By 

A. C. DIAZ “radragon888″ (Los Angeles, CA USA) –

  

Grinds well.
Because it’s a manual burr grinder, you can easily set the size of your coffee grounds, from coarse to fine (though, I haven’t tried grinding it to fine since I use coarse grounds for my French press). The grounded coarse coffee were fairly even, too.

Good design.
The hopper where you drop in the coffee beans nicely feeds the beans (using gravity) into the grinding mechanism and from there into the glass jar. The hopper (with the grinding mechanism) can then be washed separately and the glass jar comes with a convenient lid for storing.

Good torque.
The grinding handle is easy to turn, albeit the area where you hold down the grinder to keep it steady is a bit too large for my small hands. Still, it’s not so tough to turn that you’re using too much effort in the morning, especially when you’re too sleepy! So, I wouldn’t count manually grinding coffee as a workout

Easy to clean.
The grinder disassembles easily which means you can really clean all parts in a few minutes and have a “fresh” and oil-free one the next day. I use a plain toothbrush to get the burr grinder squeaky clean. I suggest patting it dry and then letting the ceramic burr grinder air dry.

Nice compact product.
Unlike some electric grinders, this can be easily stowed away and used anywhere (i.e., camping). It came with the hopper with the grinding mechanism, the glass jar with removable outer rubber base, a measuring spoon (which is small enough that it can be stored inside the glass jar) and a plastic lid that screws unto the glass jar for storing your coffee grinds.

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 Comments (3)

I really like my new Kyocera hand grinder. I wanted to graduate up to a conical burr coffee grinder but was overwhelmed and confused by all of the mixed reviews for most of the electric models. They are also quite expensive, and since I am the only coffee drinker in the house, I couldn’t justify spending upwards of $100-$150 dollars (minimum) for just 2 or 3 cups a day. This hand grinder produces a very consistant grind, won’t clog like the electric types often do, and is quiet to use, unlike my electric blade grinder which sounds like a jet engine warming up. (That has since been retired to grinding only spices.) Adjusting the grind is easy but is also a little tricky at first and takes some trial and error to get the grind size you want, especially if it’s somewhere between very fine (espresso), and coarse (french press). It took me 2 attempts to get it right for my Chemex drip brewer. I put about half a teaspoon of beans into the hopper for a practice run. I love the aroma of the beans as they are being ground. Clean up is easy as well, the grinder assembly unscrews from the jar to wash/rinse each half separately. I also use a small toothbrush to clean the burrs. Thanks to the previous reviewer for the suggestion, it works great! It is very satisfying to know that I am not using any electricity to make my pot of coffee, I heat my water on a gas stove. I highly reccommend this grinder for it’s ease of use and consistancy of the final product. Keep in mind that it will take a few minutes and some elbow grease to achieve. For me, the outcome is worth the effort.

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 Comments (2)

After our plug-in coffee grinder died and I found it impossible to open (to attempt repair) I started feeling guilty about the environmental impact of such throwaway items- the factory manufacturing them, the fuel used to ship them, the difficulty of dismantling appliances into different materials for recycling. I wanted to get an alternative with a longer life expectancy, and figured it would also be greener to get one that uses no electricity. This seems very sturdy, exactly what I wanted! It could be improved by being larger- to grind faster and sit on the counter more stably. But maybe other people prefer it being small, as you can carry it around, maybe grind while you watch tv. A lid for the hopper would also be nice. The biggest problem is the way it lurches when it hits a hard bean or a space between beans, and suddenly the force I’m applying to the handle is either too much or too little. The beans slosh out of the hopper when I lurch, is my point. I guess my fantasy would be for this grinder to come with a frame to bolt it to the counter, hah! It can grind the beans as fine as flour- way better than the blade style grinders. It takes a crazy amount of time though. (If you have tendonitis or arthritis etc, don’t even think of grinding by hand!) This is bearable- it gives me a simple task to get my brain going when I’m groggy in the morning, and I think we appreciate our coffee more because of the ritual. I find I finish about the time the water is boiled. Only time will tell if this thing really is as durable as it looks. I’m fairly certain the quality is equal to that of pricier models & the expensive ones are simply prettier.

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 Comments (4)