I’ve made no attempt to hide my love of bladed grinders. I know as a person reviewing coffee grinders I really should love burr grinders, but I am a fan of multi function gadgets, and let’s be honest here, burr grinders are only for coffee. The Secura Electric is a sleek looking build, ultra modern and suited to any kitchen. Needless to say I was excited to try it out.

Electric grinders are much easier on the old elbows than manual grinders. Many of them come with auto time options, but the bladed builds are usually “Hold the button for a length of time” affairs. Not a terrible thing, by any stretch, but when you are looking for a lot of grind, as fine as you can get it, it does get a little mind numbingly time consuming.

As is always the case, we have the disclaimer here. I do not drink coffee. I make it, and have someone else tell me how it tastes. I never developed a taste for the stuff, though I did work for a number of years behind the counter in a local coffee shop. In an attempt to not make bad coffee I bough myself a little stove top machine, and practiced the drinks at home, my partner was overjoyed at this. She is the one who drinks, and this series of reviews has me in the kitchen brewing up a storm.

This is a bladed build, and that means I get to break out the spices again. Bought myself some cheap steak cuts, not good enough, or flavorful enough, to be cooked as is, and will be trying out a north african strip steak spice mix, using this cool little Secura.

As for the coffee, with the bladed grinders I have to grind to a a time, as opposed to a direct coarseness level. I go for four different times. 10 second grind, a coarse grind for my new french press, 20 second grind, a medium grind for both the pres and the moka pot, and a 30 second grind for the moka pot. The final grind time is a “whenever my arm gets tiered” grind, also for the moka pot.

So let’s see how this build looks, then we can get to the grind itself.

Secura Electric Coffee And Spice Grinder Design and Build Quality

This is another beautiful looking build. While the burr grinders are the better products overall, the bladed builds all look much better sitting in the kitchen. Look at this thing, clean cylindrical stainless steel. Nicely weighted too, which is a must for any grinder you have to hold the button in for. If you are going for a silver kitchen, this is what you need in the grinder department.

Using the grinder could not be easier. Just pour in the beans, close it over, and hold the button in until you’re done. Unlike the burr grinders there is no complications, no settings to get to grips with, just pure simplicity.

So let’s talk about why burr grinders are technically the better items. The market is dominated right now y two core types of coffee grinder. The bladed grinder and the burr grinder. Bladed grinders are fairly self explanatory, a stainless steel blade within the grinder spins like all hell, chopping and grinding the contents. Burr grinders mill the contents into a uniform size and collects them below. The uniformity of the grind is important when making coffee. Coffee grinds, when brewed, release their flavor and chemicals at a rate related to their size. If the grain is uneven then you get different particles releasing at different times, thus leading to an over brewed or under brewed coffee. With an over brewed coffee you get that unpalatable bitterness, while an under brewed coffee tends to be weak, not the full bodied beverage you are looking for.

With a bladed grinder you will not get a coarse uniform grind, so their french press grinds tend to be a little bad, but I have found that their fine grain is fairly uniform, and pretty good for the moka pot or espresso machine. The reason I prefer the bladed grinder is their versatility, and the fact that I make only moka pot coffee for my partner.

The Secura grinder has impressed me, a combination of excellent design work, and a powerful motor, puts this in the running for the best bladed build from the get go. Let’s get to the actual coffee here, can’t crown it until we get a good brew.

Secura Electric Coffee And Spice Grinder Testing

The most important question, how does the coffee taste? Short answer, depends on the method. I few weeks ago I expanded my brewing methods to include a french press, I felt I was not giving the coarse grind its due…course. I have been making coffee for a long time, but it has mainly been espresso and their derivatives. I have been reviewing grinders with a moka pot, almost exclusively, and we all know that a fine grind is required for the best results there. The addition of a french press I feel shores up the deficiencies I might have had in my previous reviews.

So, a moka pot. Have you ever used one? They are great, an excellent low cost alternative to buying a full on steam powered espresso machine. Real ones cost a couple of hundred dollars, do not be fooled by the cheaper ones, even if they look good their pressure is too low to be considered an espresso. Hell, the cheaper espresso machine have around the same steam pressure as a moka pot anyway. The best thing about moka coffee is the crema layer, an extra flavor, mouth feel and aesthetic aspect unique to the moka pot and the espresso. The French press by comparison uses very coarse grains, and during the steep creates a very strong cup of coffee, excellent for when you just wake up.

Now we get to the taste test. I ground up the beans as I made the coffee, rather than grinding them all first. Only grind the beans when you are about to brew the coffee. I cannot stress this enough. It is more important than uniformity in my opinion. Coffee loses its flavor very quickly when ground. The Secura holds about enough for a twelve cup french press, so bear that in mind before you start brewing.

So the first brew I made was the coarse brew, with the french press. The grains were far from uniform, a ten second blitz left me with randomly sized chunks of coffee, and after brewing it for the allotted time I was informed that the coffee was bitter as all hell. Hardly a palatable drink, and something one would only drink in desperation. The same was said for the medium grind when I made that a few hours later. I cannot pretend I didn’t see this coming, I have been stressing the problems with bladed grinders from the start. Where they shine is in the fine grind. The moka pot coffee, a low calorie vanilla extract and stevia latte, came out wonderfully, both of them. Though the hold it until your arm hurts grind was the better of the two.

Cleaning out the grinder was a piece of cake;. The prerequisite parts come away quaickly and easily, and a combination of water and grinder soap left me with a pristine product, ready to grind something else. Well, nearly. Coffee is a pungent bean, and even a clean did not rid me of the smell. If you find yourself in this situation just grind up a slice of bread and clean it out. It will absorb the smells and let you grind something else. The cumin, cinnamon and almond rub I made for my beef came out lovely by the way.

Now we arrive at the price. Normally the Secura is a little on the expensive side, at $50, however you can click here to auto apply all the current discounts at Amazon.com and usually save some money. If you can get it under $30 it’s an absolutely amazing price and you should pull the trigger as it’s on my personal best bladed grinders list. I’ll see about writing up the list quite soon, but I have two more grinders to review first.

Secura Electric Coffee And Spice Grinder Conclusion

This could not have gone better really. I did not go in with high hopes, and if you use a french press, or have a coffee machine that requires a coarse grind you did not find a good product today. For the rest of us I think it is easy to see why I like the Secura Electric so much. An easy to use build, an amazing price, and best of all, a truly versatile product.

If you are in the market for a stylish grinder, that can do an extra fine grind and make a meal of your spice rubs, the Secura Electric might be exactly what you’re looking for.

To see all the available discounts for the Secura Electric Grinder Click Here.