I have Zassenhaus 175M turkish mill and recently bought Vario for espresso. Zassenhaus can probably make decent espresso (never tried), but it takes 10-15 minutes to grind 12-16 grams. For filter coffee or french press, Zassenhaus can be a good choice -- shouldn't be a big deal time wise. The time grows exponentially with finer grinds, though.

With Vario, it's not as simple as they suggest. First of all, in order to switch, you can't have any beans in the hopper or you have to waste quite a bit of coffee in order to move to a finer level (the machine has to be running). Given how fast Vario can grind, you'll lose half a puck each time you switch.

asdf777 wrote:With Vario, it's not as simple as they suggest. First of all, in order to switch, you can't have any beans in the hopper or you have to waste quite a bit of coffee in order to move to a finer level (the machine has to be running). Given how fast Vario can grind, you'll lose half a puck each time you switch.

But the Vario is capable of grinding one shot at a time - at which point it is "as simple at they suggest." Just weigh and grind.

ha - the usual choice!

I ended up buying both Zassenhaus and Hario and recently keep switching all the time. Zassen offers more control and better consistency but the wooden drawer plus the size of it is pain.
Hario is funky - though, as discussed, the burrs are sort of suspended in vacuum so don't expect too much consistency at certain grinds... but you can grind more coffee at once + it's more ergonomic to use...

Zassen's adjustment and control sucks - especially compared with Hario - but a bit of bluetack keeps the adjustment screw in place.

The final choice after few months of using both would be Zassen + bluetack for the quality of grind - sort of important with LaPavoni... but for Moca pot - probably would go for Hario as easier, lighter, cheaper...

I ran across this video this weekend, while re-installing Windows on my daughter's computer, on the Seattle Coffee Gear blog of Edwin Martinez of Hario USA talking about the Skerton and the Mini Slim grinders and it mentions some of the limitations in the design.

Try to find an old PeDe in good condition. They're the best of the hand grinders.

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