I’m pretty new to the world of coffee, at least to caring about it, anyway. I’ve been drinking drip coffee from pre-ground beans for years but wanted to start getting more into it. I picked up a moka pot and have loved it so far, but I’m stuck either using pre-ground or a blade grinder. I mostly do my coffee around 5:30 in the morning, a few hours before my infant daughter and wife are awake, and don’t want to risk waking them so I was thinking manual. I also don’t have tons of money to spend right now, since most of my money goes toward my daughter. My absolute cap would be $200 CAD but the cheaper the better honestly, as long as it isn’t really bad. I saw the Timemore S3 was very highly reviewed, and I can find it for around $180 CAD right now, so that’s what I was thinking, but I’ve only started doing research yesterday so I’m probably missing a thousand good models. Does anyone have any suggestions for models or blog posts or anything to look at? I’d really appreciate any help. The grinder would be used mostly for moka pot but I do also have a French press (mostly for my wife) and the aforementioned drip coffee machine that I’d like to be able to use the grinder for too. Espresso is off the table due to finances so I don’t need something that can go that finely ground.
The baratza encore is still a go to but it’s over your price range. I don’t think there’s an electric grinder much cheaper than that which is equipped with actual burrs - and they’re all loud! Timemore gets good reviews whenever i see them.
Yeah, in addition to noise, price was also a reason I’ve been considering hand grinders. I figured in the lower end at least a hand grinder at the same price as an electric grinder would offer better results since less money would be spent on the motor and more on the grinder and other mechanisms. I’m also not too knowledgeable though so I could be way off course.
You know what you’ll use it for. You have a clear budget. You found a good grinder. Sounds good!
For what it’s worth, the cheaper Timemores could also work, although the S3 is beautiful and works great for your purposes.
I appreciate hearing that. Do you have any experience with the S3?
Not with the S3.
However last Christmas I gifted a Timemore C3 to my partner’s parents and the coffee was great!
I did notice the C3’s chamber is smaller so for my usual dose (30g) I had to refill in the middle of grinding. I also think the coarseness steps are a bit large, compared to things like the ZPressos or the C3.
If you’re set on your budget, those quality-of-life issues won’t be a thing with the S3.
Maybe also check out https://kinugrinders.com/
I only see Euro prices, so x1.5 may be cutting it very close. But they offer precision engineering, which still give you a lot of control and reproducibility for your brews.Current exchange rate is 1.6, so their cheapest is a couple cents above 200 CAD, plus whatever duties and taxes on top of that. So probably too steep, and that’s for their entry level one. But they look neat, I might bookmark them anyway and keep it in mind if I ever want to upgrade one day.
Though their entry level might be above the top tier of other manufacturers. Maybe you can find some tests.
for a first grinder? just get whatever burr grinder you can find. i got by on a €5 ceramic hand grinder off aliexpress for years.
also pro tip, you can grind the night before and put the grinds in a little jar. saves you having to measure them up with 5-in-the-morning brain too.
I strongly advise against cheap ceramic burrs, with Chinese steel burr grinders being so approachable in price
That was my initial thought but I figured I’ll probably eventually want to get a nicer one anyway so I may as well just get something at least decent now. If I got a cheap hand grinder I feel I might hate using it and not want to fuss with it, which would then make it a waste of money.
yeah cheap hand grinders are awful, but there’s a massive gap in the market between cheap and expensive. the €30-100 segment is basically empty. if you can find a metal burr grinder around there it’s probably fine.
I don’t know the hand grinder space enough to make a recommendation but I’ll at least suggest you don’t get anything too cheap. My first grinder was some dropshipped hand grinder I got for about $15 and it made me never want a hand grinder again.
I will say, electric isnt always loud, but electric+affordable will most likely be.
Pretty much anything electric grinder cheaper than a baratza encore (which is a great grinder and $150), works by basically spinning a burr really fast, and the impact of the burrs hitting the beans breaks them. Better burr grinders have motors with more torque, and they spin slower, and beans dont “shatter” the same way. This means the real cheapos are very loud, and grind inconsistently.
If you have an infant, though, a hand grinder is probably the way to go. There are a couple things I would look for, especially as a daily user.
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Capacity big enough for your normal usage. I typically use over 20 grams per cup of coffee, but lots of grinders only for 15, so I’d have to grind twice to get a cup.
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An easy way to drive with an electric drill (e.g. mine has a hex head you can just put a socket driver on), so you can use that when you dont need to be quiet.
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An easy way to see and adjust grind settings. If you just want to do moka pot every day, it’s fine to get one that is “set and forget”, but if you are switching to a coarser grind for French press, you dont want to have to count 43 clicks every time.
Personally, I have a kingrinder that works great for me, but I think any of the timemore or 1zpresso grinders will work great for you, too.
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Try a mortar and pestle. Heh.
Your wife has good taste in coffee. French press is the way to go! Never understood the allure of a moka pot, except for camping (making coffee on the fire.)
I’ve been looking for excuses to whip out the mortar pestle again…
My wife makes a lovely French press but I could never get the technique right. It was always too watery. What I like about the moka is I get a really strong concentrated coffee without having to pay for an espresso machine. If I’m craving an espresso shot, it’s good enough to satisfy the craving. If I want regular coffee, I can make a mock americano with it that I like better than drip coffee at least. And if I want something fancier, it makes a really nice mock latte too. It’s not quite the same as espresso but I wouldn’t say I like it any less. It’s just different. It’s a bit finicky but if you do it right it makes a lovely drink.
You can let that shit soak before you press it. 5 minutes minimum. And the grind matters. If you do fine grind… you’re getting mud. I prefer a croaser grind and a good 10-15 minute soak with water from the kettle.
You can even cold brew in a French press. That really gives the coffee body.
Porlex makes the best ceramic burr hand mills. Full stop.
I’ve tried several, but my Porlex has been my daily driver for years
I’ve looked into stainless steel grinders - but they all say to never get the steel mechanism wet. Which means they can’t regularly get scrubbed with soap and water.
I’ll look into that. I’ve heard steel or nothing, but maybe those ceramics compete with steel? I’ll have to do more research.
Ceramic is tried and true. It has been around for a long time, it is widely understood.
Yes, you can occasionally get more fines with ceramic than with steel. But ceramic can last a lifetime if you don’t drop it. Ceramic can be washed, so oils don’t accumulate and turn rancid. Ceramic will never heat the beans when you’re grinding. And ceramic will not go over time.
Steel is The New Thing. And it is good. But it has many flaws that get downplayed.
There’s a story about Bella Abzug. One day she was with a group of other women and someone spilled gravy on a new silk blouse. Everyone was in a tizzy about finding the best dry cleaner. Finally Ms. Abzug said just use soap and water. Everyone was aghast. You can’t use soap and water on silk!
Why not? What do you think the Chinese emperors used back in the day?
Don’t listen to the people who tell you that you need expensive stuff.
I like that analogy. I’ll read up on her more too, she seems like an interesting person for sure. I haven’t heard of her before. Thanks for the wiki link.
My wildest coffee device is a $9.00 frother. A friend regifted me my first one, and I think I’ve brought two more. I nuke my cream for 30 seconds and then whip it and pour it on top of the coffee. I like to add a dash of cinnamon.
The grinder I use was $20 [?] at the hardware store. I use a stove top espresso pot.
I use a Timemore C2 since years for AeroPress, neat cheap and reliable: I believe a C2S or C3 would be also a good choice while saving a good chunk of money, but the S3 looks really nice, a really solid option!
I appreciate hearing your perspective! Nice to hear someone with somewhat related experience. Thanks for the (sort of/adjacent) review.
DO NOT get the cheap Bodum burr grinder.
Thing shits grounds all over my counter. I hate this fucking thing.
So glad to see someone recommend getting a cheapo Chinese steel one off Ali Express or some shit, tho, I’ll try that. I don’t wanna spend fuckin $200 on a coffee grinder, that’s madness.
I have a similar experience with the Bodum. Also, it’s not the best for cleaning. It was acceptable at grinding but messy.
When I started looking for a manual grinder for travel, everyone’s just casually tossing around a Comandante mk4 and that thing is hundreds of dollars. I’m sure it’s great, but I’m not dropping that much on a grinder that’s going in a suitcase when I could buy fucking $200 in better coffee and a decent enough grinder.
The Kingrinder models are affordable but seem to be pretty good quality.
I have a Timemore C3S for hand grinding, and a Baratza Encore ESP for general use. I’d recommend either. Very happy with the Baratza in particular.
I make batches around 23-25g of coffee ground, so either works. The Baratza chute is overkill so I’ve considered getting the single serve hopper.
Either way if you go with the Baratza, pick up a cheap bellows for the hopper. It will ensure less need for cleaning, less static cling, and getting all your coffee out.
Thanks, I’ll look into that more.
The breville smart grinder pro on that list is excellent for a reasonable price.
If grinding in the morning, I’ll cover it with something to dull the noise a little.
That is a very lovely list. Thank you for sharing it.
When I started my at-home coffee setup I went with a super cheap amazon special. It’s loud, it leaks all around the catch cup, and it’s not very easy to clean. But it does turn the beans into powder that my drip machine does a good job with, so I’ll be keeping it until it inevitably breaks. When that happens, i’ll be checking your list first, instead of the startlingly few reddit threads i could find.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cin2IZbKzU
That’s only one opinion but I watched enough reviews to decide on the k6 for my needs. I’ve been happy with it after years with an oxo grinder. I use an aeropress most days with the occasional french press and moka pot.
I got pretty lucky with an aliexpress cash back promo from rakuten when I bought it. They come around fairly often if you’re willing to wait.
I feel like its unfair to put the timemores in the lowest category when there are still plenty of people buying hario grinders, or off brand equivalents.
Agreed, that list doesn’t help much because there is no indication of price points and the grinders are already the good picks among the available pool. I don’t know how good the video is, but I don’t like that channel much.
The only reason I went with that channel as my example was the easy to understand list within the context of the rest of the video. I usually prefer Hendrick’s reviews (Hand Grinder Tier List) but it’s nice to get multiple opinions.
I’ve had the JX-Pro for a few years now, first for pour over and now for espresso. I’ve been very happy with it and it’s still grinding very consistently even with the zero amount of maintenance i’ve done with it :D
I imagine the J-Ultra is just as good or better.
I got a Hario Skerton Pro for about £50 to grind beans really coarse for cold brew and it’s been incredibly reliable and comfortable to use, but it might be a lot bigger than you need if you’re only grinding one coffee at a time
I looked it up, looks to hold around 100g. I only really need 20g, so definitely a lot bigger than necessary for me. Thanks for the suggestion though. If I ever need a large grinder I’ll keep that one in mind.
The Hario Skerton line is easily one of the worst possible choices these days for the money. 20 years ago, it was often the only choice but now there are tons better and sometimes for less money.
Look at Timemore, Kingrinder, 1zpresso for options in your budget. They are all built well and have good steel burrs not crappy ceramic burrs like the Skerton.
I ended up going with the Timemore S3, and don’t regret it. This thing is great, I’m very happy with it so far.
Now I need a new coffee scale as my current scale is just a cheap kitchen scale that’s not super accurate. Surely this will be the last purchase I make…
I have used expensive and cheap scales that all read to 0.1g. They all seem to wear out fairly quickly. I would suggest not spending much on a scale as long as it reads to 0.1g
I was looking at the Timemore Black Mirror, it’s the one my dad uses and I liked it when I checked it out. It’s also twice the price of Maestri House’s offerings which all seem to be well reviewed for their price. No idea if they’re any reliable, I haven’t done any research yet. That’s a rabbit hole I still need to get into.
Best of luck!
