I will be moving from a field office to the corporate office in the near future. Unfortunately I don't think I will be allowed to bring my office espresso setup (VBM and Cimbali Max) to the corporate office. Their coffee machine is one of those drop in packet instant swill dispensers and is absolutely horrid. So I am taking my French press along, maybe eventually I can sneak my big kit in.

The problem I am left with is grinding. All of my grinders are rather large and produce an equally large noise when grinding up beans, so I decided to break down and look for a hand mill. Some of the grinders on eBay are going for ridiculous amounts and the few I have seen have some ugly looking burrs. A new Zass is going for $80 which is still darn steep for $12 worth of metal and $2 worth of wood. I got to digging around looking for other options when I came across Cuda Kitchen they have new old fashioned hand mills made by La Pavoni and for very reasonable prices so I ponied up and purchased one. Since it will be for French press and maybe vac pot if I can sneak that in the office at some point I was not worried about the burr set. I will update the post with some thoughts after it arrives and I get a chance to try it out which will probably be December given my current travel schedule. But I thought I would drop a line just in case someone is looking for a hand mill at a reasonable price.

Look at Doug's orphanespresso site for used grinders suitable for espresso. Can't you use a lever machine at the office?

PC

Possibly. That is how I worked up to the big pumper. I started with something small, then added something a little larger, then a little larger, etc... But the corporate office of a global company is a little different situation. The position is a little different as well so the professional expatiations are a bit higher. I am no longer the local jack of all trades IT guy in a field office but one of 3 guys that manage the core systems for the entire company.

Hi Dave,

Which model did you purchase? Any idea what kind of burr set you're in for? Trespade-like conical or faux-burr bean crusher? Maybe you could post a picture of the burrs when you receive your new toy.

The Hario Skelton hand grinder caught my eye the other day on Barismo:
http://barismo.com/coffee/2008/10/hario-skelton-mill.html
...and I found a few comments on Coffeed:
http://www.coffeed.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=2307
...but I didn't really get enough info to pull the trigger.

A cheap, quiet, and consistent hand mill sure would be nice for office use and for entry-level coffeegeeks looking to replace a blade grinder.

Ryan

I got the wood with the black top and brass cover, EGH-FK-01AB. No idea about the burrs. I rolled the dice on this one although being a hand mill; I don't think it will have crusher burrs. It would hard to crank if it were. Even the 100 year old hand mills had teeth. If nothing else I will have something pretty to put on a shelf.

portamento wrote:Hi Dave,
The Hario Skelton hand grinder caught my eye the other day on Barismo:
http://barismo.com/coffee/2008/10/hario-skelton-mill.html
...and I found a few comments on Coffeed:
http://www.coffeed.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=2307
...but I didn't really get enough info to pull the trigger.

A cheap, quiet, and consistent hand mill sure would be nice for office use and for entry-level coffeegeeks looking to replace a blade grinder.

I can attest to the Hario Skeleton Mill. It produces a great grind and is very well built. Especially for the price, it is a great grinder. I sometimes use it instead of my Super Jolly if I just have a small amount of a coffee left (as almost none gets lost in the body) or if I really want to get the full aroma of a coffee.
I can also attest to the guys at Barismo. They are really great and easy to work with.
If you have any questions about the grinder, feel free to ask me (or e-mail someone at Barismo)

-Ben

Thanks Ben.

I currently have a Mazzer Mini that I use for espresso -- but I'm not satisfied with the grind quality at coarser (press, drip) settings.

Any chance the Hario might provide a better french press grind than flat burr espresso grinders like the Mazzer?

Seems like the slow, conical grind from a hand grinder might be superior, assuming the burrs are quality and well-mounted.

Ryan

In my experience (read: take it with a grain of salt), the slower rotations of the hand grinder, combined with the conical burrs produce a very even grind. I have never used it for a French Press. If you give me a few days, I can compare a coarse grind from my Super Jolly with a coarse grind on the Hario. You could probably also just e-mail Jaime (jaimeATbarismoDOTcom) and he'd probably be able to answer right away, since he has a wealth of experience with this grinder.

I contacted the vender I got my grinder from, it is on backorder. ETA December 1st. hopefully this wont turn into perpetual backorder.

Perfect timing. Needed an inexpensive grinder for drip/press for my office. Ordered from Barismo today.
Thanks Ryan.

Does anyone have an estimate of how much time it takes to grind enough coffee for 2 French press-style cups of coffee?

Hi folks, first post for me. Just got a lever machine and want a manual grinder. Interested in the Antique Arcade cast iron wall mount coffee grinders. Any thoughts on these? Thanks.

I ordered a Hario grinder from barismo a few weeks ago. It produces a very consistent grind. However, it is pretty much unusable for me for espresso since the adjustments are too broad (any espresso grinder worth a darn needs to be able to be finely tuned). If there is a way to modify it (that I can't think of), it would be perfect for me and my lever. As it is, I use a PeDe from the '50s.

We've discussed a lot about hand grinders on the HandJive thread. Good ones work really well for espresso, and in my opinion they are good compliments for lever machines. I just pulled two great shots on my Caravel with a 50 year old grinder, and I'm able to make adjustments in minute increments to get the pressure just so.

PC

So what's the verdict on the hand grinder from Barismo (the Hario?)? Not espresso worthy but good for press, drip, and others?

But why not get one that DOES work for espresso also. You can PM me if you'd like.

PC

peacecup wrote:But why not get one that DOES work for espresso also. You can PM me if you'd like.

PC

In this case I have a friend who's getting into coffee looking for a hand grinder (and I'm sticking with my electric one for now). He's leaning towards a hand grinder based on price, and I think I've convinced him to go for one of the grinders on Orphan Espresso that are rated suitable for Espresso (he's starting with French Press and possibly moving to espresso later). Any idea if those grinders would be good for any brewing method?

Yes, a single hand grinder can be generally used for the entire grind range, from boiled in a pan to espresso...it is that top end of fineness for espresso that it a bit of a rarity, some grinders by design and others by wear of the bearings and burrs. The Hario grinder, at least logically would be designed for the Japanese taste in coffee brewing methods, which to the mass market is drip or vac, just as the American grinders (Arcade) were designed for the American market tastes, boiled until the electric age and then percolator. The Italian manufacturer was generally not geared to espresso with the finest stepped setting giving a good grind for Moka pot...once again market tastes, since in Italy one went out for crema caffe and had stovetop espresso at home. British, ditto....much of the grinder design in any one country is directly related to the predominant cultural brewing method....witness Turkish grinders and Turkish coffee. From what I can get a feeling for, the Germans had a very adventurous approach to Kaffe, and the Mocca grinders were actually produced to fill the market demand for something akin to Turkish coffee, but being practical sorts made grinders for the full range, or were just driven to perfection of the burr and box and it all worked out that they made some of the best all purpose mills.....and the German manufacture has always been very export oriented, so they really went all out to meet all of the various grinder needs for whatever cultural market. Just my opinion.
Hand grinders is a very big topic to me, lots of angles and considerations, but a grinder with a sweet sounding crunch, nice and low voiced, with no squeaks or gnashing metal to metal noise (kind of a common sound on the cheaper now made in China grinders), well, few people in the office should mind.

My grinder did arrive from Italy on the 2nd and was shipped to my home. unfortunately I am in Philly so it will have to sit for a week before I get a chance to look at it. I am out on business for two weeks so I will see it next weekend.