Best hand grinder for CLARITY in espresso?

#1: Post by **Trevor_D** » February 10th, 2023, 12:12 pm

Looking at simplifying my setup and getting a flair 58 and a hand grinder. Trying to figure out the best hand grinder for lighter roast espresso, emphasizing a desire for clarity and brightness in the cup. I know I may be asking for trouble doing light roasts with a hand grinder, but you never know unless you try, right? I was thinking about the 1zpresso K-Ultra, but am worried the steps might not be fine enough. Lastly, if it can double as a pour over grinder as well, that would be awesome, but focus is on espresso. Price is no issue. Thanks!

#2: Post by **spressomon** » February 10th, 2023, 12:29 pm

Light roasts and hand grinding? Better have a back up plan

. My MG-1, when screwed to the counter, will do it but its still a chore for light/dense beans.

But if you insist: My OE Lido OG has a high mechanical advantage along with my former 1Zpresso JE-Plus. The JE-Plus can be driven with a cordless drill...but you better have a strong hand for light/dense beans.

#3: Post by **JB90068** » February 10th, 2023, 1:34 pm

If you really want separation of flavors for light roasts then my suggestion would be to go with a flat burr grinder. If you don't have budget constraints then have you thought about an end game grinder?

#4: Post by **spressomon** » February 11th, 2023, 10:36 am

Maybe this will be "the one": Pietro by Fiorenzato - vertical flat-burr manual grinders

February 11th, 2023, 11:43 am

JB90068 wrote:If you really want separation of flavors for light roasts then my suggestion would be to go with a flat burr grinder. If you don't have budget constraints then have you thought about an end game grinder?

+1

My equipment:
I have used as my espresso grinders since ~ 2012:
Conical burr (this is my goto grinder)
(a) Orphan Espresso Pharos v1.1 (68mm Italmill conical burrs) and aligned. Sold as got tired of effort with light roasted bean even with bench dogs fixation of Pharos.
(b) Helor 106 (71mm Mazzer single phase conical burr same as in Robur) and aligned

Flat burr grinder since 2009 (not my goto grinder)
(a) Mazzer Super Jolly and in 2020 addition of SSP Red Speed High Uniformity burr and aligned --> gifted away in 2021
(b) Mazzer Major with SSP Red Speed High Uniformity burrs ; aligned

I don't value flavor separation that much as my palate is not that good:( This being said having expert home barista with LeverCraft Ultra with 98mm SSP burrs brew super light roast bean with amazing at last year's local HB meetup. Even then I could detect the flavor separation.

#6: Post by **tamhleten** » February 11th, 2023, 1:43 pm

I think the highest clarity hand grinders are the: Commante C40 and the 1zpresso k-plus (heavily inspired by the Commante).

Here's a discussion on the differences between the two:

#7: Post by **Icemax33** » March 2nd, 2023, 9:15 pm

The flair 58 is a great choice, it is capable of making incredible espresso, it blows my semi-automatic machine out of the water in terms of shot quality from light to dark. Now I don't want to be a dream killer, but have you ever used a hand grinder with light roasts for espresso before? Let me tell you it sucks. I am 6'6", 235, athletic build. I like hand grinding, I enjoy the smell of the beans and the sound of them being ground by hand, but light roasts are tough to grind for espresso. I am okay to do it every now and again when I want to try a dose from a different grinder (usually I use my electric flat), but there is no way I would do that every day. Keep in mind you have to grind FINE for the flair 58 and granted you can probably go a little coarser with a light roast since you probably won't want to pull at 9 bar, but trust me you don't want to have to grind light roast for espresso with a hand grinder every day (maybe something like the hg1 prime would be okay because of the mechanical advantage). You can hook a drill up to most hand grinders, but even then I think you will find that conical burrs may not give you what you are looking for in light roast espresso shots. I am not a fan of the build quality of the DF64, but I would consider a DF64 with MP burrs if you know you only want a grinder for light roast espresso or better yet wait until Joe from espresso outlet has the DF64v/s ready and get that with the MP burrs.