The Best Coffee Grinder For Cold Brew In 2024 – An Essential Ingredient

Although the cold-brewing process isn’t particularly complicated, it’s essential that you grind the coffee beans to a very coarse consistency first. Too fine and all you’ll end up with is a thin, gritty mess. Yuck.

In this guide to choosing the best coffee grinder for cold brew, you’ll find buying tips that will help you choose the right device for your kitchen.

After that I’ve highlighted five of the most popular coffee bean grinders on the market. They’re all great for making cold brew, but some offer more functionality than others.

Once you’ve taken all that in though, you’ll be well-armed to pick the perfect grinder for you.

For quick reference, I shortlisted the following coffee grinders for the review process:

The Best Coffee Grinders For Cold Brew:

• JavaPresse Manual Coffee Grinder
• Baratza Virtuoso+ Conical Burr Coffee Grinder
• Capresso 560.01 Infinity Conical Burr Grinder
• Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill “Skerton Pro”
• Bodum Bistro Burr Grinder

(If you want to explore more of my coffee content, take a look at the home brewing guide I have on the site!)

Cold Brew Coffee Grinders Comparison Summary

If you’re just in a rush and need a quick recommendation, these are the best coffee grinders I found for making cold brew!

You can find more detailed reviews of these coffee grinders further down the page, as well as reviews for the other grinders I shortlisted.

BEST OVERALL – Baratza Virtuoso+ Coffee Grinder

“Baratza’s Virtuoso grinder consistently comes out on top in coffee grinder reviews. It’s not the cheapest coffee bean grinder by a long shot, but it’s got a whopping 40 grind settings, high quality conical burrs, and opens up a universe of coffee brewing methods.”

• Size: 6.69 x 6.69 x 12.6 inches
• Burr Grinder Type: Conical Burr
• Grind Size Settings: 40
• Power: Electric

BEST BUDGET ELECTRIC – Capresso Infinity Grinder

“Capresso’s conical burr grinder represents the best of the budget electrical grinders I’ve reviewed. It grinds coffee beans to a great consistency for cold brew, and you also get to experiment with other coffee brewing methods as well. Nothing fancy, but more than good enough to get the job done if you’re watching your budget.”

• Size: 9.6 x 7.8 x 14.6 inches
• Burr Grinder Type: Conical Burr
• Grind Size Settings: 10
• Power: Electric

BEST BUDGET MANUAL – JavaPresse Manual Coffee Grinder

“JavaPresse has struck the perfect balance between budget and performance with what I believe is the best manual coffee grinder . It’s a little more work on your part, but as far as I’m concerned this is the least expensive way to get a significantly better cup of coffee in your life (cold brew or otherwise).”

• Size: 1.8 x 1.8 x 7.5 inches
• Burr Grinder Type: Conical Burr
• Grind Size Settings: 18
• Power: Manual

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About Buying A Cold Brew Coffee Grinder

Before looking more closely at some of the most popular grinders that are available, there are some important things to consider.

Why even buy a coffee grinder?

Don’t get me wrong, there are some really good pre-ground coffee brands out there. When they’re roasted and packaged well, you’ll enjoy some fabulous drinks.

There are also some very good, coarse pre-ground coffee varieties that are perfect for the cold brewing process.

There’s just no substitute for grinding coffee fresh from whole beans though. This as true for cold brew as it is for drip coffee.

The moment the outer shell of the bean has been been crushed, it begins to lose its flavor and aroma potential.

The faster you can get the bean from the grinding stage to your cup, the better the drink you’ll enjoy.

If you’re at all serious about your coffee, a high quality grinder is worth every penny you invest in it. You have the best espresso machine in the world, but it’s nothing without a really good grinder.

Check the coarseness settings carefully

When preparing cold brew coffee it’s really important that the grounds you use are as coarse as possible.

With coarser grounds, the water can seep through more slowly. Over the course of 12 hours or more, you’ll get a much better cold brew concentrate.

There’s no point owning multiple devices to get a number of jobs done though!

Many grinders have an extra-coarse setting which will serve you very well for cold brew, but the more options you have to play with the better.

Chances are you’ll want to do more than cook up cold brew with the thing. Make sure it has plenty of settings to accommodate espresso, French Press, drip coffee, and any other drinks you might want to prepare.

Should you buy a burr or a blade grinder?

When it comes to cold brew coffee – and all coffee in general – burr grinders win out every single time.

Although they’re typically cheaper to buy, blade grinders don’t produce consistent coarse grind results.

They work much like a blender, and produce a lot of heat. This can severely impact the flavor and aroma of the coffee you’re working so hard to prepare.

A conical burr grinder, on the other hand, features a pair of abrasive surfaces which rotate to slowly grind coffee beans down.

Set them further apart and you get a coarser grind. Regardless of the setting you choose, you’ll get very consistent grounds every time as well.

The end result is a superior grind for a much better drink. They’re also better at producing the kind of coarse grinds that you really need to get the most out of your cold brew coffee.

Is a manual or electric grinder better?

Manual coffee grinders tend to be significantly less expensive than electric machines.

They do, of course, require a lot more hands-on effort on your part though. It can take a good few minutes of rigorous effort with the crank to get just a few cups’ worth of beans ready!

They can also be a little messy to use as well, so if you go down this route you should factor in more time for cleaning up.

I think electric coffee grinders offer more convenience all round.

They’re considerably faster, the best can produce more consistent results, but it won’t surprise you to learn that they cost a lot more money as a result.

Which of the two types you choose will ultimately depend on your own circumstances. There are a couple of things to consider here.

Are you happy to put in the physical effort that a manual grinder requires? Might you actually enjoy the ritualistic aspect of grinding your coffee by hand?

If the answer to both of those questions is yes, then I think you’ll love a manual grinder for cold brew preparation. You’ll also save quite a bit of money as well.

If you don’t want to put that much manual work in though, and if speed and convenience are important to you, an electric coffee grinder is the obvious choice.

They’re also more suited to daily use, so you should choose electric if you know you’re going to be grinding beans throughout the week.

How easy is it to clean?

When you’re buying a cold brew coffee grinder, make sure it’s easy to clean.

If you don’t clean the grinder out after each use, you run the risk of stale coffee accumulating on the insides. There’s also a risk of bacteria forming over time.

If the coffee grinder can be taken apart easily, you’ll have a much easier job cleaning the thing. As a result, the quality of your coffee will be maintained over time.

How big is the bean hopper?

The bean hopper is the part of the coffee grinder that holds your whole beans before you begin grinding them.

I recommend looking for a coffee grinder that has a bean hopper with a minimum 8 ounce capacity. Because of the steeping time required for cold brew coffee, you’re likely to be making bigger batches at any given time.

Cold Brew Coffee Grinder Reviews

In this next section, I’m going to take a closer look at five of the most popular cold brew coffee grinders on the market today.

Capresso 560.01 Infinity Conical Burr Coffee Grinder

Capresso’s electric coffee grinder comes with 16 separate settings for preparing everything from coarse cold brew to ultra-fine Turkish coffee.

These are separated into four different categories that range from fine to coarse. There’s plenty of scope to find the right setting for your cold brew coffee, in other words.

The steel burrs built into the grinder are produced to an extremely high standard as well. Not only are they manufactured as matching pairs, they’re then hand-assembled to ensure they fit to perfection.

The Infinity coffee grinder has some clever additional tech built in, which reduces the friction and heat created by the motor. That helps alleviate one of the main concerns with electric burr grinders, which is the potential loss of flavor.

In terms of capacity, the Infinity can hold up to 8.8 ounces of beans at once.

That makes it one of the largest coffee grinders in this round-up, and will be suitable for those of you who want to make the biggest possible batch.

The upper burr is designed to be easy to remove too, which in turn makes it easy to get at the mechanism with the supplied cleaning brush.

It also has a smart safety-lock device built in, which means it can’t spring to life during cleaning unless the bean container is firmly in place.

• Size: 9.6 x 7.8 x 14.6 inches
• Burr Grinder Type: Conical Burr
• Grind Size Settings: 16
• Power: Electric

Pros

• Produces little static which makes this coffee grinder easier to clean.
• Low RPM minimizes heating of the beans.
• Comparatively quiet when it goes up against other coffee grinders!
• Produces very consistent coffee grounds.
• Capresso is well-known for providing great customer support.

Cons

• When making finer grounds for espresso, you may need to shake the hopper around a little.
• Not as much fine control over grind timings as other coffee grinders I’ve reviewed.
• Clear lid means it’s surprisingly easier to miss when pouring your beans!
• Leaves quite a bit of waste in the burr area, so regular cleaning is required.
• Many feel the timer dial feels a little cheap.

JavaPresse Manual Conical Burr Coffee Grinder

The JavaPresse grinder is quite a simple, manual coffee grinder but it packs a surprising amount of versatility into such a primitive device.

It has 18 different grind size settings in total, which should be more than enough to help you prepare a multitude of different specialty coffee drinks – including that all-important cold brew, of course.

There’s some impressive engineering behind this coffee grinder too. As well as being made from ceramic material, the burr grinders are put through rigorous testing.

In fact, the company reckons its burr assembly is good to last five times longer than a blade-based equivalent.

As with other manual coffee grinders, it’s going to take quite a bit of elbow grease to get the most out of it. The longer you use it though, the stronger you’ll get!

There are other benefits to using a manual grinder such as this.

For a start, they’re a lot more portable than electric burr grinder alternatives. That’s nice if you want to head off out in your RV, for example, but not compromise on your coffee while you’re away.

Secondly, they’re just very satisfying to use and will quickly become an enjoyable part of your morning coffee ritual.

That’s if you’re lucky enough to have the extra time in the mornings of course…

• Size: 1.8 x 1.8 x 7.5 inches
• Burr Grinder Type: Conical Burr
• Grind Size Settings: 18
• Power: Manual

Pros

• Built-in window makes it easier to see how much progress you’ve made.
• Easy to disassemble for cleaning and reassembly.
• Stainless steel elements should prove durable.
• Extremely portable if you want to make great coffee away from home.

Cons

• Many owners report it can be tough to achieve a consistent grind across multiple uses.
• Others have reported the plastic components breaking easily.
• Grind settings aren’t very clear, so you’ll need to experiment with this coffee grinder for best results.
• Quite a small container, which means multiple grinds for cold brew.

Baratza Virtuoso Conical Burr Coffee Grinder

If you need a more convenient way of grinding your cold brew coffee beans, the Baratza Virtuoso is one of the most popular electronic coffee grinders I know of.

Part of that appeal comes as a result of backing by the Specialty Coffee Association, a body which sets the highest standards for performance in coffee brewing.

The Virtuoso also provides a choice of up to 40 grind size settings.

If you need an all-in-one coffee grinder that will suit all your brewing needs – not just cold brew – it’s hard to go wrong here.

The actual grinding mechanism consists of a burr set, and grinds at a speed of 2 grams per second. That’s a good pace for getting high quality results.

To help you achieve consistency in your grinding, the Virtuoso also has a digital control panel.

This gives you easy access to a 40 second timer, which can be adjusted by increments of just a tenth of a second.

As you tweak the settings over time, you’ll be able to settle on your exact preferences – and replicate them easily in the future as well.

Although it’s quite a small coffee grinder overall, it has a bean hopper capacity of 8 ounces. That’s not the biggest, but it’s enough to cook up a decent sized batch of beans.

• Size: 6.69 x 6.69 x 12.6 inches
• Burr Grinder Type: Conical Burr
• Grind Size Settings: 40
• Power: Electric

Pros

• Very easy to replace parts that become worn out over time.
• LCD screen and fine controls will help you achieve consistent results.
• An SCA award-winning coffee grinder.
• Compact design makes it suitable for even the smallest kitchens.
• Capable of grinding correctly for just about any specialty coffee drink.

Cons

• Set up is considered by many to be a little more complicated than with other machines.
• Sits at the higher end of the coffee grinder budget range.

Hario Ceramic “Skerton Pro” Conical Burr Coffee Grinder

Hario’s Skerton Pro is another manual coffee grinder, one that’s proved a long-term favorite with amateur baristas.

There’s a spring inside which keeps the central shaft secure. This stops the device from moving around while you grind away, and means your coarser grounds are more consistent.

As for the actual grinding mechanism, the Skerton Pro makes use of ceramic burrs. These produce an impressive and consistent result.

Following a redesign, it’s also now a lot easier to change that burr grind size when you want to switch from cold brew to espresso, for example.

Rather than having to dismantle the whole thing, you simply tweak the grind adjustment wheel, which is located underneath the main body of the grinder.

In terms of capacity though, the 100g maximum output here isn’t a lot – particularly if you’re making a larger brew of cold press coffee.

Rather cleverly, however, you can actually thread the device onto a standard bell jar to grind larger amounts for any given batch.

Finally, the Skerton Pro coffee grinder features a non-slip rubber bottom. That helps keep it in place once you’ve popped it on your countertop, and are ready to start the hard work.

Time to roll your sleeves up…

• Size: 4.1 x 3.9 x 8.1 inches
• Burr Grinder Type: Conical Burr
• Grind Size Settings: 7
• Power: Manual

Pros

• To expand the amount of coffee you want to grind, just add a bell jar!
• A high quality manual coffee grinder with ceramic burrs. Should last for years if you care for it well.
• Supplied with a lid so you can keep your coffee grounds fresh in the jar.
• Silicon base helps grip the coffee grinder in position on the countertop.

Cons

• Some owners have reported inconsistency when it comes to coarser coffee grounds.
• One of the more expensive manual grinders available on the market.
• Not as portable as many other manual grinders.
• It’ll take a lot of hard work to get the coffee just right for cold brew.

Bodum Bistro Conical Burr Coffee Grinder

Although a popular option, it’s worth keeping in mind that Bodum’s Bistro coffee grinder only has 12 grind settings to choose from.

That’s probably enough for most, but it’s not the most advanced electric grinder in this round-up.

It is easy to choose between those grind size settings though, and requires nothing more than a twist of the bean hopper.

That hopper’s a little smaller though, with a maximum capacity of 7.75 ounces. That’s not a whole lot less than the 8 ounces or so that you’d like as a minimum, but it’s something to keep in mind.

With that said there is a clever measuring chart on the lid of the Bistro, which means you can neatly line things up to get the right grinding time. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s a thoughtful addition!

The grind time is set using a manual dial just in front of the bean hopper.

It’s not as precise as the digital settings of something like the Baratza Virtuoso, so be aware that you’ll have less fine control over the outcome.

• Size: 7.6 x 7.1 x 12.5 inches
• Burr Grinder Type: Conical Burr
• Grind Size Settings: 12
• Power: Electric

Pros

• A simple to set up conical burr coffee grinder. Easy to use too.
• Lid measuring chart is a clever touch.
• Lots of color options means it’s easy to find a match for your kitchen.
• Gets the job done well even if you’re working to a budget.

Cons

• The overall build of this coffee grinder has a relatively cheap feel.
• A little bit fiddly to clean, and the gunk builds up over time.
• A smaller bean hopper capacity than other grinders.
• Some owners have reported the glass container fracturing over time.

Cold Brew Grinding – The Final Verdict

After reviewing those five coffee grinders, then, what do I think is the best grinder for cold brew coffee?

For me, life’s too short to spend precious kitchen time grinding out beans. For that reason alone I’ll always prefer an electric cold brew grinder over a manual one.

All of the cold brew grinders I’ve reviewed for this guide have proved popular over the years, but my top overall pick in this case is the Baratza Virtuoso.

In terms of capacity it’s about as good as a coffee grinder gets, and the burr grinder’s do a great job of preparing your cold brew beans.

It also has a huge range of grind size settings which let you make more than just cold brew, and using just one appliance. It also has the best fine control options, thanks to that precision digital timer.

Click here to learn more about the Baratza Virtuoso conical burr grinder, and read more reviews.