"I don't really like coffee, she said, but I don't really like it when
my head hits my desk when I fall asleep, either."  -- Brian Andreas

Collectors of antique coffee grinders are a serious and dedicated
group known to travel far and wide in search of an acquisition.

It's easy to take our morning 'cup of joe' for granted, a daily addiction

that jump starts our day in a delicious and comforting way.

But the history of coffee is fascinating.  Traced back to Ethiopia in the

10th Century, coffee beans were a valuable commodity throughout the

Middle East by the 1400's.  It wasn't long until the demand for coffee

had spread throughout Europe and was one of the most desirable

imports in the early American colonies.  To have a grinder in your

home was a symbol of status and wealth.

Until the mid 1900's coffee beans were purchased in 50 pound

burlap sacks.  When you wanted to make a pot of coffee you

had to grind the appropriate amount of beans.

These first four grinders are dated to the early 1700's.

Source

Created from walnut, this French grinder
dates to the early 1800's.


Source
"I'd rather take coffee than compliments just now."
-- Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

This American made coffee grinder was
more about function than form.

Source

A commercial antique coffee grinder before and after restoration:

If coffee drinkers didn't have their own grinders they would buy ground
coffee from general stores and grocers or simply boil the coffee beans whole.

Link

For dedicated coffee drinkers there is hardly a more
interesting collection than antique grinders.


"It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical
need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some
kind of recreational activity." -- Dave Berry

I agree.