Coffee Grinder Reviews

Price Range $44-$60 Check current lowest Online price

There is a trend these days to get back to simpler times and many people are looking for a hand coffee grinder. The Hario Coffee Hand Grinder Skerton takes the traditional hand crank coffee grinder and incorporates it into a more modern design that is attractive in any kitchen. Hario has been making high quality glassware for nearly a century. This lightweight glass, metal and black plastic manual coffee grinder does a good job using a ceramic conical burr grinder.

The Hario hand coffee grinder is ideal for grinds fine enough for espresso and Turkish coffee. If you want Turkish it will take a while longer but generally, grinding takes less than a minute for one or two cups of espresso or coffee. This hand coffee grinder really shines on producing finer grinds. However, coarser grinds are more uneven in consistency because of the play in the mechanism when the burrs are spaced farther apart, leaving you with uneven grounds.

Changing the grind is simple, although slightly inconvenient since you must remove the handle which is not that time consuming. After all, you're looking for a hand coffee grinder for the experience and not the convenience, right? It's fun to grind your own coffee rather than having a machine do it for you.

This crank coffee grinder produces no clumping and there's almost no give in the armature unless you choose a coarse grind. Indeed, the Hario is well made; its thick glass reservoir has been dropped on any number of hard surfaces with no breaking or chipping. That's not to say it is unbreakable but it is extremely durable. Consumers have reported that the ceramic conical burr is durable and very few replacements have been made. It is easy to clean and adjustments take only a few moments. Because there is no motor and the receptacle is made of glass, you won't have the irritating static cling that you get with electric grinders with plastic components.

Consumer reviews of this hand coffee mill have been overwhelmingly positive although a few people found that the grind was inconsistent and the mechanism was unreliable after a time. Of course, they may have done something similar to the man who replaced the handle and nut with a hex nut and a cordless drill....needless to say, this is not recommended! If you want an electric grinder, by all means buy one. But for a hand coffee grinder, most agree that the Hario meets and even exceeds their expectations.

Whether you want to go "off the grid", prepare for times of power loss, need a hand coffee grinder to travel with or just want to enjoy the whole experience of grinding and brewing your own coffee and espresso, the Hario hand coffee grinder is tough to beat. And at around $44, you certainly can't argue with the price.