee and espresso on the finer
end to a french press and cold brew
extraction on the coarse/extra coarse end,
with pour-overs and drip coffee in the
medium-fine to medium range.[7]

Burr coffee grinders are also more suited

for keeping the flavor and aroma of the
coffee beans intact, as they produce less
heat from friction compared to blade
grinders; "The oils and aromas can easily
dissipate if the beans become too hot
during grinding, although most grinders
will not heat the beans to a high enough
temperature to risk this occurring."[7]

Burr grinders obtain these lower speeds

and even grind through two mechanisms.
The lower cost models generally use a
small electric motor to drive a series of
reduction gears, while better constructed
and more costly examples use a larger
commercial motor and a belt, with no gear
reduction to spin the burrs. The latter
example is termed "direct drive". The
reduction gear versions are noisier and
usually do not have the lifespan of the
direct drive units.[8]

Electrical powered burr grinders are

available in many variations. Some
grinders are "stepped" meaning that they
are fixed by the factory into a set series of
adjustments while "stepless" varieties use
a worm drive or other mechanisms to offer
a near-infinite number of adjustments
within their grind range. Other variations
include grinders that are equipped with
dosers and others that are "doserless".
Dosers function as a catch bin to collect
the ground coffee and by using a lever,
users are able to dose a set amount of
coffee. Doserless versions remove the bin
and dosing function, and the grinder
outputs the ground coffee directly into an
espresso machine portafilter or into
another container. The doserless
examples normally feature additional
functions such as weight based or
advance time based grinding in order for a
barista to grind for an exact amount of
grounds required for a specific espresso
shot.

Manual coffee grinders have been largely

supplanted by electrically powered ones
when the object is simply to get the job
done; manual grinders are used more for
aesthetic reasons and are often more
costly than electric models. An exception
is the manual Turkish coffee grinder; these
are inexpensive and can grind coffee to
fine powder for Turkish coffee. [9]

Manual grinders
Manual burr grinders are turned by hand,
rotating one grinding surface against the
other. Coffee mills usually have a handle,
providing leverage for the many turns
required to grind enough coffee for a cup.
The ground coffee is collected in a
container which is part of the mill.
Salt, pepper, and spice mills, essentially
the same as coffee mills, usually do not
have a handle, the entire top rotating
instead. While this is less convenient, only
a few turns are required to grind enough.
The ground product falls directly onto the
food being seasoned; the mill has no
container. A few designs have abrasive
surfaces which do not rotate; each
squeeze of the handles moves one flat
plate past another, then the plates are
restored to their original position by a
spring. Many hard spices are available in
containers incorporating a simple cone
burr grinder, intended to be discarded
when empty.
Most grinders can be adjusted to set the
fineness of grind.

Manual mills can be used for grinding

other food products than they are intended
for, but mills designed for pepper grinding
are inappropriate for producing finely-
ground flour. Laura Ingalls Wilder's novel
The Long Winter describes a family
grinding wheat in a coffee mill to make
flour during months of hardship.

The first coffee grinder was made by

Richard Dearmann, an English blacksmith
from Birmingham, in 1799. This grinder
was widely distributed in the US, where
Increase Wilson patented the first wall
coffee grinder in 1818.[10]

Peugeot of France patented a pepper

grinder in 1842. The mechanism of case-
hardened steel cracked the peppercorns
before the actual grinding process. The
grooves on the Peugeot mechanism were
individually cut into the metal and then
case-hardened, making them very
durable.[11]
A pepper mill

A salt mill
Grinding gear from a disposable salt mill,
computed tomography image
 Play media

Flight through a 3D reconstruction of a

disposable pepper grinder, from CT-data

Types of materials
There are several types of materials used
in pepper mills, each with its own
particular advantages. Corrosion-resistant
materials are used to grind salt.
Stainless steel: One of the most suitable
and durable materials for grinding
peppercorns and coffee beans. The male
and female sections of the grinding
mechanism are usually made from
sintered metal. This material is preferred
by professional chefs. [12] The teeth of the
grinder are machined to cut spice or
beans. Stainless steel is not suggested for
grinding salt.

Zinc alloy: Perhaps the most common

mechanism found in pepper grinders, zinc
alloy is composed of a mixture of metals,
primarily zinc, often with chrome plating to
resist corrosion. It is a good choice for
grinding pepper but is not suitable for
grinding salt.

Carbon steel: An extremely hard metal,

carbon steel provides the sharpest edges
and most efficient grinding capability, and
is preferred by professional chefs.[13]
Carbon steel is not suitable for grinding
salt.

Ceramic: Ceramic is extremely hard and

provides the best performance for multi-
use grinding. It does not corrode and is
suitable for grinding coffee beans,[2]
pepper, salt, and spices.
Acrylic: Durable and low cost, acrylic is a
non-corrosive material suitable for
grinding salt and spices.

Electric grinders
Electric burr grinders are powered by
electricity from a battery or mains
supply.[14] An electric motor drives the
grinding elements against each other.
Electric grinders grind faster than manual
grinders with no effort, but friction and
waste heat from the motor may heat the
ground product slightly.

See also
 Food portal
Salt and pepper shakers – for salt grains
and pre-ground peppercorns

References
1. Steiman, S. (2015). The Little Coffee
Know-It-All: A Miscellany for growing,
roasting, and brewing,
uncompromising and unapologetic .
Quarry Books. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-
62788-322-1. Retrieved October 14,
2017.
2. Stephenson, T. (2015). The Curious
Barista's Guide to Coffee . Ryland
Peters & Small. p. pt180. ISBN 978-1-
84975-908-3. Retrieved October 14,
2017.
3. Easto, J.; Willhoff, A. (2017). Craft
Coffee: A Manual: Brewing a Better
Cup at Home . Agate Publishing.
p. pt69. ISBN 978-1-57284-804-7.
Retrieved October 14, 2017.
4. Michaels, Andrew (27 January 2018).
"Burr Grinder vs Blade Grinder: Which
Method is Better?" . Budget Barista.
Retrieved 14 July 2019.
5. Brones, Anna (9 June 2014). "What's
the Difference Between a Burr Grinder
and Blade Grinder?" . The Kitchn. AT
Media. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
6. Kingston, Lani (14 April 2015). How to
Make Coffee: The Science Behind the
Bean . ABRAMS. p. 85. ISBN 978-1-
61312-790-2. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
7. Kingston, L. (2015). How to Make
Coffee: The Science Behind the Bean .
Abrams Image. p. 84. ISBN 978-1-
61312-790-2. Retrieved October 14,
2017.
 8. Pang, Malcolm (17 July 2012).
"Choosing the Right Coffee Grinder" .
INeedCoffee. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
9. dave (15 June 2015). "Best Turkish
Coffee Grinder? Here Are My 3 Favs" .
Know Your Grinder. Retrieved 14 July
2019.
10. William Harrison Ukers (1922). All
About Coffee . New York: Tea and
Coffee Trade Journal Company.
p. 728. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
11. "A Brief History of Pepper Mills - A
Guide to Mills and Pepper Grinders" .
PepperMate. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
12. "Why Professional Chefs Prefer
Stainless Steel Cookware" .
alove4cooking.com. Retrieved
2019-07-14.
13. Eats, Serious. "Why Serious Cooks Use
Carbon Steel Knives" .
www.seriouseats.com. Retrieved
2019-07-14.
14. Davids, K. (2013). Coffee: A Guide to
Buying, Brewing, and Enjoying, Fifth
Edition . St. Martin's Press. pp. 118–
119. ISBN 978-1-4668-5442-0.
Retrieved October 14, 2017.

Further reading
 Rahman, S.; Ahmed, J. (2012).
Handbook of Food Process Design .
Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 944–945. ISBN 978-
1-4443-3011-3. Retrieved October 14,
2017.

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