6 Best Quiet Coffee Grinders: Prepare your cuppa without the noise!
For many early birds who like to catch the worm, coffee is a necessary part of starting their day off right but coffee grinders aren’t exactly the most silent appliances in the kitchen.
They can often be as noisy as blenders so for those looking to brew a cup of joe without disturbing anyone else in their household, a quiet model is a lifesaver.
In this guide, you’ll find a comprehensive list of the best quiet burr coffee grinders currently available on the market for a range of budgets.
These aren’t your grandfather’s coffee grinders, either, with modern versions engineered to produce fewer sounds that ever before.
Not only do these appliances work well at providing a consistent coffee grind, but they’re also barely audibly perceptible, making them perfect for morning routines without a bunch of fuss.
Among avid coffee-lovers, it’s a well-known fact that freshly ground beans provide the best-tasting coffee since freshness plays a huge part in enhancing flavor and aroma.
By using any of the grinders on this list, early risers will no longer have to worry about bothering any slumbering night owls nor about sacrificing quality coffee.
Find the perfect quiet coffee grinders below and prepare to get lost in the aromatic fragrance of freshly-poured coffee without an ounce of guilt in the mornings.
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Related: Best Quiet Blenders
Contents: Skip to section
At a Glance: My Top Choice
In a hurry? My choice for the Best Quiet Coffee Grinder is:
Click through to read the product details and reviews on Amazon!
- Runner Up: Breville Smart Grinder
- Budget Friendly Choice: Bodum Bistro
Why you should get a quiet coffee grinder and how you can benefit
Quiet coffee grinders are beneficial to a bevy of people, from coffee connoisseurs to non-drinkers alike due to their lack of noise production.
Coffee is one of the most popular beverages on the planet, with over 400 billion cups drunk worldwide per year and the USA accounting for at least 450 million cups alone.
This means it’s typical to find homes or offices in any nation where coffee machines are present.
Real coffee lovers tend not to buy pre-ground coffee beans as they lose much of their aroma when packaged that way.
Using freshly ground coffee beans is therefore usually the preferred way to brew a hot cup of the rich, dark liquid.
This method allows coffee beans to retain both their freshness and complexity with every delightful sip.
Sure, pre-ground coffee beans save a lot of time in the morning but if you want the ultimate coffee-drinking experience, you may want to invest in a handy, quiet coffee grinder to really help jumpstart your day.
If not, you might find yourself gagging over the taste of mediocrity morning after morning, asking yourself why you bother drinking the stuff when it’s not the best coffee you could’ve made by far. What’s the point if you don’t relish it?
For those who consider coffee-brewing to be a treasure and not a chore, a quiet grinder will help you get the best quality coffee by allowing you to use fresh bean powder.
Even low-quality beans offer better pungency when compared to pre-ground ones, allowing even amateur baristas to savor richer coffee.
As quiet grinders generate less sound than other competitors on the market, they also fit right in with professional environments, meaning you won’t irritate your coworkers whenever you take a much-needed coffee break.
They’ll be sure to thank you for the peace and quiet.
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Key Feature 1: A Manual Handheld Coffee Grinder
While there are many types of coffee grinders, handheld ones where the coffee beans must be ground manually are unquestionably the quietest coffee grinder type on the market and the smallest.
These tend to require a bit of elbow grease so potential users will have to decide between the inconvenience of non-electric grinders and the noise level of those that are powered by electricity.
To be fair, though these types of grinders do entail a bit more work, they will offer you the best powder quality to noise to portability to price ratio.
This is because manual grinders provide smoother, more uniform ground bean powder than even some motorized models and aren’t nearly as noisy or as bulky.
Manual grinders are also much more affordable than their high-tech brethren, which has helped to make them popular across the globe from South America to Europe where cafe culture is rampant.
Most handheld coffee grinders are also burr grinders, which use plates to grind coffee beans into a fine dust.
The closer together the burrs, the finer the result so aim for handheld coffee grinders that are installed with stainless steel burrs or even ceramic burrs to better pulverize coffee beans into powder.
Stainless steels burrs are generally sharper in the beginning, but ceramic burrs aren’t as susceptible to wear and tear with time, aiding them to preserve their initial sharpness without ever dulling.
These models usually provide a coarser grind of coffee powder, ideal for drip-brewing, and high-quality grinders are usually constructed with wood or glass, making them prone to breaking if ever dropped.
For those with butterfingers, there are also handheld grinders that are made of more durable materials, which would also allow the non-electric appliances to be used for a range of rugged activities like camping trips to the mountains.
Feel free to grind away to the sounds of nature of dawn at your leisure.
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Key Feature 2: High-Quality Electric Burr Grinder
Many people might be put off by the idea of having to hand-mill their coffee beans day in and day out as the activity can be tiresome for some.
If you’re one of those people worried about the added inconvenience, then an electric burr grinder is sure to do the trick.
These use internal motors to move plates that sequentially grind coffee beans into a fine powder, resulting in more uniform flavoring between cups.
There are at least two different types of electric burr grinders to choose from, such as conical burr grinders and wheel burr grinders. Each of these has some benefits over the other.
Conical burr grinders utilize cone-shaped discs to crush coffee beans whereas wheel burr grinders use flat plates. This shape difference makes conical burr grinders work slower than their competitors but with that lag also comes less noise production and better powder quality.
Slower grinding allows such appliances to completely crumple coffee beans thus releasing even richer aromatics.
Consequently, conical burr grinders are highly revered amongst true coffee connoisseurs but are likely to be accompanied by a hefty price tag since they’re some of the most expensive kitchen gadgets available.
Both conical and wheel burr grinders more than make up for this cost by having a slew of features, typically including adjustable coffee grind coarseness settings.
Alternatively, there are also blade grinders, which are simultaneously more expensive than manual burr grinders and less pricey than the electric ones.
These tend to be some of the loudest grinders on the market, however, and also come with a ton of drawbacks.
Unlike a burr grinder, a blade grinder doesn’t permit brewers to adjust its coarseness setting. Neither does it uses burrs to finely crush coffee beans, but instead it uses a flat, spinning blade to chop them.
This often results in uneven coffee bean fragments, no matter how long users run the machine, and ends with subpar ground coffee.
It’s best to stay away from blade grinders unless you plan only to drip-brew using paper filters and earplugs.
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Key Feature 3: Ease of Use
Whether you pick an electric wheel burr grinder or an electric conical burr grinder, you’ll want to make sure it has user-friendly controls like various speeds and settings.
The best coffee grinders should offer a broad selection since each type of coffee bean has its own protocol for optimal brewing.
You’ll probably also want a grinder that’s easy to take apart, clean and put back together.
The last thing you need to do every morning is to struggle with its maintenance before even the crack of dawn so keep an eye out for ones that won’t unnecessarily add time to your morning routine.
If a grinder won’t disassemble and reassemble by the time your coffee is done brewing, it’d be wise to skip it.
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Recommended Gear: Features and specs for each model
1. Baratza Virtuoso+ Conical Burr Coffee Grinder
This first quiet coffee bean grinder easily makes the top of every best quiet grinder list.
It’s a higher quality, commercial-grade electric grinder that more than compensates for its steep price with all the features it offers.
It uses forty-millimeter, stainless steel conical burrs, which quietly grind in a variety of ranges from coarser grinds for French Press coffee to very fine grinds for espressos.
The built-in DC motor helps provide a consistent grind every time and doesn’t generate any heat that can affect the coffee flavor, meaning coffee grinds will stay cool no matter how long they’re ground.
The Virtuoso’s sleek appearance is also sure to let it blend into any environment from home to the office without a problem and all the parts were manufactured in Europe.
- What I Like
- 60-second timer
- 40 different grind settings
- Easy to use
- Compact size
- Motor can reach 450 RPM
- DC motor is more durable than AC motors
- Professional appearance
- What I Don’t Like
- Difficult to clean
- A bit bulky at nearly 8 lbs
- Priced on the high side
2. Hario Skerton Ceramic Coffee Mill
This lightweight, handheld grinder is the perfect option for people looking for the ideal blend of portability and quietness.
The Skerton uses ceramic burrs and is built of durable plastic and hardware glass. As a manual grinder, it allows you to ultimately control the fineness of grind so you can make the coffee powder as coarse or fine as you like.
The Skerton’s small size also makes it perfect for kitchen counters with limited space, for office break rooms as well as camping trips since it doesn’t need an electrical outlet.
It has a convenient handle right on top and since the grinder lacks a motor, you don’t have to worry about it generating heat and ruining the taste of the coffee.
This is one of the most economic options around so don’t sleep on a great appliance that is sure not to wake up any of your housemates in the future.
- What I Like
- Extremely quiet
- Portable
- Affordable
- Doesn’t require electricity
- Easy to clean
- Dishwasher-safe
- What I Don’t Like
- A bit difficult to grind
- Glass casing is fragile
3. Capresso 560.01 Infinity Conical Burr Grinder
This electric grinder is the ideal choice for those who need more than one cup of joe in the morning to really start the day.
It holds up 8.8 ounces of coffee beans at a time and produces four ounces of coffee, meaning you can easily brew enough espressos for all in your household or office to share.
The Capresso uses commercial-grade steel conical burrs and is designed to prevent heat generation while grinding to better preserve the coffee’s taste quality.
It’s made of sturdy plastic and is manufactured in Europe in three colors like stainless steel, brushed silver and black.
It also has several grind settings from Turkish extra fine to coarse, a timer for more automatic operation and a sleek appearance that would fit into any office environment.
- What I Like
- 8.8-oz coffee bean capacity
- 16 different grinder settings
- 5- to 60-second timer
- 100 W gear-reduction motor reduces noise
- Easy to clean with included brush
- Available in 3 colors
- Professional appearance and durable design
- Comes with 1-year warranty
- What I Don’t Like
- Grinder settings can be confusing to figure out at first
- Extremely fine or coarser grinds have more inconsistencies
- Removable burrs can be difficult to reset
- A bit bulky at nearly 8 lbs
4. Bodum Bistro Electric Burr Coffee Grinder
This electric grinder is one of the easiest to use on the market and comes with some great amenities.
It has a static-free borosilicate glass hopper that transfers coffee beans through its conical stainless steel burrs into a catcher also made from borosilicate glass.
The conical burrs help provide a consistent grind and have highly adjustable settings to produce everything from espresso to French press grinds.
It has an automatic timer and is offered in a wider range of colors than any other coffee grinder on this list, including neutral tones like black and white, or more eccentric choices such as red, shiny copper and die-cast copper.
No matter which color you choose, the Bistro’s compact size makes it perfect for any countertop.
- What I Like
- 7.75-oz coffee bean capacity
- 12 different grinder settings
- Available in 5 colors
- Comes with 2-year warranty
- Dishwasher-safe glass catcher and hopper
- Highly portable
- What I Don’t Like
- Small coffee production capacity
- Requires frequent cleaning for optimal maintenance
- Maximum timer of 30 seconds
5. Breville Smart Coffee Bean Grinder
This electric grinder also functions as a smart device and comes with a plethora of features and programmable settings for a more customizable coffee-brewing experience.
Its design can even be considered futuristic when compared to its competitors as the grinder is constructed of stainless steel.
It additionally sports an easy-to-use LCD display that allows coffee-drinkers to adjust settings such as grind time or ‘cup’ categories from French Press, filter drip, percolator and espresso shots.
This grinder has stainless steel conical burrs, provides more grinder settings than another mentioned on this list, and its configuration allows the coffee beans to be directly ground into an airtight container to maintain optimal freshness.
The Breville is sold in three different colors like sesame black, cranberry red and brushed stainless steel, and its cutting edge appearance would blend freely into spaceships, homes and offices alike.
- What I Like
- 18-oz coffee bean capacity
- 60 different grinder settings
- Easy-to-use controls on LED interface
- Available in 3 colors
- Powerful 165 W motor
- Highly durable build
- Timer adjustable in 0.2-second increments
- High-tech appearance
- Comes with 1-year warranty
- What I Don’t Like
- Bean oil residue can be difficult to clean
- Coarser grinds have more inconsistencies
- A bit bulky at nearly 7 pounds
6. Rancilio Rocky Espresso Coffee Grinder
This last electric grinder is certainly not the least, constructed with fifty-millimeter commercial-grade burrs that grind directly into a portafilter for the easiest operation.
The direct-drive motor is also tested by its manufacturer before being put on the market to ensure ultimate quality control.
The appliance offers various grinding presets down to espresso and can process up to eight pounds of coffee beans per hour.
Its streamlined black design might be simple but it’s constructed from high-quality materials and its inconspicuous appearance lets it blend into any scenery.
- What I Like
- 11-oz coffee bean capacity
- Multiple pre-programmed settings
- Powerful 166 W direct-drive motor
- Motor can reach 1725 RPM
- Highly durable build
- Easy to clean with included brush
- Factory-tested
- What I Don’t Like
- A bit pricey
- Heavy at nearly 16 lbs
Customer Impressions
Most customers would readily agree that the Hario Skerton Ceramic Coffee Mill is one of one the best, if not the best, non-electric burr grinder on the market. It’s the most portable grinder on this list and doesn’t use electricity, which means you can take it virtually anyway from the office to the mountaintops. It’s also the quietest burr coffee grinder mentioned here and undoubtedly the most affordable. Some users did lament its glass casing, however, stating that one wrong move could result in shattering the appliance so clumsy people beware.
Coffee aficionados who don’t want to wrestle with their grinders every morning to make a cup of hot joe should stick to the electric version and each one covered on this list has its advantages and disadvantages.
The Breville Smart Grinder holds the most coffee beans, letting users brew more than one cup at a time, and its high-tech LCD interface comes with more settings than its competitors. The appliance might feel too advanced for some so those who want a more streamlined design should look no further than the Baratza Virtuoso Grinder, which has nearly as many grinder settings without the complicated setup. Still, both appliances have been criticized for their bulkiness, although they come highly reviewed for their other features, and some users agree that their price points can be quite higher than feasibly comfortable.
Additionally, the Rancilio Rocky Espresso Grinder and the Capresso Infinity Grinder have similar received criticism for their heavier compositions, though the Rancilio is widely respected for its high build quality. The Capresso, on the other hand, while praised for its quietness and adjustable timer function, has received comments from users confirming that the controls can be difficult to intuit.
In comparison, Bodum Bistro Grinder has gotten lots of positive feedback for its ease of use and the versatile range of colors it’s sold in. It did draw criticism, however, for its small coffee retention size as well as limited timer function when lined up with its competitors.
These are some of the critically-acclaimed quiet coffee grinders on the market, meaning that they’re not exactly the cheapest either, but come with their own benefits to balance out the resulting hole in your pocketbook. Which ones are the best depends entirely on you.
Best Quiet Coffee Grinders: Conclusion
There is no shortage of great quiet grinders currently available to the public but there are some differences between them.
Some are electric whereas others are manually-powered and some use wheel burrs while others use conical burrs.
These burrs are usually ceramic in most modern models but it’s not uncommon to find stainless steel burrs, either.
Regardless of which type you choose, some key features to look out for in any coffee grinder are:
- Ceramic or stainless steel burrs
- A variety of grind settings
- High durability
- Adjustable timer function
- Easy maintenance
You won’t have to worry about grinding on people’s gears anymore with one of these quiet coffee grinders.
Even if you get a manual version, consider it now part of your early morning workout.
Your biceps will be as pumped as your energy levels in practically no time.
Check out your favorite Quiet Coffee Grinder below and Happy brewing!
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I personally own the Skerton, which is great as I prefer to bring my own coffee to work. It’s small and lightweight and fits into my bag easily.
Hi Liz, I agree, hardly any better alternative out there!