I like coffee, but I don’t really know how it’s made. I used to drink instant coffee for the most of my life, because it’s the cheapest and most convenient option. In my hometown, cafes were rare and not that affordable, and old habits die hard, I guess. Nevertheless, I acquired a taste for good coffee when I moved to Moscow in 2013, and of course, there is no way back to instant coffee once you get used to the real one.

I’ve been drinking coffee in cafes since then, and I even got a French Press at home in order to make an extra cup or two without leaving my house. Getting a French Press forced me to learn about coffee beans, and the fact that they need to be roasted and ground in order to be brewed in a French Press. Luckily for me, a local Starbucks can always grind the beans on checkout, and a local Ikea store sells pretty decent ground beans in vacuum packs.

As my coffee obsession progressed, I noticed that not all beans are equal. Those little things can lose their taste and energizing properties real quick, especially if they were already ground. So, the key to making good coffee is to make sure your beans are as fresh as possible, and you should grind them right before you brew them.

So, you can’t avoid having a grinder if you want to make good coffee, and there are plenty of options to choose from. As a rule of thumb, anything worth $20 or more should be fine for a French Press, but your probably need to spend at least $200 if you want to be able to grind for espresso or Turkish coffee.

I want to try different styles of coffee, so I opted for the pricier option and ordered 1Zpresso K-Ultra. I’ve been using it for a few days and I really like the results. Truth to be told, I would probably be okay with a slightly cheaper grinder from any other brand, but I really like the design and ergonomics of K-Ultra: