Cold brew grinding

[forgop]

I have the Toddy cold brew system and really enjoy iced coffee in addition to the coffee out of my french press.  Prior to roasting my own coffee, I bought Starbucks whole bean from Sams Club and used their Grindmaster grinder on the coarsest grind setting and it worked great for cold brewing and french press coffee. 

I purchased a Breville Smart Grinder BCG800XL and it does fine for the french press on the coarsest setting, but there are still too many grounds that come out a bit too fine to keep from clogging the filter when it's time to drain.  I know the heavy duty commercial Grindmaster will work great for this, but I'm a bit reluctant to spend ~ $300-400 for a used grinder and one of that size just for cold brewing. 

Does anyone have a grinder they can recommend? 

Thanks. 

[peter]

What's the filter in your Toddy?  If you're using the paper filters that come w/ it, you won't have a problem w/ the fines in the coffee like you would with the metal screen in a press pot.

[forgop]

Here's a link to them on amazon-definitely not paper.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0006G9BIK

[peter]

Here's a link to them on amazon-definitely not paper.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0006G9BIK

Definitely not the metal screen of a press pot either.

Buy 'em.  If you get fines through those filters, I'll pay for them.

In my Toddy, I use a circle I cut from rasqual's poly-felt.  Based on looks and reviews the Toddy filters are similar.

[forgop]

Maybe I wasn't clear, but the issue with the finer grounds out of my current grind is the fact that they clump at the filter and stop passage of the coffee through the filter, not the grinds getting in the coffee itself. The coarse grind setting still seems to have a lot of variability in the size produced.

[peter]

Ahah!

This will sound counterintuitive, but try a finer grind, like a medium.  Some grinders produce more fines, the coarser you go.  I wonder if there's a way to test the Breville at a medium grind to see how the fines are.  You might also try sifting the coffee before putting it in the Toddy, letting most of the fines drop out.

Or...  you might take a lb. of you coffee to Sam's and using their grinder.   

[BozemanEric]

Or...  you might take a lb. of you coffee to Sam's and using their grinder.   

I just dropped off a couple pounds today for the guys that do my cabinets. I know one of the guys plan was to take it to the grocery store to grind it.

[EricBNC]

FYI, if you have an Ollie's (discounter, liquidator like Big Lots) in your area and want a Toddy then take a look there first - saw a large unit (in the retail box - not used) for under $11 before tax...

[forgop]

Ahah!

This will sound counterintuitive, but try a finer grind, like a medium.  Some grinders produce more fines, the coarser you go.  I wonder if there's a way to test the Breville at a medium grind to see how the fines are.  You might also try sifting the coffee before putting it in the Toddy, letting most of the fines drop out.

Or...  you might take a lb. of you coffee to Sam's and using their grinder.   

I'll give it a shot trying to change the grind setting a bit and see how that works.  I've also looked into the Hario Mizduashi cold brew system and it uses a very fine steel strainer system and not the thick "cottony" type of filter. 

Half the reason I got into the home roasting was that the local Sams Club had its grinder down for so long that we couldn't grind there.  I just don't feel comfortable taking in beans to be ground when I don't have a receipt to go with it.  I guess I could "cheat" a bit and buy a bag of unground beans and carry the receipt back and forth to say that I was unable to grind the time before then, but maybe after a year, they might question it, huh?   

[ecc]

Maybe buy a Baratza, or super nice hand grinder?   I would be afraid of putting my beans in a store grinder, what if the person before you just ground up 5lb of cookies 'n creme flavored robusta ?

[BozemanEric]

There are risks when using others equipment.  I will always advise to buy a new grinder but then again I am the guy with five of them, and still shopping.