Transcription
I'm going to tell you a little secret about coffee hand grinders because here's the fear, right? You know, whether you're shopping for one, maybe you're looking for your first one and there's a ton of options obviously, or maybe you already have one and you're thinking, "Hey, maybe that one over there could do a little bit better job than either the one that I already have or the one that I'm thinking about getting." Have I made the wrong choice here? And I hope to give you a little bit of insight into that today.
You know, we're going to cover a range of hand grinders, you know, going from more affordable to way out there ones. We're also going to cover some very niche, very cool, very unique hand grinders. And I'm going to tell you the grinder that I actually use the most often. But let me show you something first.
This is the type of coffee grinder that I used when I first got started with all this. That has one of these little blades in here that spins around. And let me just say that if you are using one of these, a move in absolutely any direction will really help you out.
Now, when I got to a point where I felt like I want to upgrade my coffee grinder, I don't want to spend a lot of money. This was many years ago now. This is actually the grinder that I bought. This exact one. I still have it. Now, from that blade grinder to this one, that was a massive upgrade. And the good news for you today is that any of these grinders on this table are going to be leaps and bounds again above this one right here.
Now, are there differences? Yeah, sure. But I'm going to be real here, too. You know, unless you get two of these grinders side by side and you sit down and you brew identically with them and you try and pick out the flavor differences, you may not be able to actually even tell much of a difference between two grinders that are pretty far apart on the price spectrum. So, if you're wondering if you actually have to upgrade in order to have good cups of coffee, the answer in almost every case is actually no. You can use what you have. As long as it's relatively modern what you're using, chances are you're going to be able to get really good cups of coffee out of it.
Now, that being said, I'll explain the difference between a lot of these different grinders here. I've got a couple top picks in specific lanes and a couple grinders that are tops in my personal rotation, and I'll tell you what those are at the end. I also have a lot of individual reviews for many of these grinders on my channel. I'll leave them down in the description. And if there's one that I haven't made yet that you want to see, make sure you drop a comment.
Starting off though, I want to talk about entry-level grinders first. And there's one that I want to highlight in particular. This one, the Easy Presso Q Air. As far as quality grinders go, this is a very affordable entry coming in at 70 bucks US. It's made in Taiwan by Easy Presso. And man, if this grinder was around when I was first starting out in coffee, I can almost guarantee that this would be my starting point today. It's a very compact form factor, very affordable, and the cups are really, really, very good, especially considering the price. In fact, very often you see people comparing it to this grinder, the Comandante C40, which costs several hundred more. Now again, if you sit these two grinders down and you do a side-by-side shootout between them, especially if you're experienced at doing tastings like that, are you going to pick out some differences? Sure. But they're also in totally different pricing tiers. Where this one sits under the $100 mark, it is really, really hard to argue with. And I think in that segment, it gets my top rec.
Now, moving up the pricing spectrum a little bit, we have a series of other grinders that kind of fit between the $100 to $150 mark. There's the Easy Presso Q, which is basically the same as the Q Air, just with a metal body. That comes in at 110 bucks. You have the Timemore C2 and C3. I have the C5 Pro from their line here, which comes in at $110. The King Grinder K6. This is a very interesting grinder. Comes in at just under $100. And then the Timemore S3 at about 130 bucks. The Timemore line of grinders are really great. It's a Chinese company. They've been doing the hand grinder thing for a long time and I really enjoy their hand grinders on the whole. I really like the C5 line. I think it's a really great balance between premium feel, price point, and grind quality. Works for both filter and espresso. I would say it leans a little bit more towards balance and complexity rather than an acidity-forward profile. Really, really good value. We'll come back to some other versions of the Timemore grinders, but first I want to talk about the King Grinder K6. This one is actually less expensive than the C5. And if anything, I might say it does the all-around, you know, filter to espresso, maybe even a little bit more strongly. A lot of people will compare this grinder to the Easy Presso K Ultra. We'll get to that one. The sacrifice on the King Grinder K6 and actually the whole King Grinder line in my opinion is not necessarily to do with the taste, but is to do with more of the build quality and longevity. These definitely feel like cheaper grinders. They don't have that same polish. The way the parts kind of come apart feels actually quite cheap. And if you go digging on forums, you'll see reports of people talking about the insides of these grinders rusting. You know, if you do a little spritz of water on your beans before you grind. So, if you're looking at the King Grinder line, you're getting a good cup at the expense of some build quality. I will say that the King Grinder K6 in this price range is the grinder that does filter and espresso across the board with the most flexibility.
Now, moving up a little bit in price at $130, we have the Timemore Slim S3. Same style handle, very cool. And this is definitely the most premium-feeling grinder out of all of these ones down here. This just feels like a cut above when you're pulling it out and using it. This grinder also, I would say, leans a little bit to the sweetness, balance, complexity side rather than a very modern acidity-forward profile.
Now, we are going to circle back around to some real outliers, some kind of weird hand grinders, as well as my faves. But above this kind of sort of price point, you're going to get into two categories of more expensive grinders. You're going to have all-arounders, grinders that can do filter, espresso with a very good quality in the cup. And you're going to have more specialized grinders that do one specific thing really, really well, but maybe not other things. And if I had to choose one all-arounder grinder that would get my overall vote, you know, I reviewed this grinder years ago now. I had the same opinion then as I do now. It is the Easy Presso K Ultra. This is a grinder that can do filter coffee very, very well. It can also do espresso very well. As far as form factor goes, this is one of the nicer-feeling grinders to use uh across the whole table. I recently got this one, which is a special edition version of the K Ultra put out by Easy Presso. I don't actually think you can get these, but they sent me one of them and it just is beautiful. But on the whole, the K Ultra, there just is not really a lot to argue with about it. It's relatively fast. It's easy to adjust. The taste is good whether you're doing filter or espresso, and it really feels like a high-quality product. And you do pay for that at just under 300 bucks. Now, you can find it on sale occasionally, but on the whole, excellent, excellent grinder.
And the grinder that I see it most often being compared directly to is actually this one, the Comandante C40. And this is the grinder that really put this whole market on steroids. It was one of the first ones that came out really when the competition looked a lot more like this. And it just delivered something that was totally unreal. Now, some people will say, you know, it's outdated. It doesn't taste as good as modern grinders. This and that. It's kind of resting on its laurels and it's a bit of a has-been grinder. Now, it still is an expensive grinder at just under $300. This is still a really nice grinder. You know, the internal adjustment under here. You get used to that. Espresso is a little bit of a pain. If you want to really be able to dial in your espresso, you have to get an add-on kit. So, that's not ideal. But when it comes to filter coffee, this grinder still almost 10 years later makes some really, really good-tasting filter coffee. Some of the best across the whole line depending on what you're looking for.
Now, when people compare it to the K Ultra, you'll often see it said that they're a wash, they kind of taste the same, and that is not totally my experience. I find that the K Ultra has a little bit of a more acidity-forward profile. That part of the taste profile kind of juts out. You know, if you're considering your taste profile like a circle, the acidity is kind of very forward. And sometimes that acidity-forward nature of the K Ultra can sort of dominate other aspects of the flavor profile that can shine a little bit more on the C40. So, I think different strokes for different folks on that one.
Now, if you're looking for a really good all-rounder, but you don't want to spend the $300, you want to get something a little bit more affordable, the Easy Presso X Ultra is actually a really great option. It offers something really nice in the cup. Good fit and finish, maybe not at the level of the K Ultra, but very good in its own right. That grinder comes in at like 160 to 170 bucks.
Now, this is where things start to get a little crazy, if they weren't already. The grinder that I see discussed probably the most often when it comes to filter coffee is this one, the Easy Presso ZP6. It comes in at about 209 bucks and it gives a very, very distinctive cup, very light on the body, very crisp, a lot of flavor separation. Many people would describe it as tea-like and it's become a profile that has become very desired in this spectrum. And when I see people trying to figure out if they should get this grinder, it is very often in comparison to the K Ultra. You know, "Should I get a ZP6 or a K Ultra?" Or you'll see it compared to other high-clarity grinders like this one, the Pietro with Pro Brew Burs, which is a flat bur grinder. A lot more expensive, kind of terrible ergonomics if you ask me, but also a lot of flavor separation in the cup with maybe a little bit more of a velvety finish than the ZP6. You'll also see people comparing it to Kinu grinders with the pour-over burr or in some cases recently even this one, the Milab M1. Now, I feel like that's another range that we could do a laser focus in and do a whole video just on that range. For grinders like that, if you're looking for your first grinder, I don't necessarily recommend getting something with that profile. And that's just because it's a little bit higher risk. Not everybody actually likes it. Some people try it and they think, "Oh, I like the more body and more juicy flavor of something like the K Ultra or the Comandante C40." So, it's a bit of a higher risk decision. Now, if you already have one of those grinders and you want to try that profile, these grinders are good ones to look at. And I do have videos where I compare some of these in a little bit higher level of detail.
Now, moving on to espresso focus. The ZP6 doesn't do espresso at all. There are a lot of hand grinders that actually specialize in espresso. I have the Kinu grinders here. These are also very expensive grinders. They have a bit of a range. I've covered several of them on my channel. These grinders are some of the nicest feeling, heaviest, smoothest grinders to use. And the espresso shots that they produce are really, really good. Definitely more of a traditional, thick, blended, and nuanced espresso shot rather than a modern acidity-forward profile. You can also get the pour-over burr, which also does work for espresso to put in these things. The M47, the original is this one right here, is definitely the beefiest-feeling one. And they do have other ones that are a little bit more stripped down with more plastic parts to try and get the price down. Now, that does kind of take away from the feel a little bit, but it does bring these grinders into a bit of a more affordable range. Now, that's not to say that the Kinu's can't do filter. You can do them even with the stock burr and with the pour-over bur that you can get for them. It produces some very actually interesting cups of filter coffee without taking away the ability to do espresso. My caution with buying those grinders for filter is that you're going to need to take a little bit of an atypical approach in how you're brewing. So, you might not be able to apply as much conventional wisdom because you're really working with a bit of a niche use case. There's also the Easy Presso J Ultra. That's an espresso-focused grinder. I haven't reviewed that one on my channel, but it also is a really solid grinder to look at.
Which leads me to some real outlier grinders. Grinders that do specific things sometimes in a little bit of a strange way. And we're going to start with this one right here, the Milab M1. Milab is really a sub-brand of Timemore. So, you can kind of think of this as like the top end of the Timemore line. This is a really interesting grinder. It's got these, they call them pineapple burrs inside. They're very funny-looking. And the way the burrs are made are such that they can do espresso pretty well. You know, there's an external dial adjustment up here. And all within one rotation, you can go down into filter, but you don't lose anything on the filter. It's very interesting. I would say overall the flavor spectrum is kind of middle of the road with a good balance of sweetness and complexity with acidity, but people have been doing something really interesting with this grinder, and that is opening it up to the very coarsest setting, which will achieve a taste profile that is actually a lot like the ZP6 in some ways. Very interesting grinder. Very nice-feeling grinder to use. They have this catch cup that is just kind of like a quarter turn and then it locks in. Very nice. If you're looking for a high-end-feeling all-around grinder that can kind of flip into this other mode and do a high-clarity thing with a couple adjustments here and there, it's worth looking at.
Then we have the C64 ERM grinder. This is kind of a funky thing, a huge grinder. And it's got a bit of a hybrid burr inside here. It's like half regular hand grinder conical burr and half what's called an eccentric roller mill which has these overlapping plates that kind of move around in this elliptical pattern and crush the beans a little bit before it slips down into the finishing part of the burr. Really interesting. Kind of tricky to adjust in some ways. Totally different mode of operation in terms of how it's grinding than any of these other grinders and sort of leans on the sweetness complexity end of the spectrum.
Now, there's also the Pietro grinders which have a vertically mounted flat bur. We've already kind of covered that. And then this one, the Momentum dual burr grinder. Now, this is a grinder that is really cool. It's got an adjustment ring down here as well as up here. Each one is for different burrs inside this grinder. And it can do a lot of very interesting stuff really if you take the time to go down, fiddle with it, try and figure out how to get those flavor profiles that you're looking for out of this grinder. It does take some fiddling with though. So, if you like that, then this could be a really good option. Otherwise, I might suggest that you just go with one of the grinders that you think will give you the result you're looking for out of the box.
Then we have tabletop grinders. And I'm not going to spend a lot of time here. I'll just say that I have a bit of a soft spot for grinders like this. The Rock Grinder was actually my first proper espresso grinder. And for a couple hundred bucks, you can get a really high-quality grind for espresso that would easily stand alongside what a Niche Zero would do, both in terms of quality and profile. It's a nice thick blended shot.
Now, in a similar vein, you have the Kinu M68, which has a 68-millimeter burr in here. This grinder is very interesting. I wasn't quite sure what to make of it at first. You know, it's got this kind of very interesting look, but when you sit it down on a table and you start grinding with it, the feel that it has really feels like that top-notch, tight, smooth feeling that you get from the Kinu hand grinders. It's also got this little vacuum pump on here that will stick the grinder down onto the counter. Very cool. Also pretty expensive.
And then lastly, we have the HG2. Ah, the HG2. To me, this grinder takes everything that I loved about my very first grinder, the Rock Grinder, and presents it in this like perfectly refined form. It really is at the top end of the price range at like $1,650 to $1,750 depending on which color you get. I do have a review of this thing on my channel if you want to do a bit of a deep dive on the things that are good or you may want to consider if you're thinking about a grinder like that. It is really cool though.
But out of all these hand grinders that I have, which is the grinder that I actually use? Which one did I actually choose? And the answer to that is I didn't actually choose one. In any given week, I will use about, and I'm not exaggerating here, five of these. I will use this one, the K Ultra, the Comandante C40, the ZP6, and this one, the Weber HG2. Now, that's only four, and that's because on any given week, I will usually cycle at least one other of these into the mix. Could be the Pro, could be the Kinu, could be the Milab. And the reason for that is all of these grinders are different from one another. They're not necessarily better or worse. They all offer different things. You know, if I want an easy, brainless cup of filter coffee, I'll reach for either the K Ultra or the Comandante C40. And even between those two, which one kind of depends on what I'm actually looking for in the cup. They're both great. If I want a lot of flavor separation, I want to pick out all those individual notes, I would lean more to the ZP6 or the Pietro or the Milab on a very coarse setting. If I want a really great espresso shot, I just love using the HG2. It just is such a pleasure to have that grinder on bar, use it when I really want to up the experience of making the coffee and then have a really solid cup as well.
Each of the grinders on this table offer something slightly different. So, if you're out there and you're worried about choosing the wrong hand grinder, I would say actually don't worry about that so much. Any of these hand grinders are going to give you something really, really good in the cup. I would say if you're getting your first one of these, maybe shoot for an all-around grinder that will do the set of things that you need to. If you don't need espresso, you can choose one of the filter-only grinders down here. But then once you choose one, really try and not overthink it too much because anything here is going to make you a good cup of coffee. Do something within your price range and brew with it. And then if later you feel like you want to do something different, you're looking maybe for a different experience, either nicer look and feel or a specific cut profile, sure, you can pick up a second one, but don't feel like you're missing out on something or that the grinder that you have is bad because it very likely isn't. And if you already have a hand grinder, you know, just keep using it unless maybe it looks like this.
So, what I think I'm going to do here, I'm going to leave a couple videos kind of around the screen here about the grinders that I get asked about the most often. And anything that I've reviewed on this table that I have a video for, I will leave down there in the description, too. If you're looking for something and you don't see it or I haven't made it, make sure you let me know down there in the comments. I hope this video was helpful and that your next cup of coffee is fantastic. And we'll see you next time.