Best Quiet Coffee Burr Grinder
Quick summary
 KRUPS Silent Vortex Electric Grinder Safety-lock portable coffee grinder with removable hopper for easy cleaning.  best overall |
 Breville BCG820BSSXL The Smart Grinder Pro Pro’s grind settings for ultra-fine coarse with dosing program for espresso and percolator and bean hopper that can fill 16oz of coffee beans.  |
 Capresso 560.01 Infinity Coffee Grinder An eye-catching design that fits all kitchens with conical steel burrs that allow coffee beans to grind consistently. |
You know how when it’s really quiet in your house, and you accidentally drop a fork? It sounds like a firecracker going off! A crescendo of sound that instantly causes you to do a freeze as if your lack of movement will dampen the sound.
Too familiar, right?
That’s nothing compared to a loud grinder or coffee machine.
Electric grinders are notoriously loud. Crushing hard coffee beans has to be loud, right? Nope. Surprisingly, there are quiet coffee bean grinders that won’t startle you or your loved ones.
Manual grinders are said to be the quietest, but in this review, we’ll show you that companies are laser-focusing on making quieter motors and, therefore, quieter grinders.
But which one to choose? Let’s dive into grinders...quietly.
Things You Should Consider Before Buying a Quiet Coffee Grinder
For crisp, clean flavors, a grinder is a must. You’ll never get remotely close to coffee shop level quality and taste using pre-ground beans. In the hustle and bustle of life, you can get caught up and easily become accustomed to drinking icky coffee.
Don’t get comfortable with mediocre coffee, we’ll show you what you need to know before buying a grinder.
Dimensions
First, look at the dimensions of the grinder. Some electric ones are fairly large and may take up more room than you think. Check the description and take a tape measure to see if your countertop can accommodate the grinder’s width and height.
Next, see if the electric cord is long enough (not a concern with manual grinders, obviously). You don’t want to buy an expensive, quiet grinder and then be forced to use it in an unsafe location.
Price-to-noise Ratio: Manual vs. Electric
Manual grinders are the quietest. But they have one big flaw — they’re not that easy to use. For some grinders, you really have to crank it to crush the beans into a fine powder. But on the upside, they’re the cheapest. So the price-to-noise ratio is ideal if you don’t mind manual work.
The best quiet automatic burr coffee grinder can put a decent dent in your wallet, but are unmatched in convenience, quality and reliability. Good grinders are made with the customer in mind. Manufacturers understand that people make coffee in the morning and not everyone gets up at the same time. The price-to-noise ratio is slightly worse than manual grinders; however, if you factor in the convenience, they’re practically identical.
Other Considerations: Capacity, Settings and Functionality
Electric grinders tend to have a larger capacity than manual grinders. Although this isn’t a big issue if you’re making coffee for two, it may become tedious to refill the bean hopper multiple times to make a large batch of grounds.
While a single button operated grinder sounds great, it’s not. Especially if you brew coffee using different methods. Imagine it like a blender — you have to keep an eye on what’s inside to know if the grind size is right. It becomes a game of tweaking and adjusting. Both electric and manual burr grinders have adjustable settings — electric grinders have knobs or selector switches, and manual grinders have a washer or knob that goes from coarse to super-fine.
Another consideration for grind size is how fine you need your grounds. Not every grinder can make espresso-ready grounds. Read the reviews carefully to see if there are complaints of less-than-super-fine grounds.
The 7 Best Quiet Burr Coffee Grinders - Our Pick
There are tons of grinders on the market. We chose the ones that were the quietest and had the best reviews.
KRUPS Silent Vortex Electric Grinder
- Coffee capacity: 3 oz
- # of grind settings: N/A
- Dimensions: 4.02” x 4.33” x 8.46”
We know what you’re thinking — all this talk about burr grinders being the best and your top pick is a blade grinder.
Yes, technically, this is a blade grinder, but it’s the quietest electric grinder we could find. KRUPS is a world-renowned German brand that is no stranger to developing new technologies to enhance people’s lives. They created the “Silent Vortex” technology, which forms a vortex of coffee beans that cycle up and down, round and round, to grind coffee uniformly.
This grinder can turn 12 cups worth of coffee beans into ground coffee in 15 seconds. But if you’d rather get a burr grinder, you can pick up the KRUPS to grind spices or herbs — it’s easy to use and has only one button. It has a removable hopper that is also dishwasher safe, so cleaning this grinder is easier than cleaning a burr grinder.
Breville BCG820BSSXL The Smart Grinder Pro
- Coffee capacity: 18 oz
- # of grind settings: 60
- Dimensions: 6.0” x 8.5” x 15.5”
While it can’t be said that this is the most quiet burr coffee grinder, it makes up for the noise big time with its versatility, design and exceptional grind consistency.
A word about the design — beautiful. This grinder is incredibly stylish and sleek, comes in different color options including brushed stainless steel, cranberry red and sesame black.
Waking up in the morning and cranking a manual grinder before you get the day started isn’t for everyone. But waking up to this machine on your counter is bliss. It has 60! grind settings from coarse to ultra-fine. This Breville burr grinder has a bright, beautiful digital display that won’t have you squinting to see it.
Capresso 560.01 Infinity Coffee Grinder
- Coffee capacity: 8.8 oz
- # of grind settings: 16
- Dimensions: 5.0” x 7.75” x 10.5”
The Capresso Infinity isn’t the best-looking model on our list, but it’s a functional appliance. It has conical burrs that grind coffee as fine or coarse as you need. The precision motor wastes no energy, so it’s quiet while delivering big on quality.
It has 16 adjustable grind settings suitable for everything from cold brew to espresso. The Capresso comes in two different colors: stainless steel finish and black, and gives you excellent grind for your buck while preserving the peace and quiet of a weekday or weekend morning.
Capresso designed this grinder for pure functionality and the ideal way to enjoy aromatic coffee without breaking your bank. Coming in at under $100, this quiet yet powerful grinder would make a great addition to any household.
Baratza Virtuoso Coffee Grinder
- Coffee capacity: 8 oz
- # of grind settings: 40
- Dimensions: 4.7” x 6.3” x 13.7”
With a similar design to our #3 choice, the Baratza has several distinct advantages. The Baratza uses commercial-grade, replaceable burrs made in Liechtenstein, which guarantee a uniform grind no matter how you brew your coffee.
It has 40 grind settings, so you can tweak the grind to get the most flavor out of your beans. Since coffee beans aren’t all equal, the grind time will depend on many factors like the type of bean, the roast and how you like your coffee.
Baratza prides itself on the quality of the motors they use. The unique motor spins at the perfect RPM and grinds without a hitch. This is a quiet coffee burr grinder worth the extra money. It’s fairly expensive at $250, but what you get in return is priceless — perfectly ground coffee every time.
KitchenAid Contour Burr Coffee Grinder
- Coffee capacity: 7 oz
- # of grind settings: 15
- Dimensions: 5.9” x 9.8” x 10”
At first glance, this may not even look like a coffee grinder. It’s so stylish and different-looking from the others on this list, that if you didn’t know what it was, you’d think it was a food processor.
The KitchenAid Grinder ships with a die-cast metal body, comes in three different colors (contour silver, empire red and onyx black), and has a large grind selector wheel. We like that no expense was spared to make the materials of the highest quality. The coffee hopper and coffee ground jar are made of glass and hold up to 7 oz of coffee.
This is a good quiet burr coffee grinder that works on low RPMs for ultra-quiet operation that won’t wake anyone up. The machine is easy to disassemble and clean — a big plus if you plan on processing lots of coffee. KitchenAid includes a coffee scoop and convenient cleaning brush with this $250 burr grinder.
Hario Ceramic Canister Coffee Mill
- Coffee capacity: 4 oz
- # of grind settings: N/A
- Dimensions: 4.13” x 8.18” x 8.46”
- Our #6 and #7 picks are manual grinders
We placed the Hario above the Khaw-Fee because it’s breathtakingly beautiful, and steampunk-esque.
Japanese coffee culture has been around since the 1600s, and the Japanese have perfected several coffee brewing methods. Hario is a big name in specialty coffee circles because they make some of the most high-quality products available. This manual grinder is no exception.
The Hario Canister Coffee mill has ceramic burrs, ensuring you get a consistent grind and every cup of coffee is predictably irresistible. But you’ll have to tweak and adjust to get the grind just right. Manual grinders don’t come with presets.
Khaw-Fee HG1B quiet manual Grinder
- Coffee capacity: 3 oz
- # of grind settings: N/A
- Dimensions: 4.7” x 4.7” x 9.1”
This manual grinder has a special place in our hearts. Not only does it match the Hario in quality of materials, it has something the others don’t — a lifetime guarantee. A lifetime guarantee that you’ll have fresh coffee at an unbeatable <$50 price tag. Amazing.
The Khaw-Fee grinder could outperform any electric device if you look at it from a long-term perspective if you don’t mind some physical work. It’s extremely quiet and can be stored in a cupboard without taking up much room.
This grinder is easily adjustable and you can chew up coffee beans fairly quickly if you have decent upper body strength. Since it doesn’t require electricity, it’s perfect for people on-the-go, travel, camping, or any other situation where you need to run and grind.
Why You Should Buy a Burr Grinder
Burr grinders are considered to be far superior to blade grinders. You can see this by what sells — burr grinders top the bestseller’s lists for a reason. They provide a consistent grind without heating the beans (like blade grinders do).
Depending on the brewing method, you’ll want a different grind size. As most burr grinders allow you to make adjustments, you can be sure that no matter which brewing method you use (or decide to use in the future), your grinder can get the grind right.
Advantages of burr grinders:
- Coffee ground in a burr grinder is predictable — you know what you’re going to get.
- Burr grinders produce a uniform grind, which is important for extracting the most flavor from your coffee.
- If you’re buying a specialty coffee or single-source coffee, not using a burr grinder is a waste because you won’t get your money’s worth.
- Burrs, unlike blades, will never get dull and are more durable.
- The best quiet coffee bean grinders are burr grinders.
How to Take Care of Your Grinder
People often overlook cleaning their burr grinders. In our opinion, this is a big mistake because if you use your grinder daily, it accumulates oils on the burrs over time. These oils can cause the grinder to start smelling stale and may affect the flavor of your coffee. Also, bits of coffee left in the burrs could cause the motor to break or malfunction.
Here are some tips for cleaning your grinder:
- For all types of grinders: Brush away any remaining coffee debris from the burrs after every use.
- For electric burr grinders: If the grinder is easy to take apart, remove the burr and clean it with soapy water using a Q-tip, toothbrush or cloth. On the other hand, if your grinder is difficult to take apart, or feel that the manual cleaning didn’t do the job, there are special cleaning tablets, like Grindz.
- For manual burr grinders: Some grinders specifically state manual washing only. Use soapy water, and make sure to clean every nook and cranny.
Important note: Your grinder may be marketed as a spice grinder in addition to being a coffee grinder (Careful: not all grinders are intended to be used for spices + coffee). In any case, we don’t recommend grinding spices in the same grinder you use for coffee beans. The best thing to do would be to get separate grinders because you’d have to clean out the oils after every use so that you don’t cross-contaminate with smells and oils.
Final Thoughts
Buying a grinder can seem like a daunting task, especially because it seems like a simple tool. Burr grinders are generally superior and manual burr grinders are the quietest. However, with every passing year, we see new technologies emerging that show us there’s a lot of hope for electric grinders.
We chose the KRUPS quiet electric coffee bean grinder as our top pick because it has a superb price-to-noise ratio, and it’s easy to use. Manufacturers don’t state how loud their grinders are, but it would be awesome to see an unbiased comparison that measures the decibels for each one. Perhaps we’ll see this in the near future. Fingers crossed!
No matter which grinder you choose, you’ve taken the first step in upping your coffee game. Grind on and brew strong!
FAQ
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Are burr grinders really better?
Almost all barista and coffee professionals recommend burr grinders due to the consistency of the grind they provide. -
Quiet coffee grinders: do they exist?
Yes! The quietest are manual grinders, but some electric models use special technologies for quiet operation. -
How to wash a manual coffee grinder?
The easiest way to clean a manual coffee grinder is to use mild soap and water. The only parts you need to clean are the burrs.
Renat Mamatkazin
Founder and owner of Lion Coffee and 3ChampsRoastery, 1st place winner of Ukrainian Barista Championship 2017. Interested in travelling, football and Formula-1 (besides coffee, of course).