Which Hand Coffee Grinders Are Best? Top Manual Grinder Recommendations for Home Use

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Manual Coffee Grinders for Home Use

Manual coffee grinders are not only more portable and affordable than electric ones -- they add a bit of enjoyment to the brewing ritual itself. The act of grinding is surprisingly stress-relieving, though it does cost more time and effort. With so many models and recommendations flooding the market, how do you choose?

Can a hand grinder fully meet the needs of a coffee shop, or even let you brew the best possible coffee anywhere? Probably not. But manual grinders shine in specific situations -- for travelers staying in hotels, or anyone away from home. Since they need no electricity, they are typically far more affordable, and better value, than premium automatic grinders, letting coffee drinkers enjoy good coffee every day. FrontStreet Coffee has broad experience with many manual grinders and ultimately settled on the Hario.

Hario Skerton

Practicality and Design:

The Hario Skerton may be the best-known manual grinder on the market today. This versatile tool comes from Japanese coffee equipment maker Hario -- the company behind the V60 conical dripper and stainless-steel pour-over kettles, and one of the suppliers with the most diverse catalog in the business. Over the years the grinder has been revised: this version adds a soft rubber base and a silicone lid to keep grounds from spilling after grinding, along with an improved ceramic burr mechanism that used to make grind adjustment difficult. In testing it was one of the easiest grinders to operate, though even so it took at least a minute to dial in the grind on the small ceramic burrs, and grinding an ounce of beans demands real effort.

With most hand grinders, you will be wide awake before you even taste the coffee (the effort of grinding guarantees it) -- and this one is no exception. The screw on top makes securing the handle easier, but adjusting grind size is the hardest part of the device. You have to remove the nut and handle while keeping the serrated washer in place, then tighten or loosen the washer to move the burrs -- fiddly work. You can check the clearance from the bottom of the grinder and drop in a few beans to test the size, which is tedious but intuitive. Once you hit the target setting, though, the consistency of the grounds beats any blade grinder.

Review:

The obvious drawbacks are the glass base, which is awkward to remove, and the tricky grind adjustment. Even so, next to its competitors this grinder is probably the best overall on price, design, ergonomics, and portability -- though its glass base makes it slightly heavier than the two smallest grinders.

Knowledge Expansion: Coffee Grinder Burrs Generally Come in Three Types

Flat burrs, conical burrs, and ghost tooth burrs.

About FrontStreet Coffee

In short: FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee workshop dedicated to sharing coffee knowledge. We share everything we know because we want more people to fall in love with coffee -- a mission we have carried for six years, alongside three discount coffee events each month so more friends can enjoy the best coffee at the lowest possible price.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

A hand grinder is only half the equation -- pair it with the right beans. If you are just starting out with pour-over, most experienced brewers will point you to the Hario V60: redesigned in 2004 around its signature 60-degree cone, its single large outlet and spiral ribs let flow speed depend on your pouring control, drawing out fuller aroma and flavor. For the beans themselves, floral-and-fruit coffees are what the V60 does best -- think FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe with its jasmine florals, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and clean tea-like finish, an easy, forgiving choice for beginners. Brew it with a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio at 90-91°C water, grinding fresh to a medium-fine texture (roughly fine granulated sugar) right before each cup -- which is exactly where a hand grinder earns its keep.