Hello all,

I was hoping you would be able to help! My husband has a La Pavoni - his pride and joy. At the time of purchasing we only had enough money to buy the Pavoni and a cheaper coffee grinder; the cheap grinder was fairly quickly relegated to the bin in a fit of frustration leaving behind a very downhearted hubby!
I would like to buy my husband a really good grinder for his Christmas and was hoping you could advise on a the best grinder for my very limited budged. Having listened in to various conversations between my husband and his 'in the know' friends and reading many many reviews I know that a conical burr grinder would be the best (or I think I know ) but with an absolute max budget of £150 I realise that my choice is limited.

I have considered a number of machines including a Kitchenaid Artisan Burr Grinder, a Cuisinart Burr Coffee Mill and a Bodum Bistro Grinder etc etc. but each of these have at least one or two reviews that state that the coffee beans are not ground fine enough for an espresso machine.

Any advice / suggestions would be very much appreciated!

Many thanks for your help!

Would a hand grinder be acceptable to him? If he doesn't make too many shots of espresso a day and he isn't in a hectic rush, then I suggest a Porlex hand grinder. It's what I use with my Pavoni. I think it will be a HUGE improvement over pre-ground coffee or a cheap burr grinder. There'll even be money left over to put into the savings account.

£150 will be about 180 euros and for that price you should be able to buy an Ascaso Mini. It's a good grinder (I have one myself) and about the minimum standard I would advise to pair with a Pavoni lever machine (unless you want to go to a hand grinder).
You can check at http://www.espressocoffeeshop.com/store/ascaso.html or at http://www.myespresso.co.uk/section.php...so-grinder
for example

I haven't actually thought about a hand grinder - I think I was probably incorrectly under the impression that they weren't as good as even cheap grinders but I have obviously picked up completely wrong. As you say as well, with money left over!

He would probably have 4-5 espressos' on an easy Sunday but that would be the most. We do have friends round who would maybe have a coffee at the end of the night but I imagine the most we would make at the time is 5-6.

Does this amount still sound acceptable / within the capability of a hand grinder?

It's brilliant that you use it with your Pavoni too - it is the biggest concern that I have had that I would end up with a machine that wouldn't grind the beans fine enough for the Pavoni.

Thank you very much for replying!

There are very good quality hand grinders but beware they are not for everybody. They demand patience to use them. I myself would prefer to pay a little more and go for an electrical grinder - even for 1 only espresso a day...I find very boring to use a hand grinder but many people like them it's very subjective.

Thank you for suggesting the Ascaso Mini's - they are within my budget and the kind of machine I was originally looking for. I think I am going to do a little more research into both the Ascaso Mini's and the hand grinders too - thank you!

There is quite a bit of a price difference - I guess if both machines grind the coffee fine enough and can produce a good espresso then really my decision would have to be based on the amount the machines can grind at a time and convenience; does that sound about right?

I think I need to do a little more research!

If you go for a hand grinder make sure it will grind for espresso. Not all hand grinders do!

calb is right: hand grinders are not for everyone, and not all hand grinders are up to the task. I can personally vouch for the Porlex, but I don't know about many other hand grinders. Regarding the other issue, you'd have to evaluate how your husband feels about manual vs. automated. I'm a very manual person. I grind coffee by hand, I have a lever machine, my coffee roaster is manual as well. I shave with a straight razor, and I hone it on a natural stone (as opposed to synthetic stones). Look at his tools and methods of doing things to see if he has a simple, labor intensive approach, or if he prefers a machine to do the job quickly and efficiently.

For what it's worth, I've never used an Ascaso Mini, but people speak well of them. If someone were to give either as a gift, I think the Ascaso would have more emotional impact than the Porlex. I recommend the Porlex every time when budget seems to be an issue as it is the best bang for the buck that I've come across.

Also, don't forget to use decent quality, freshly roasted beans.

I hope your husband enjoys whatever you get for him.

I've been using my two Ascaso I-mini grinders - one for each of my two Gaggia Factory lever espresso machines (the Gaggia Factory is essentially a re-badged La Pavoni) - for as long as I've had my two Gaggia Factory machines. That's been about 3 or 4 years now. And I've been extremely pleased with the I-minis. At the time I bought them, they were about the least expensive electric grinders that are really suitable for use with a lever machine. I believe that is still true. Quite apart from price, in my case, the I-minis had a definite size (both with respect to counterspace & height/clearance), styling and resulting "spousal approval factor" advantage over all the other somewhat more and even much more expensive choices...

Sally,

What a wonderful gift this would be! I'm surprised that no one has mentioned that there is one hand grinder that is as good as the very best huge cafe grinders and it's so close to your budget it's worth considering. It caused a lot of excitement here because all of a sudden we could get the very best quality at 1/5 the price of a big commercial grinder.

To give you some context, a Pavoni can make very good espresso if paired with an excellent grinder. It's not just a matter of grinding fine enough but also of grinding very precisely and it makes a huge difference in the quality of the coffee, more difference than the espresso machine itself.

The grinder I'm thinking of is the Pharos by Orphan Espresso. It costs $245 U.S., which would be about 156 Pounds Sterling. It looks really cool and it grinds quickly compared to other hand grinders. The secret of its success is it uses the same large burrs as a huge coffee house grinder, very precisely aligned. Here's the link to that grinder at their site http://www.orphanespresso.com/OE-Pharos-Hand-Coffee-Grinder_c_392.html

and on HB:

Pharos manual grinder by Orphan Espresso