Good hand grinder for French press

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DanN
Posts: 89
Joined: 10 years ago

#1: Post by DanN »

Folks ,

I am in the market for a hand grinder. I have both hario mini mill and skerton and planning to replace them as it was bought 5-6 years back.
Both of them are good, but not great at coarser settings as it makes muddy coffee due to fines. Can you please suggest me some good quality one. I like my coffee in both French press and Eva Solo. Does the hario mini plus any good? Appreciate any feedback.

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Eastsideloco
Posts: 1657
Joined: 13 years ago

#2: Post by Eastsideloco »

I would rule out any grinder with ceramic burrs and look instead at precision hand grinders with steel burrs. This blog from Prima Coffee is a good place to start your research:

https://prima-coffee.com/learn/article/ ... comparison

My Feld grind works great for brewing (or paired with a vintage lever espresso machine); the new model is the Feld2. The Lido hand grinders are probably more popular; it's just too big and heavy for my purposes.
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DanN (original poster)
Posts: 89
Joined: 10 years ago

#3: Post by DanN (original poster) »

Eastsideloco wrote:I would rule out any grinder with porcelain burrs and look instead at precision hand grinders. This blog from Prima Coffee is a good place to start your research:

https://prima-coffee.com/learn/article/ ... comparison

My Feld grind works great for brewing (or paired with a vintage lever espresso machine); the new model is the Feld2. The Lido hand grinders are probably more popular; it's just too big and heavy for my purposes.
Thanks Dave ! . Appreciate your input. I am with you ..The Lidos are a bit heavy in my opinion as well. I guess I shall stick with the newer Feld2 or the Aergrind ( similar to the Felds and a bit cheaper than the rest ). But the Aergrind has ceramic burrs and can you please explain why they are not a good choice. Are they inferior to the steel burrs and how is the Feld at coarse setting ? . Do you still see fines at coarse setting ?

Dan

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Eastsideloco
Posts: 1657
Joined: 13 years ago

#4: Post by Eastsideloco »

The Aergrind has the same 38mm coated steel burrs as the Feldgrind. I have both grinders. I use the Aergrind for travel when space is at a premium. The main difference is that the bean capacity is smaller on the Aergrind, which isn't really an issue when making single cups of coffee for one but could be an issue if you are brewing two cups or more. The smaller grinder also has a little more play in the burr axle, but that's not really a show stopper in my opinion. If you use a coarse grind for French Press, maybe it's a valid concern. But the people whose opinion I value on the subject recommend a cupping grind for French Press, which is more of a medium grind.

I suppose my main complaint with ceramic burrs is that they grind too darn slow. Also, they tend to be used in grinders that are pretty wobbly and produce a lot of fines. It may not be fair to associate the fines with the porcelain burrs. But Baratza uses ceramic burrs and steel burrs in some of their machines and they recommend the steel for brewing and the ceramic for finer grinds.

DanN (original poster)
Posts: 89
Joined: 10 years ago

#5: Post by DanN (original poster) »

Thanks Dave . I guess I shall try the Aerogrind as its a bit cheaper and travel friendly. Also looks like both Aerogrind and the new Feld2 have ceramic coated steel burrs and its in my price range.