Freshness is the key to a great cup of coffee. The pre-ground coffee you buy in the supermarket tastes pretty dull in flavor by the time you get it home. Once you grind the coffee beans right before brewing, you can taste the rich and original flavor that a coffee bean is supposed to present. Your whole house will be filled with the pleasant aroma of coffee. A good grinder is essential for brewing a great cup of coffee at home.
There are manual and electric grinders in the marketplace. Compared with electric grinders, manual grinders offer more advantages in many aspects. Say you wake up at six in the morning and want to enjoy your first cup of coffee of the day, you would prefer hand grinding instead of turning on the noisy machine. When you go camping and want to enjoy a cup of joe and the beautiful views, a portable grinder and manual brewing coffee maker will be awesome. In addition, the entry-level hand grinders are more affordable than most electric grinders.
This guide will go through the best manual coffee grinders and point out why it’s worth your consideration. If you are interested in electric coffee grinders, another article shows you the best electric coffee grinder.
Things You Should Consider When Choosing The Best Manual Coffee Grinder
Budget – Entry level or higher standard?
A manual grinder costs $30 to $300 or even more. That’s quite a big difference, right? It’s unfair to compare the $30 grinder with the one over $300. Normally the price tells the quality of the design, ease of use, material, and most importantly, the burr’s quality.
But no worries, even under $100, the grinders you found can nicely handle most of the brewing methods at home, such as pour-over, french press, cold brew, Aeropress. Those are the most common brewing methods for the home barista.
However, the budget for the Espresso grinder is much higher. Since the espresso machine is very picky for the fineness, naturally, it requires a high-end grinder with high-quality steel conical burr to get the great Espresso. And even if your manual grinder is good enough to produce the espresso level coffee grounds, it’s still recommended to use an electric grinder since it’s more convenient and easy. Hand grinding takes too long to grind the finest manually unless you don’t mind doing some arm exercises.
Most of the hand grinders listed in this article are mainly for manual brewing and might not meet the standard of Espresso. I will list the best coffee grinders in the following price ranges: Entry-level (Under $50), Upgraded ($50-100), High quality ($100 and above), so you can find the best coffee grinder within your budget.
Capacity – Single serve or multiple cups?
Usually, how many cups of coffee do you make at one time? Do you serve the whole family or just you? More compact and smaller hand grinders can only deal with 20 -25 grams per time, while some can deal with more than 4 cups at a time.
If you often travel or enjoy outdoor activities a lot, you probably need a smaller grinder and coffee gear that you can easily fit in your bag. So size and capacity are what you need to concern about.
Burr Materials – Ceramic or Steel Burr Coffee Grinder?
Almost all the manual coffee grinders are using conical burrs, you won’t find a manual blade grinder. But when it comes to materials, you need to make a decision between steel burrs and ceramic burrs. Steel burr is shaper than ceramic burr, which means you can save some energy while grinding your coffee. And usually, steel burrs can output more consistent coffee grounds.
A steel conical burr grinder is more expensive, while a ceramic burr is more affordable. It’s not surprising that most of the manual grinders under $100 use the ceramic burrs inside.
Grind Settings – Does it cover your favorite brewing methods?
We want a coffee grinder that is ideal for different brewing methods. We usually use pour-over, french press, AeroPress, cold brew or drip coffee maker to make coffee at home.
If you switch the way you enjoy the coffee, you also need to make some adjustments for the grind sizes for the best flavor. You’ll love to find a grinder that is easier to change the settings and cover all your favorite brewing gears. An adjustable coffee grinder can certainly maximum your joys while you are exploring the brewing methods. We made a comprehensive chart for coffee grind sizes of different brewing styles for your reference.
Grind Consistency
If you have both coarser and finer coffee in the same batch of coffee ground, the particle size makes a difference in how the water extracts the coffee from those particles, so the flavor of the coffee will not be consistent. Even you have the best specialty coffee, you can’t reveal the flavor profiles without the good burr grinder.
Unlike the blade grinders, a burr grinder makes sure everything goes through the burr so it is going to be relatively consistent. But different burr with a different design, quality, and materials may differ in the final result. Normally finer coffee setting can get relatively consistent particles while the coarser settings may see the differences. Of course, a higher price tag usually tells you the quality of their burrs.
The 10 Best Manual Coffee Grinders
Now you must get a rough idea of what you want. There are hundreds of different models and brands out there in the marketplace. I researched and picked 12 manual coffee grinders for you and organized them into different price ranges to save your time. The following are the best selling and have an excellent reputation at their price level.
| Preview | Product | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Manual Coffee Grinder by JavaPresse — Manual... | 23,319 Reviews | See on Amazon |
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Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill - 'Mini-Slim Plus'... | 4,715 Reviews | See on Amazon |
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Hario "Skerton Pro" Ceramic Manual Coffee Grinder,... | 1,876 Reviews | See on Amazon |
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Porlex Mini Stainless Steel Coffee Grinder | 687 Reviews | See on Amazon |
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TIMEMORE Chestnut C2 Manual Coffee Grinder... | 1,312 Reviews | See on Amazon |
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Handground Precision Manual Coffee Grinder:... | 1,127 Reviews | See on Amazon |
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1Zpresso Q2 Manual Coffee Grinder Mini Slim Travel... | 501 Reviews | See on Amazon |
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1Zpresso JX Manual Coffee Grinder Silver Capacity... | 1,077 Reviews | See on Amazon |
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Lido 3 Manual Coffee Grinder | 48mm Swiss Conical... | 62 Reviews | See on Amazon |
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Zassenhaus - 40098 Zassenhaus Santiago Coffee Mill... | 299 Reviews | See on Amazon |
Last update on 2023-03-26 / As an Amazon Associate, if you buy via the links, Brewcoffeehome earns a commission at no extra cost to you.
In the following part, you’ll find more highlights and details of each product mentioned above, and I will show you why they are the best picks.
Best Entry-level Manual Coffee Grinders
If you are new to home brewing and don’t want to spend lots of money on a hand grinder. Or have a tight budget on this but still want to enjoy the freshly ground coffee every day, these entry-level hand grinders can meet your requirements.
1. Javapresse
Javapresse caught my attention on Amazon with thousands of positive reviews, and the price is super affordable for most people who want to enjoy fresh ground coffee at home.
It’s a nice looking grinder in stainless steel material, with a small window in the container, you can see how much coffee ground you have while you are grinding. But honestly, I’m not sure if this is necessary since we normally weigh the beans on the scale before putting them in the grinder (At least that’s what I do). But overall, the design is good, at least it’s average. Stainless steel is durable.
JavaPresse comes with a ceramic conical burr, but the ground is good enough for pour-over, french press, and Aeropress compared to other models at this price point.
There’s an adjustable knob under the burr. You just need to turn the adjustment knob all the way to the right, and twist it to the left to adjust the fineness.
The removable hand crank and 9.4 ounces weight make it a great portable grinder. You can put it in your bag and go camping with it without any problems. It’s suitable for 1-2 cups only.
Quick Facts
- Dimensions: 1.8 x 7.5 x 1.8 inches
- Weight: 9.4 ounces
- Capacity: 40g (2-3 coffees per grind)
- Burr material: Ceramic conical burr
- Number of grind settings: 18
Pros
- Very affordable price
- Stainless steel material, durable
- Good portability, compact and lightweight
Cons
- Doesn’t look charming
- Slow grinder, not easy to grind
2. Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill-Original – Mini Slim
Hario, a Japanese brand with a high reputation in the Coffee industry, also provides great easy to use grinders and many other coffee gears for coffee drinkers. This mini hand grinder is worth consideration at this price level.
Like the other grinders under $50, this Hario Mini Slim grinder uses ceramic burr, not as sharp and fast as the steel burrs in more expensive models. You might need extra effort to grind the harder beans.
The hand grinder is made out of robust plastic, so it’s great for traveling with this. Just throw it into your suitcase without worrying about damaging anything. And it’s very easy to clean.
It is capable of 2 cups of coffee. There’s a mark on the chamber. With the slim design and lightweight, it is a good travel companion. You can enjoy tasty coffee anywhere.
Quick Facts
- Dimensions: 7.3 x 4.5 x 3.2 inches
- Weight: 11.2 ounces
- Capacity: 24 g (1-2 cups of coffee per time)
- Burr material: Ceramic conical burr
Pros
- Affordable price
- Easy to assemble and clean
- Lightweight and compact design make it a portable grinder
Cons
- Small capacity
- Not very consistent
- Slow grinder
3. Hario Skerton Pro
Compared with the Mini Slim version, Skerton Pro is more expensive but with larger capacity and better materials. It’s one of the most popular and best-selling hand grinders on Amazon.
It’s easy to use. You can see through the transparent glass chamber. A much wider hopper lets you easily fill the coffee beans inside. A slip-free rubber base helps you put it on the table steadily.
Since it’s a Pro version of the Skerton, it upgraded the new coffee burr design with the more straightforward grind size adjustment. The hand crank is also improved with a nice solid feeling comparing to other Hairo manual grinders.
It can produce relatively uniform ground coffee for the pour-over, french press, and Aeropress with the durable ceramic burr.
The glass chamber looks nice, but it’s more fragile than the other stainless steel or plastic products. It’s easy to clean since all the parts can be easily disassembled.
If you are a Hario fan, you probably want to have a set of Hario manual brewing gears, including the V60, the ‘Buono’ gooseneck kettle, Hario Coffee server. You don’t want to miss this one in your Hario collection.
Quick Facts
- Dimensions: 4.1 x 3.9 x 8.1 inches
- Weight: 1.43 pounds
- Capacity: 100 g (1-4 cups of coffees per grind)
- Burr material: Ceramic conical burr
- Number of grind settings: 18
Pros
- Affordable price
- Large capacity hopper
- Relatively uniform for medium coffee grounds
Cons
- Glass chamber doesn’t look durable as stainless steel
- Not easy to grind
- Not consistent for coarser grinds
Best Upgraded Manual Coffee Grinders
These are the options for anyone who wants to upgrade from the electric blade grinders or the entry-level manual coffee grinders. Or just want to get started with a higher quality burr grinder without upgrading from time to time. There are the good choices.
4. Porlex mini
What is the best travel grinder for a coffee lover? Porlex Mini must be on your radar. This small hand grinder is made in Osaka, Japan. How small is it? It’s small enough to fit in your Aeropress, perfect match! It’s only 47 mm diameters and 130mm tall, it’s super portable for taking it with you when going hiking, camping, or traveling.
It comes with the ceramic conical burr, with a wide range of fineness options, it can easily handle fine or coarse grind to ensure the coffee quality in your cup. It has almost 1,000 ratings globally on Amazon with 4.6 out of 5 stars, the quality is proven by the customer.
The body is stainless steel and static-free, with a rubber band that comes with a place for you to store your removable crank handle. Without disassembling the parts like the other, you just need to take the handle off and keep it in the rubber band. It’s so considerate and sweet. It fully deserves the best manual coffee grinder for travelers.
Of course, compact size also means a small capacity, only has 20-gram capacity. That may be a problem for heavy coffee drinkers.
Quick Facts
- Dimensions: 6 x 2.3 x 1.8 inches
- Weight: 8 ounces
- Capacity: 20 g (single cup)
- Burr material: Ceramic conical burr
Pros
- Super compact size, great portability
- Good consistency of the grind
- Easy to adjust the grind size
- Easy to hold while grinding
Cons
- Small capacity
- A little bit overpriced
5. TimeMore Chestnut C2
This Chestnut C2 is a high-speed hand grinder with a set of 38mm stainless steel burr and double bearings, which are usually found in the more expensive hand grinders. The consistency and grinding experience are much better than the ceramic burrs mentioned above. Check out our hands-on review of Timemore C2.
Fast, fast, fast! How fast is it? It takes me 20 seconds to grind 20 grams of beans for the coarser settings. It takes 10 seconds more to grind the same amount of beans in a finer setting. You can get your coffee ground ready before the water is boiled.
Chestnut C2 also uses the stepped adjustment to change the fineness setting by twisting the adjustable knob. It provides the full grind range, allows you to grind very fine for Moka pot or even espresso, or coarser grinds for French Press.
The body is made of aluminum, lighter than the stainless steel products. The specially designed textured on the surface is not only for the good looking, but also practical. When you hold and grind the coffee beans. It adds extra grip while grinding, so it’s not slippery at all during the whole process and makes you feel very comfortable.
The drawback is the capacity is only 20 grams, it is only suitable for one cup per time, it’s fast enough though. It also comes with a brush, it’s easy to clean up the grounds with it. And a bonus in the packing, a very nice carry bag.
You can easily disassemble the parts and clean them thoroughly for the best condition. Check out this article, and you’ll know how to clean a burr coffee grinder. (We disassembled the C2 so you can see what’s inside.)
Timemore offers other models in different price ranges. But this one is good enough for home brewing.
Quick Facts
- Dimensions: 1.8 x 7.5 x 1.8 inches
- Weight: 430 grams (0.95 pound)
- Capacity: 25g (1-2 coffees per grind)
- Burr material: Stainless steel 38mm conical burr
- Number of grind settings: 36 steps
- Double bearings
Pros
- Premium quality at an entry-level price
- Great grinding experience, grind fast and smoothly
- Produces consistent coffee grounds
- Lightweight and great for traveling
Cons
- Small capacity only for 1 cup per time.
6. Handground Precision Manual Coffee Grinder
You have 15 setting choices for handling the coarseness of grind for the most common coffee makers and brewing methods, it can output consistent coffee in the grind size you need.
The coffee beans are evenly ground thanks to the 40mm conical ceramic burr mill. And it also equipped with a triple mounted axle that increases the stability for a more consistent grind every time.
Also, it’s easy to disassemble for cleaning. The bottom chamber and the hopper are made of glass. It looks pretty but fragile. So it may not be the one you want to take it out.
But it is one of the best selling hand coffee grinders at this price range that you should consider.
Quick Facts
- Dimensions: 6 x 4 x 8.5 inches
- Weight: 1.74 pounds
- Capacity: 100g (1-4 cups of coffee per grind)
- Burr material: 40mm Ceramic conical burr
- Number of grind settings: 15
Pros
- Easy to clean
Cons
- Glass is fragile while traveling
- Price is a little bit higher compared to other ceramic burr grinders
- Not a fast grinder
7. 1Zpresso Q2 Manual Coffee Grinder
1Zpresso Q2 is the smallest model of the 1Zpresso product lines, it’s your great travel companion like the Polex Mini mentioned before, but with higher quality build and burr. Q2 can also fit in the Aeropress so you can effortlessly pack it in your suitcase and travel around with it.
Like the other 1Zpresso products, Q2 also uses a similar design with the material in aluminum alloy and wood. It looks nice and elegant in the materials, at the same time retain the lightweight.
Q2 have the steel burr grinder inside with dual bearing and triaxial design to increase the stability so it can turn your coffee beans into uniform and consistent coffee grounds. It’s super easy to grip and grind. Bearings can be found in Chestnut C2 and this 1Zpresso Q2 in this price point, which makes grinding much smoother.
It’s easy to switch the grind settings for the burr grinder by the clicking grind adjustment system, you can easily turn the knob to have the coarse grind for your French Press or grind it finer for other methods.
Since it is designed as a travel grinder, the capacity becomes a shortage, only 15-20 grams of beans can fit in the hopper per time.
The overall build quality and design are better than Polex Mini, but the price is also higher, you can choose your ideal travel hand coffee grinder between these two.
Quick Facts
- Dimensions: 5.51 x 1.97 x 1.97 inches
- Weight: 1.17 pounds
- Capacity: 20g (Single cup of coffee per grind)
- Burr material: Stainless steel conical burr
- Number of grind settings: 30
- Dual bearings and triaxial design
Pros
- High-quality burr set
- Best travel grinder with lightweight and compact design
- Easy to grind, fast grinder
Cons
- Small capacity, 1 serve per time
Premium manual grander with higher Budget
If the hand grinders mentioned above can not satisfy you, and you want to invest more in a higher quality coffee grinder to bring your coffee tasting to a higher level, here are some choices between $100-$200.
8. 1Zpresso JX
At this price point, 1Zpresso JX is the best-value hand coffee grinder with Pro-level consistency and efficiency. The price is lower than the competitors with a similar quality standard.
With 1Zpresso JX, you can always find your sweet spot even dialing in your Espresso. It comes with 40 click settings. You can fully control the particles you want.
The 48mm conical burr grant you higher efficiency and consistency of the grind quality.
The grinder’s diameter is quite big, but the rubber band around the body increases the grip so it won’t slip off your hand while grinding. The bearing inside offers you smooth spinning.
It gives you 24 clicks per rotation to adjust the grind settings, with 12 numbers on the dial so that you can remember each grind settings. You can make decent Espresso with these settings as well.
1Zpresso JX also has the Pro version, Pro version provides more precise grinding adjustment, which is ideal for both filter coffee and Espresso. If you want a portable hand grinder for traveling, Q2 is a good choice.
We also reviewed their newer model 1Zpresso K-Plus, you can find a comparison between K-plus and JX Pro there.
Quick Facts
- Dimensions: 5.12 x 2.24 x 6.22 inches
- Weight: 2.35 pounds
- Capacity: 35g (1-3 coffees per grind)
- Burr material: 48mm stainless steel conical burr
- Number of grind settings: 40
- Dual bearing and triaxial design
Pros
- High-quality burr, consistent coffee grounds
- Grind smoothly and easily
- High-quality build
- Fast grinder
Cons
- Not very easy to hold while grinding
9. Lido 3 Coffee Grinder
A tall guy among the hand coffee grinders, orphan espresso Lido 3 is one of the top options.
It has a plastic body, which looks less premium than the other competitors at the same price tag. A stepless grind adjuster regulates the large steel burr inside to change your grind coarser or finer. Unlike the clicking grind settings, you need to unlock the locking ring and adjust the grind size as needed and lock it once you’ve done it.
But don’t let the plastic look fool you. With the 48mm swiss-made conical steel burrs and dual axle bearings, you won’t be disappointed by the uniformity.
It’s big and tall, the hopper can hold 70 grams of beans at a time so you can quickly grind more than 4 cups of coffee, and it grinds very fast.
The Lido 3 is a full range grinder that can handle both manual brewing and Espresso as well. But if you are an espresso enthusiast, they offer the Lido E version, specifically designed for finer grinding.
Quick Facts
- Dimensions: 13.5x3x2 inches
- Weight: 2 pounds
- Capacity: 70g (1-4 cups of coffee per grind)
- Burr material: 48mm Swiss-made steel conical burr
- Dual bronze axle bearings
Pros
- Premium quality burr set
- Consistent grounds
- Large capacity
Cons
- Bigger and heavier than other hand grinders
- Expensive
10. ZASSENHAUS SANTIAGO COFFEE MILL
The burr grinders listed above are modern designs. If you are fans of the vintage style coffee grinder, this iconic model is worth a mention. Zassenhaus is a German brand with more than 100 years. The grinder is made out of high-quality materials. It’s hard to go wrong with the 25-year guarantee on the grinding mechanism.
If you are looking for a manual hand grinder that fits your home decoration style or a fan of the vintage style stuff, you should not miss this gorgeous grinder. The rating on Amazon is very high, 4.4 out of 5 with hundreds of reviews. There are three colors available.
Quick Facts
- Dimensions: 5.5 x 3.5 x 7.8 inches
- Weight: 1.92 pounds
- Capacity: 30g (1-2 cups of coffee per grind)
- Burr material: Stainless steel conical burr
- Beech wood (Natural / Mahogany)
Pros
- Vintage style design with high quality materials
- 25 years guarantee on the grinding mechanism
Cons
- Ergonomic design is not as good as the others
- Grind settings might change while grinding
Conclusion of the Best Manual Grinder for Coffee Lover
Enjoying freshly ground coffee at home shouldn’t be difficult, there are lots of great coffee gears and coffee beans for you to choose from. No matter what your budget is, there’s always a good manual grinder on the market place for you.
I picked my favorite hand grinders in 3 different price levels.
JavePresse
Timemore Chestnut C2
1Zpresso JX
It’s difficult to make a verdict which one is the best for you, the manual grinders in the list are all good at their price. How to pick the right coffee grinder for you? All you need to do is pick the design you like, set up your budget range, consider the ease of use, capacity, portability. At the same price point, choose a burr grinder in steel instead of ceramic burrs. Burr grinders with bearings system inside will also make your life easier.
Hope you can find the best hand coffee grinder to enjoy freshly ground coffee every day. This Top Pick guide will be updated from time to time to cover the latest models and products.
