I bought some rye kernels at Whole Foods Market on the cheap the other day.

I just did a test, to help me determine whether or not I wanted to invest $500 in a Komo Classic grain mill.

I threw a handful of whole rye kernels in my spice/coffee grinder (was cleaned thoroughly before grinding).   Ground them up into a powder similar to the consistency of Hodgson Mill Rye Flour (which should be actually called Hodgson Mills Rye Meal because it is pretty coarse).

I compared these two.  The freshly home ground one wins hands down:

1. Much more flavorful, nutty, aromatic etc.: that is, all that characteristic flavor of Rye one tastes is about 3 times stronger in freshly milled vs. the 5lb bag of Hodgson Mill Rye. (Have you ever eaten freshly cut chives vs supermarket chives, or freshly cut cilantro--coriander leaves--versus storebought?  Same thing.)

2. After a second or two of blandness, the Hodgson Rye flour left a bitter taste in my mouth which the freshly ground flour did NOT.  (Much like ground coffee is bitter versus freshly ground coffee beans.)

I will be purchasing that Komo, for sure now.

If you haven't done it already, it's really easy to do this test: just buy a handful of whole kernels--wheat, rye, spelt, etc.--from Whole Foods Market, your health store, or whatever market you can buy them in your city; then throw them in your spice/coffee grinder and compare.

If you've already done the comparison, please reply with your comments, thanks!

EDIT: Also, I've read that all the nutrients are protected inside the intact hull until milled--after that they deplete quickly; I don't know how true this is, but it seems like a very good added bonus.