Hello

I was debating the $1K hand grinder. What do you think?
Is it really worth the money or should I just purchase a used conical?

Thanks!

I think it's wonderful. Do it.

Pros:
ZERO Retention with a spritz of water
Fast, 18-20 second to grind 18-20g
Blind Tumbler - great device, minimize mess, puts the grounds in the basket nicely, WDT if needed, just a couple of bumps, taps, tamp and pull, I stopped touching the grounds, clean fingers!!
Best Conical Burrs - or at least that's what I'm told
Small Package, but can't be used under most upper cabinets without pulling it out
Great Morning Routine
Great Customer Service

Cons:
Long Break-in period and you have to hand crank every bit of that
Light Roast - definitely harder to grind than darker roast
Wobbles - the lighter the roast, the more effort, the hard to hold the grinder steady
Static - a little spritz or a drop or two of water eliminates most of it
WDT - whisk or needle stir in the tumble before I put it in the portafilter, pre-infusion helps eliminate the need for this in my darker roast but I still do it for lighter roast
Alignment - I've got the 2014 and it took two alignment session, a lot of patience and a shim of triple folded tin foil to finally get it just right
Difficult for Petit Wife to use - she's 5'2", 36" counter and the handle is about 17" above that

That said, I'd buy it again tomorrow without thinking twice.

Some people have trouble with static, retention in the exit funnel and needing WDT, otherwise I think the above is pretty damn comprehensive from what I can remember.

Yeah, you're right. I edited my above post. It's probably like anyone's routine, weither its brushing and puffs of air or a mist with a spritzer and a stir with a whisk, it just fades away out of consciousness.

I always spritz for static. But I only WDT lighter roast, darker stuff is much more forgiving. And I guess being able to extend pre-infusion helps with that too, so that may be machine specific.

Absolutely love mine!

I was thinking about an upgrade to the hg1 too. Here's a few questions that came to my mind...Would upgrading from the vario produce significantly better shots on my BDB? Would you still taste the difference in a milk based drink? What did you upgrade to the hg1 from? Was it your first hand grinder? Thanks!

I upgraded from a Mazzer Mini E. The HG one was my first hand grinder and I think it is a substantial improvement.

I have mine for over three years and love it. Comparing to a Vario it will be a big leap tastewise. It's worth every penny.

new2espresso wrote:I was thinking about an upgrade to the hg1 too. Here's a few questions that came to my mind...Would upgrading from the vario produce significantly better shots on my BDB? Would you still taste the difference in a milk based drink? What did you upgrade to the hg1 from? Was it your first hand grinder? Thanks!

The HG-1 is the only grinder I've owned at home. I do have a La Marzocco Swift at one of my restaurants but I haven't done a side by side with them.

One of the other Pros that I forgot to list, is that once I dial in a bean, there's not much adjusting needed as long as I go through the beans within 3 or 4 days and even then, it's just a notch or two movement. But that may be the case with a lot of other grinders as well.

As for tasting the difference in milk, I'd say that if someone confirms there is a taste difference in the shot over your Vario, then there'd be enough to taste it in the milk. This morning I was playing around with some Dandy Espresso, drop it from 18g to 17g and tightened the HG-1 four notches, took a sip and made a latte with the rest. When I gave the latte to my wife, she asked if I changed coffees this morning. Now granted, she has a much more sensitive palate than mine but it goes to show how much flavor does shine through the milk.

Since this was my first grinder and therefore my first hand grinder as well. I did a little resale research and figured that if I didn't like it or the handgrinding aspect, I'd only be out $300 or so.