Home Barista is one of the premier websites on the net that provides a home to a thriving community of coffee lovers. As the newest members of this community, we would like to introduce ourselves, as well as the HG one grinder.



Our ethos is simple, we're committed to producing intelligently designed, well made products that last. The HG one grinder is our flagship product in a line of tools designed for building better coffee.

The HG one grinder is a hand grinder, built around both 71mm and 83mm conical burr sets. Designed for home use, our grinder uses burrs most commonly found in high-end commercial grinders. We've squeezed these burrs into an elegantly compact hand grinder that doesn't take over your counter top.

We've incorporated some of the most sought after features into our machine. The HG one grinder is extremely simple to clean and maintain, retains very little grounds in the chamber after use, and is built to last. Most importantly, it produces an excellent quality grind, that in turn, produces an exceptional shot of espresso.

As we come close to the end of our pre-production cycle, we have one more prototype due before we start our initial production run. We would like to take this opportunity to share our experiences with our future customers, so they can see what goes into building the HG one grinder.

My business partner Paul and I will be frequenting the forums to answer any questions you might have about the HG one grinder.

In the meantime, you can find more information on our website at:

http://www.hg-one.com

best,

Paul & Craig

That is one elegant machine. 78mm and 81 mm burrs, wow! Their website says they hope to offer the grinder for "under $1,000." It will be interesting to see what kind of market there is for a hand grinder at a price comparable to or above some very good, established electric grinders.

Wow looks really interesting!

Uh-oh.... Where will I put it on my work bench? 81mm....

If our nice friends at HG and OE are willing to send me a "HG One" and "Pharos" I will be happy to begin the Clash of the Hand Grinders thread.

That's one slick design.

Very interesting design! It certainly looks very good!

Also right on target in your branding and web site.

A few questions/comments:
- What about left-handed? Will the holding handle (fixed) be switchable/orderable on either sides?
- What about a 53mm portafilter cradle? (La Spaziale S1 installation base is quite large)
- The price point will probably be decisive for your potential market size. The OE Pharos has proved that there is a market for a high end quality grind hand grinder and has taken the "Palm Pilot" approach: simple, basic, does the job adequately on a functionality basis, and came to a $250 price point. Will there be such a market for the same grind quality at a 300% premium, while offering a better design and more user-friendliness (cleaner, portafilter cradde, etc.). Time will tell...
- A $1000 hand grinder vs a $1500 Compak K10... ? Yours seems better built and thought out. Still, pricey compared to grind quality equivalent motorized grinder. But hey, there is a market for the Versalab M3 at >$2000: Who am I to judge.

You certainly did your work before making your announcement, I wish you well for your start-up.

Now that I had little more time to browse through your web site I have some comments that I would love to get your thinking on...

First, grinder looks really good. It seems extremely well put together. Work of art.

- How is the grind fineness adjusted?

- It seems that portafilter holder is really required otherwise I do not see how you grind into the basket without it. How did you foresee this working?

On business side, I really, really hope that you are already working on motorized version. The market for high-end $1000 hand-grinder, I bet, is vanishingly small. I do not see you being able to survive on it (although I would love to be proven wrong). Pharos which is $250 sold about 400 units and that is with much more approachable price point. I don't see you being able to be ramen profiltable at $1000 per unit.

Motorized monster conical grinder with no retention is what aficionado market wants. I hope you make it at $1000 price point and you will have market cornered because there is nothing like it available... Most people don't want to crank hand grinder at 5 AM in the morning... Hand grinders are really for small number of crazy people willing to do all the work. At $1000 price point its for very small number of the craziest of the crazy

Very interesting grinder and I can't wait to get my hands on it...

I see two bearings, well done. So we have a hand Compak and a hand Robur now.

tekomino wrote:On business side, I really, really hope that you are already working on motorized version.
...
Motorized monster conical grinder with no retention is what aficionado market wants.

This was my first reaction as well. And while we're dreaming, what about a grinder that could be used in either mode? (motorized or hand cranked) That would be a truly unique product in the marketplace.