Electric grinder for travel?

#1: Post by **Ric858** » January 13th, 2019, 7:27 pm

Alright HB'ers, I need your advice...

I'm putting together a travel kit and really would prefer an electric grinder over a manual. It needs to be good at pour over and aeropress, not espresso. I know a hand grinder is what most people go with, but after 3 years of hand grinding on my HG-1, I'm sick of it. It also needs to be fairly compact and capable of single dosing. I envision putting it in a case with a kettle and a v60 or aeropress and various accessories. Let's set the budget at $500, although I'm sure I could be persuaded to spend more if necessary.

Am I nuts here or does anyone else out there travel with an electric? Also, if you have something like this put together, I'd love to see a pic of your setup. Thanks in advance!

#2: Post by **ira** » January 13th, 2019, 9:05 pm

I'd consider a small electric drill and a good small hand grinder you can use it with. The Helor 101 will work as will likely others.

Ira

January 14th, 2019, 12:24 am

What a great idea!

#4: Post by HH » January 14th, 2019, 5:49 am

Another option would be the Niche Zero. It's relatively small, bring only slightly larger than my kettle, grinds superbly and is made to single dose. It's also robust enough that I imagine it could deal with a few knocks without issue.

#5: Post by **Carver** » January 14th, 2019, 7:13 am

If manual, I'd use Helor 101 or KnockAergrind. As for the electric ones - Niche zero definitely.

#6: Post by **voozy** » January 16th, 2019, 10:13 pm

I'm skeptical of the cordless drill suggestion since 1) the drill itself is another heavy and bulky item to travel with (though it might be useful in some kind of escape scenario). 2) Back in the day I tried powering a Hario Skerton with a drill through a hex socket and cap nut, and it was ridiculously clumsy to operate. It might work out better with a Helor or something but I wouldn't spend money on the combination without trying it first.

The Niche Zero looks like a great grinder (I want one...) though it's not that much smaller than typical consumer grinders (Baratza, Capresso, etc). So it depends on your priorities and travel habits. If you're going off for a few day business trip and just want better coffee than the crap from motel dispensers, I'd say just grind enough for the trip from fresh beans at home, and bring it in a sealed jar instead of bringing a grinder. It will hold its flavor tolerably for that long. If you're trying to bring out the best from the beans even during travel then obviously it's a bigger challenge. If it were me I'd treat hand grinding as part of the challenge (the Aergrind is very small) but I can understand the desire for an electric.