I hope Rio or one of the other millaholics are still watching this thread. I really make just straight coffee rather than espresso but would love some advice from you experienced millaholics.

My only foray into electric conical burr grinders died after not even 1 yr of use. I researched electrics again heavily but gave up the hunt after realizing that even the top rated one only had 1 yr warranty and a couple of bad consumer reviews.

So, I bought a couple of Zassenhaus manual grinders (Santiago and Havanna) to supplement my original La Paz. I've enhanced our AeroPresses with the Coava #8 filters for a quick breakfast or lunchtime cup. (The Coava really does boost the flavor put out by the AeroPress and allows a finer grind than the paper filter.) My real joy now is the Espro Press coffee when I have more time to really enjoy a fine cup of coffee. And the Espro Press coffee grind is the reason for my question.

Currently we have the two larger grinders set up differently; coarser for the AeroPress (which may change to finer with the Coava filter), finer for the Espro Press (which can press a much finer gind than the french press grind recommended by Espro).

The smaller grinder, the travel Havanna, is the one I'm still having a bit of trouble with. I had researched this one a lot and read that it is possible to adjust it to a coarser grind than the powdered Turkish. I know it won't be as coarse as the French Press grind, but I don't want it that coarse, anyway. New and out of the box, this grinder was very stiff and nearly impossible to turn until I completely dismantled and reassembled it. It does grind smoothly now, with the adjustment screw at the bottom nearly backed all the way out. I'm wondering if I should remove the spring entirely to give the burrs the space they need to go coarser.

Has anyone who uses these travel grinders (like Rio) any suggestions to get a coarser grind?

After lurking for months and reading this and similar, I finally felt compelled to register and comment. I didn't have the cash for a quality burr grinder (Preciso, Vario, etc) but didn't want to give up quality. Fortunately, I usually only make 1-2 people's worth of espresso at a time, so a hand grinder fit my needs perfectly. This thread and others were instrumental in helping me decide that the Hario Mini Mill would be what I needed. I tried to find comparisons to the Kyocera but couldn't find too much. Given the double cost of the Kyocera, I thought I'd go with the Hario. And so far? Not disappointed at all.

For me and my Gaggia New Baby, 5 or 6 clicks from the tightest setting is just fine. It would be nice if the body was just a bit slimmer, but I have fairly large hands and don't notice it too bad. Those with smaller hands may not find it as comfortable, I guess. The grind is very smooth and I haven't noticed any travel at all in the adjustment nut. So I'm very satisfied, it's a welcome addition to the daily ritual.

I don't know if this is the right forum, but I've been trying to use my Peugeot grinder to make espresso. While it can certainly grind the coffee finely enough (I choked my machine just now), it takes an hour to grind two shot's worth. Is this the nature of this grinder? If so, which hand grinders are faster? Any tips or suggestions would be great.

An hour for two shoot seem like alot. I don't think I could wait that long in the morning.

The OE Pharos is my idea of the perfect grinder it does espresso really well. But I use mine everyday so I might be biased.

How long of a grind on the OE Pharos?

It goes relatively fast.
Maybe 20-30 seconds for a double.

If you go madman speed, maybe about 10 seconds or less for a 16g dose. It's really fast.

This brought a smile on me face!
Thanks for curing the Monday Blues
Funny, just ordered the PHAROS for backup/travel and it seems I missed a pebble on some Sweet Maria's Moka Kadir Blend.
Sad, but funny in a madman kinda way

Houarno wrote:I don't know if this is the right forum, but I've been trying to use my Peugeot grinder to make espresso. While it can certainly grind the coffee finely enough (I choked my machine just now), it takes an hour to grind two shot's worth. Is this the nature of this grinder? If so, which hand grinders are faster? Any tips or suggestions would be great.

I'm surprised it works at all. The Peugeot hand grinders feature design elements that are optimized for coarse grinding rather than fine grinding. I use them for drip through press. On a press setting, the lower burr strap, at the bottom of the funnel, centers the burr axel and keeps the burrs in alignment, and the spring below that strap keeps the burrs pressed apart. These design elements reduce the amount of fines at a coarse grind setting relative to other hand mills.

While I have a hario mini slim that I use for travel purposes, I use vintage grinders for my espresso setup at home. The right mid-century KyM or Dienes (Pe De) mill will get the job done admirably. These are typically less expensive than a comparable Zassenhaus. My favorite KyM grinder (circa-1950) chews 20g of beans into a consistent fluffy pile of goodness-fine enough for any espresso machine-in about 30 seconds. Other mills (new and vintage) are much easier to crank, but take longer to do the same job.

There are no sure and fast rules, but in general if the grinder adjusts from the top and features stepped, locking adjustments, it's probably not going to work for espresso. Also, I wouldn't target Trosser mills for espresso, and definitely not Peugeot mills. Use the Peugeot for your press and Bob's your uncle.

The hand grinder photo essay on the grinder forum is full of photos of mills that are used regularly for espresso. While it's never a sure bet, if you look for models that work for other Home Baristas and target mills that are in decent condition, you can find a classic vintage mill that works for espresso for the same price range as new entry- to mid-level hand mill. For the price of a new Zassenhaus, you can get a seriously classy vintage mill. Having driven both a new ceramic burr grinder and quite a few vintage ones, I find the vintage mills much more satisfying to operate.

My good vintage grinders do the job in 50-60 turns of the crank. Assuming non-zombie abilities, this takes 30-45 seconds at a relaxed pace, 15 seconds if you hurry.

Dosing takes another 30 seconds of course.

Sum total with a decent hand grinder is 1-2 minutes. The total with an electric would be 1 minute or less I guess, so the difference is 1 minute.

Anyone who cannot afford the extra minute for each espresso will need to pay the extra cash for the motor. There are, of course, those who believe that if the burrs are turned by a motor they somehow create better espresso.