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Welcome to
Tom's Grinder Lab (TGL)

Here’s what’s different about my reviews:

  • At time of writing, I’ve bought each grinder with my hard earned money. Just like you: no sponsors, no freebies, no patreon fund. In future, if I do get paid to review a grinder, I’ll let you know right at the start of my post.
  • I’ve used each grinder daily for three months before I write a review. You really don’t know what a lovely piece of kit is like to live with until the honeymoon period has worn off (yes, still talking grinders ). Again, if this changes I’ll let you know.
  • Much though I value their contributions, I’m not The Hoff or The Hed (hi James and Lance!) and your taste buds are probably more like mine than those of a World Barista Champion or a globally recognized coffee professional. You may not notice differences that The Hoff and The Hed can pick up, but if a coffee-neanderthal like me reports an improvement, then it’s likely that you’ll be able to appreciate that difference too.
  • In addition to two grinders, I use two identical espresso machines and V60 set ups. This allows me to grind and pour simultaneously and then blind taste test back-to-back immediately. This mitigates the impact of variables that can creep into play over time such as temperature changes and my memory playing tricks on me.
  • I taste the coffee that same way you drink it. The reason that professional testers allow the coffee to cool during cupping is that flavors are easier to detect when coffee has cooled. But that’s not how most of us drink our coffee. I record what I taste when the coffee is freshly poured because that’s how you experience it.
  • I report on the flavor, not on the number. There is a place for knowing Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) which is a metric that coffee refractometer will display. But having used refractometers I discovered that two burr sets can produce an identical TDS reading and yet the coffee can taste completely different. HOW much coffee was extracted from the bean may be the same, but WHAT was extracted can be entirely different. It’s “in the cup” that matters, not what’s on the display.

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