I've been dreaming about a chrome Turkish-style grinder to match the chrome on the Caravel...when I get overseas I hope to begin expanding my hand grinder sampling again.

PC

samgiles wrote:I guess it could be the 156 although the shape is slightly different and so is the handle.

This is an older grinder, and I don't think you'll find the model number by comparing it to more recent ones.

If you search on Ebay for Zassenhaus grinders you'll find a few German antique sellers who always list the model number. Looking at both the current and completed auctions should give you a fairly comprehensive sense of the variety of Zassenhaus styles.

Looking at the picture of your grinder, I would guess that it has the same mechanism as a Zassenhaus that I bought on Ebay and just received today. On mine, the grind adjustment is made by turning a bolt inside the grinder, above the drawer. The bolt has a handle on it, but just on one side (as opposed to the T handles on Trosser grinders).

If this sounds like your grinder, I'm curious: is there any sort of centering mechanism on the burr that turns, or does it rattle around when you set the adjustment to grinder very coarse? Mine seems to be completely loose.

Hi tsackett,
It sounds just like yours. One sided lever inside above the drawer and yes mine seems loose when it's opened up for coarser grind. It also seems to touch more on one side when tightened up. Thanks for the ebay tip. I'll go and have a hunt.
Cheers,
Sam.

This thread, along with others in the lever world, as well as tasting a shot pulled from a spring LSM has convinced to go manual. So, i went to market (eBay) and got:



On the left is a PeDe Moka, and next to it is an Armin Trosser.
The Mazzer Major is not quite manual though and was a previous purchase long ago....

I haven't used the hand grinders yet - I'd like to clean them up first. How does one disassemble these beauts for cleaning of the burrs? Once disassembled, how do you establish an espresso grind for them? Do you adjust till the burrs touch then back off say one or two revolutions?

For now, I'm still semi-auto with the europiccola as the Major is doing the grinding .....

I just bought this Zusserhaus 190 this morning on ebay for use with my Gaggia Factory 106. The Gaggia is still enroute to me ( a replacement for the first one that arrived damaged). Hopefully the Zusserhaus will be a good match for the Gaggia - but I won't know until after both arrive...



r-gordon-7

caeffe wrote:On the left is a PeDe Moka, and next to it is an Armin Trosser.
The Mazzer Major is not quite manual though and was a previous purchase long ago....

I haven't used the hand grinders yet - I'd like to clean them up first. How does one disassemble these beauts for cleaning of the burrs? Once disassembled, how do you establish an espresso grind for them? Do you adjust till the burrs touch then back off say one or two revolutions?

For now, I'm still semi-auto with the europiccola as the Major is doing the grinding .....

The Trosser is my daily driver. Wrench off the top bolt and unscrew the handle. You might have to hold the shaft to get the handle off.

Carefully loosen the four screws at the top corners and pull the top off, after noting which side goes where. Then study the bottom side until you are confident you can reassemble it in the same way. Its not hard, but be careful.

OR, use Minute Rice to clean the burrs until you are happy with it. Then get ready to use some beans to get the grinder set for espresso. The burrs on my Trosser rub against each other (in a good way) but turn easily and make a very nice grind, perfect for the Factory. You may have to tweak the bracket underneath to get the burrs aligned. If the adjuster doesn't turn, it will need some persuasion. This shot is of a Trosser no longer in use:


I will be curious how the hand grinders do vs the Mazzer Major. I would think for the money that the Mazzer has to be more consistent in grind. But for the money the Trosser is a no-brainer for me.

But FIVE Trossers?

Five!? Wow. I'd probably get my eBay privileges taken away if I did that .... But then again, I'd probably justify it by saying - but honey, I need one for drip, one for FP, two for espresso (decaf & regular), & another one for .... hmmmm.

Prof - thanks for letting me know how to take it apart .... right now, I'm far from the grinders, so when i get home AND get some time I'll have to do that. I actually have 2 trossers, one is in better shape than the other, wood wise but I can't tell yet which has a better set of burrs.

I sure wished they tested out the Major as part of the Titan's project. I did see that they tested a manual grinder. After using the piccola, I can see the allure of using the hand grinder. When I get everything set up along with my palate I'll make sure & post if I can tell the difference. Right now, I think I'd only be able to see it was good or bad - no shades of gray in-between.

Andy-Gadget wrote:My hand grinder search was driven more by size constraints than anything else, as I was after a grinder to take with me on extended motorcycle tours.

As the Presso machine was bulky to start with I had to compensate with a small grinder.

I eventually decided on a Turkish hand grinder, the HON, partly for its size, but also as if it could do Turkish grind, it should be able to do espresso

...

Tamped basket, the PF holder is in the kettle warming up, a usefull trick wit a presso.
...

Are you still on the line Andy? I would like to ask you about your Presso, particularly about this reviewers findings:

http://users.ameritech.net/jim_sc...Presso-Report.html

Did you modify your piston?

Thank you,
D

Those are beautiful machines! I recently "Googled" for more information about hand grinders, and found this: http://www.camanocoffeemills.com/index.html (The Camano Mill). Looks nice.

Javier

Javier wrote:Those are beautiful machines! I recently "Googled" for more information about hand grinders, and found this: http://www.camanocoffeemills.com/index.html (The Camano Mill). Looks nice. Javier

The Camano looks to be made in Taiwan or China. Is that good or bad? Your call.

But the adjustment mechanism is not stepless, rather large steps actually. I have/had a couple of those type grinders and they're not useful for espresso. Inconsistency of grind is the problem I've had with them.

And they don't have the mojo of an old German grinder.