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If you are looking for the best manual coffee grinders, you are a coffee lover who enjoys the taste and smell of freshly ground coffee.
But, you want to elevate your coffee experience by making it more authentic and aromatic. The good news is that we have compiled this guide to review the best manual coffee grinders.
A manual coffee grinder is an affordable yet high-performing solution to fulfill your daily coffee demand.
You can enjoy different types of grinding settings without investing in buying multiple coffee machines with these products.
Best Manual Coffee Grinders Reviews
You can enjoy different types of grinding settings without investing in buying multiple coffee machines with these products.
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JavaPresse Manual Coffee Grinder | Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill | MITBAK Manual Coffee Grinder | Hario Ceramic Coffee Mini Plus Mill | Daurunfy Manual Coffee Grinder |
1. JavaPresse Manual Coffee Grinder
If you are a traveler looking for a portable coffee grinder, the JavaPresse Coffee Manual Coffee Grinder is an apt choice.
It features a durable body and a quality burr.
One of its distinguishing features is its in-built 15 adjustable grinding setting, allowing you to grind coarse and fine grounds.
Product Highlights
The JavaPresse Coffee Manual Coffee Grinder features a coffee grinding pocket tube-like design that lets you carry it in your backpack for camping or hiking.
Since it has a stainless steel body, you don’t need to worry about breaking it in case of an accidental fall.
It also offers a detachable hand crank that makes it easy for you to store and pack it.
The adjustable knob allows you to select the grind settings, including:
French Press: three to six clicks
Pour-Over: Four clicks
Aeropress: Two clicks
Espresso: One click
The Good
The JavaPresse Coffee Manual Coffee Grinder is quite convenient and user-friendly.
Anyone can quickly load beans, offload grinds, and even select the grind size.
The manufacturer claims that it grinds 90% quieter than most electric grinders.
Another plus point is its mess-free operations. All the credit goes to its simple and compact design.
The beans are self-contained so that no grinds fall off to create a mess.
After the grinding process, you can easily slide off the grinder container.
The Bad
What we didn’t like about JavaPresse Coffee Manual Coffee Grinder is it’s relatively slow in operations.
It takes more than five minutes to grind coffee beans for a decent cup.
Consequently, it requires more effort than the rest of the manual grinders.
If you are up for a moderate arm workout in the morning, it’s a pretty good deal.
Also, if you like brew-style coffee, it can create a fine grind powder.
However, if you loosen up the burr to make a coarser grind, the grind size becomes inconsistent, making french press brews taste more bitter.
Finally, the removable crank could sometimes detach during the grinding process, so you need to be extra careful.
PROS
Affordable
Self-contained beans
Consistent grinding
15 grind settings
Exceptional customer service
CONS
Complicated grind settings
Ceramic burr
Requires long grinding time
2. Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill
The Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill is one of the best hand crank coffee grinders because of its affordability and versatility.
It offers an incredible array of grind settings ranging from fine to coarse.
It also exhibits enhanced consistency with its easy-to-grind handle.
Product Highlights
The Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill outshines the rest of the grinders due to its high-performing design and size.
You can select different grinding settings by unscrewing the grind catcher and turning the dial underneath the burrs.
Just turn the knob to choose the grind settings marked by clicks.
The Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill features ceramic conical burrs instead of steel. Don’t consider it a downside because ceramic burrs remain cool and don’t modify the coffee beans’ natural aroma and oils.
The hopper is made from heavy-duty plastic, which is also heat-proof.
Lastly, the glass grind catcher has an airtight lid to store beans.
The Good
What we liked about the Hario is its minimal wobbling while grinding.
The engineers have solved the problem of inconsistent grinding by introducing a stabilizing shaft and lower burr spring.
This ensures consistent grinding throughout the process.
In terms of grind settings, we give Hario 100 percent.
It’s one of the few best hand coffee grinders with diverse grinding settings, including Turkish coffee and French press.
The best thing about ceramic burrs is that you can grind them for a more extended period without taking any intermittent breaks.
In the case of steel burrs, you may need to take breaks to prevent bean overheating.
The Bad
Although the Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill has an improved design, it doesn’t produce uniform coarse grinds.
We have highlighted some advantages of ceramic burrs, but there are some disadvantages as well.
They are brittle and more prone to chipping, so you must ensure there aren’t any pebbles in the beans.
Pros:
Low static
Affordable
Consistent grinding
Durable plastic parts
Cons:
More time for fine grinding
Inconsistent coarse grinding
Product Highlights
The MITBAK Manual Coffee Grinder features a bean size selection setting for selecting the perfect bean size to match your brewing needs.
By the way, it’s not just an ordinary grinder. It’s a portable, noise-free manual grinder that produces less heat than a traditional electric grinder.
It’s made of acrylic and stainless steel, making it durable and elegant.
3. MITBAK Manual Coffee Grinder
If you are looking for an efficient yet compact coffee grinder, the MITBAK Manual Coffee Grinder is the best choice for you.
It features a unique vintage design with razor-sharp stainless steel blades that grind the coffee beans without altering their original taste and aroma.
Product Highlights
The MITBAK Manual Coffee Grinder features a bean size selection setting for selecting the perfect bean size to match your brewing needs.
By the way, it’s not just an ordinary grinder. It’s a portable, noise-free manual grinder that produces less heat than a traditional electric grinder.
It’s made of acrylic and stainless steel, making it durable and elegant.
The Good
The MITBAK Manual Coffee Grinder offers a unique feature of selecting the bean size.
Once it understands the bean size, it will produce coarsely ground beans consistently.
We also like that this dapper grinder has a stylish design, which is why it stands out among the crowd.
It’s a perfect addition to the barista section of your modern kitchen interior.
The Bad
We can only find one drawback; this grinder requires a lot of manual effort to grind.
Not only that, but it may take several minutes to make a coarse powder.
It may happen that some of the beans don’t grind at once.
So, you may need to stir up a bit to redistribute the beans inside.
Pros:
Affordable
Easy assembling
Smooth crank motion
Cons:
Requires more manual effort
Uneven grinding
4. Hario Ceramic Coffee Mini Plus Mill
If you are a hiker and like to go on long trekking, the Hario Ceramic Coffee Mini Plus Mill is an optimal choice.
It’s one of the most economical hand-crank coffee grinders on the market.
The maker, Hario, is a Japanese company considered a specialist in manufacturing premium-quality manual coffee grinders.
Product Highlights
The Hario Mini Plus Mill lets you grind coffee beans into different sizes: espresso, drip, and French.
With a weight of about 255 grams, the manual coffee grinder is only eight inches tall, allowing you to carry it in your backpack.
It comes with two cups so that you can grind depending upon your coffee brewing needs.
Then, a detachable handle allows you to store it independently.
The Good
We like the Hario Ceramic Coffee Mini Plus Mill because of its portability and capacity to grind 40g of beans in the hopper.
Another good thing is its stepped grinding adjustment settings, which allow you to select your desired grind level.
You can change the setting with the help of a user-friendly and smooth click wheel.
It features conical ceramic burrs rather than a stainless steel one. That’s ok because ceramic burrs produce less heat than stainless steel.
One significant improvement in its design is the reinforced grinder arm to prevent grind slippage or breakage.
The Bad
One thing which is a concern to us is it’s minimal in size.
There is a tradeoff between portability and size.
So, if a grinder is small and lightweight, it can only be ported conveniently.
Its plastic construction is less durable than the other best manual grinders in the market.
PROS
Easy to clean
Quiet operations
Portable
Pocket-friendly
CONS
Very small
Reduced longevity
5. Daurunfy Manual Coffee Grinder
If you are looking for a durable and straightforward coffee grinder, the Mocoe Manual Coffee Grinder is optimal.
It features conical burrs to grind the coffee into a consistent texture.
Product Highlights
Te Daurunfy Manual Coffee Grinder is one of the best hand-crank coffee grinders.
By the way, it’s the highest number of settings among all the manual grinders discussed in this review.
The triangular-shaped bottle body enhances its stability and allows you to grasp it while grinding.
Rotating the ceramic core in a clockwise direction produces a more delicate powder.
On the other hand, an anti-clockwise movement yields a coarser powder.
The Good
With a wide range of 18 settings, it gives you full control to adjust the coarseness to make pour-over, drip, cold brew, French press, espresso, and percolator.
The ceramic conical burr grinds the beans more uniformly. Luckily, it doesn’t overheat the coffee beans, which can otherwise alter their taste or aroma.
Compared to a standard electric grinder, the Daurunfy Manual Coffee Grinder produces 90% less noise during its operation.
Its five inches crank handle is also long enough to provide sufficient leverage for easy and smooth grinding.
Another plus point is it’s easy to assemble and disassemble, making it convenient for cleaning.
The Bad
The Daurunfy Manual Coffee Grinder can only grind coffee beans for two cups at one time.
It isn’t exactly bad for a small coffee grinder, but coffee lovers don’t say no to two cups.
PROS
Conical ceramic burr
Stainless steel body
Quiet operation
Easy to assemble, disassemble, and clean
CONS
Makes two cups simultaneously
Buyer’s Guide
After reading the above reviews about the top-hand coffee grinders, you must be tempted to buy one.
If your answer is yes, go through the following factors to understand what to find in the best manually operated coffee grinder.
Steel or Ceramic Burrs
It’s one of the most important deciding features. Manual grinders come with a conical burr construction, either made of steel or ceramic.
We all know that steel is sharper and more durable than ceramic. It can grind fast and do it consistently.
However, steel is expensive based on its performance and robustness.
Consequently, if the budget isn’t a problem for you, we recommend going for a steel burr grinder.
Handle Length
A handle’s length is a make or break point for manual coffee grinders.
A shorter handle requires more manual effort to grind the beans, while a longer one works effortlessly.
Bearings
High-quality manual coffee grinders gesture bearing to make the grinding process smooth and comfortable.
It’s always best to opt for a product that doesn’t require unnecessary effort and time.
Portability and Size
The rule of thumb is “Less is more,” meaning a small manual coffee grinder is portable, allowing you to carry it while traveling.
However, if you don’t intend to carry it more often, then a vintage-looking grinder will be a great addition to your kitchen counter.
Capacity
Capacity is directly proportional to your daily requirement. If you grind coffee multiple times a day, we apologize that manual grinders don’t fit in this category.
The hand grinders can only handle a limited amount of beans at one time.
It means you can use a manual grinder if you want to occasionally make just a couple of cups.
Quality
We intuitively go for a sturdier grinder, which will last for years.
A coffee grinder with a stainless steel body is a wise choice and a long-term investment.
They are also easier to clean than the rest, fancy-schmancy or plastic grinders.
Convenience
If you want to make your life convenient, opting for a grinder with removable parts is better.
Nowadays, you can easily find dishwasher-safe manual grinders, but most of the models recommend handwashing.
Burr vs. Blade
A burr grinder exhibits better performance than a blade one.
That is because it crushes the beans instead of chopping them, keeping the original coffee taste intact.
Another plus point for selecting a burr grinder is that it doesn’t require sharpening.
Grind Settings
Most of the best quality hand coffee grinders have several settings, generally more than 10.
These settings allow you to make ultra-fine to extra coarse powder for French press and espresso.
FAQs About Manual Coffee Grinders
1. Are Manual Coffee Grinders Better?
Yes, because they exhibit superior performance as compared to the electric ones.
First, they crush and chop the beans instead of merely slicing them.
The manual coffee grinder is also known to preserve the authentic aroma and taste of the coffee beans.
The manual process produces very little to no heat, thus, keeping the beans’ originality intact.
Lastly, they are comparatively less noisy but more durable.
2. What Is the Best Setting for Grinding Coffee?
It’s a case-based question that depends upon your coffee choice.
You can select a grinding setting from various options: extra coarse, coarse, medium-coarse, medium, medium-fine, fine, and very fine.
The best thing about a manual grinder is that it gives you a diverse range of grinder settings without buying any other coffee grinder.
3. Why Are Manual Coffee Grinders so Expensive?
What matters to you the most as a coffee lover? The answer is straight-away: its original aroma and flavor.
The emphasis here is on “originality,” which is why a manual coffee grinder is expensive.
It’s not just about slicing the coffee beans in cheap grinders. It’s about uniform bean size, which is fundamental for consistent coffee taste.
Since manual grinders don’t heat the beans, the coffee tastes so much better.
Lastly, they are quiet in operation, unlike the electric grinders, which wake up the entire household early morning.
4. Is It Cheaper To Grind Your Own Coffee?
We often fickle between grinding our coffee beans or buying pre-ground coffee.
A 12-ounce bag of ground coffee costs around $6 to $18, while you can buy a whole bean bag for between $8 and $13.
You can do the math that grinding your coffee is cheaper than buying a grounded coffee bag.
5. How Long Do Coffee Grinders Last?
The good news is that a manual coffee grinder lasts five to seven years, depending on its cleaning, maintenance, and usage.
The longevity also depends upon the brand, beans size, degree of roast, and volume ground.
By the way, lightly roasted beans tend to be harder on the burr or blades than well-roasted beans.
What Is the Best Manual Coffee Grinder?
To sum up, the best hand coffee grinder is the one that is both compact and efficient.
It keeps the original aroma and taste of coffee beans intact and requires minimal manual effort to rotate the crank handle.
We tried to review all kinds of best coffee grinders available in the market.
You can select JavaPresse if you are a travel enthusiast.
You can opt for the MITBAK Manual Coffee Grinder to add a vintage touch to your barista section at home.
Also, Hario is a well-reputed brand for designing long-lasting coffee grinders.
By now, we’re sure you can make a well-informed decision about your next manual coffee grinder purchase.
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