Published on Mar. 10, 2025
"Coffee grinder" and "silent" don't usually appear in the same sentence, but the Krups coffee grinder was by far the quietest option we tested.
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When you’re looking for products, it’s easy to look past certain claims as good marketing. But we’re very happy to say that the Krups Silent Vortex coffee grinder absolutely lives up to its name. Of the best coffee grinders we tested, Krups earned the “best quiet grinder” accolade and joined the ranks of other high-quality options from Cuisinart, Breville and Fellow.
Just like the best coffee, a coffee grinder is an essential part of every home barista’s equipment line-up. Once you buy whole beans, it becomes nearly impossible to go back to ground coffee. Grinding beans fresh at home makes for a richer, less bitter, more aromatic drink. Good coffee grinders can run the gamut in terms of price and capability, and the Krups is a powerful, unfussy and relatively wallet-friendly option.
VIA MERCHANT
We liked that this Krups coffee grinder is as quiet as it is mess-free.
The Krups coffee grinder is a blade coffee grinder, meaning it uses a fast-spinning blade to turn whole beans into delicious, flavorful grounds. Generally, blade grinders are more affordable than burr coffee grinders, which use two spinning plates with teeth to grind the coffee. Many of our top-ranked coffee grinders are burr grinders, like the Barataza Encore, which was another team favorite. The Krups grinder is also a manual grinder, so you have to manually time how long you grind.
Noise is an inevitable part of coffee grinders—and if you have roommates or live with family, you know the challenges that can accompany needing to grind coffee before everyone else is awake. However, the Krups is truly quiet. While it peaked at a fairly high level, it immediately dropped to a level quieter than any of the other blade grinders we tested. Your roommates, spouse or kids are going to appreciate this addition to your kitchen.
This coffee grinder has two settings—high and low. To use, you select the setting and then simply push the button to grind. Easy-peasy!
At 9.5 inches tall, the Krups is a fairly compact machine that’s easy to move around your kitchen or store away as needed. However, it doesn’t warrant being tucked into a cabinet when not in use—it’s one of the nicer looking blade grinders we’ve used. It’s available in black or stainless steel for an unobtrusive appearance. It offers cord management (another brownie point, in our opinion) to keep your countertop uncluttered.
The Krups coffee grinder has a 3-ounce hopper capacity and makes enough grounds for up to 12 cups of coffee. You can buy several replacement parts, including the grinding lid, silent pad, storage lid and complete bowl. Bonus: While we tested this unit specifically for how it handled coffee beans, it can also grind herbs and spices.
There’s no better way to test out a coffee grinder than to make it do what it does best: grind whole coffee beans.
According to the manufacturer, it only takes 10 seconds for a coarseness ideal for a French press and 20 seconds for the ideal coarseness for a pour-over. If you’re not as familiar with the coarseness you need for your brewing machine, we put together a guide for how to grind coffee beans.
We ground 30 grams of whole beans for 30 seconds on the high setting to achieve what we felt was a medium coarseness. We manually recorded the time using a timer. After, we measured the coarseness of the beans; the majority of them fell within the medium realm, with the rest primarily coarse.
To see how well the ground beans performed, we brewed a cup of coffee. It was pretty average, although it did have a slightly bitter aftertaste. (If you’re more of an espresso than a drip coffee drinker, there are coffee grinders for espresso that will help achieve that very fine coarseness your espresso beans need for a flavorful shot.)
We were impressed by how clean the process was. If you’ve used a coffee grinder before, you know that dealing with loose grounds can be a hassle. But while there was some static and some grounds were stuck to the top of the Krups’ lid, they didn’t go flying everywhere when we opened it up. Since you can remove the top portion to dump out your grounds, it’s fairly mess-free. Some grounds did get stuck to the bottom, so we used a brush to get them all out.
The ability to remove the basket was a real highlight for us; that feature is fairly uncommon with blade grinders, and it provides an unexpected extra level of simplicity.
Early risers, this one’s for you! If you’re looking for a no-frills coffee grinder to use with your favorite drip machine, the Krups Silent Vortex is a solid option. It’s quiet, budget-friendly and easy to clean.
VIA MERCHANT
This simple blade grinder gets the job done at a fair price point. It's quiet, too!
The Krups coffee grinder is available at Amazon or Walmart for around $40.
To clean a Krups coffee grinder, you can twist and remove the blade chamber from the base. Both the chamber and the lid can be submerged in water or put into the dishwasher. Then, wipe the base with a damp cloth.
To use a Krups coffee grinder, fill it with as many coffee beans as you need—up to 12 cups worth. Choose one of the settings—either high or low—and then push a button to grind the beans. You’ll need to time how long you grind manually, but the manufacturer provides estimates, and there are plenty of online guides.
With proper care, an electric coffee grinder can last 5 to 10 years. This will depend on usage, maintenance and build quality.
Krups products are designed in Germany, but manufacturing takes place in various countries, including China and other locations.
Krups is known for affordable, user-friendly coffee appliances, while De’Longhi offers a wider range of premium espresso machines and grinders with more advanced features.
We take coffee seriously—seriously enough that our Product Testing team tested numerous coffee grinders and evaluated a wide selection of criteria. We measured the lengths of cords, recorded the decibel level of the coffee grinder during three different grinding sessions and evaluated its potential countertop footprint.
Knowing how many different ways there are to enjoy coffee, we ground the beans at the finest, medium and coarsest settings and then used a Kruve sifter to check what percentage of the grounds met that criteria. We also measured how long it took for the grinding sessions. But we doubt that you’re here to grind coffee beans for the fun of it.
To see how well they made a cup of coffee, we used the ground beans and the Hario pour-over, noting the bitterness, strength, flavor and more. Our top burr performers then moved on to be tested for how well their grounds contributed to an espresso shot.
Along with writing product reviews, I’ve written many gift guides, especially in the coffee and tea realm. My focus is on finding products that meet different price points, needs and lifestyles because I’m also a home coffee brewer, and I know how a good piece of coffee equipment can change your morning (and your day).
