Its a simple manual coffee grinder made in China. Youll see a few of them out there with different seller names but the core components of grinder, dual jars, and a cleaning brush, are pretty consistent among the different kits. This one was the best priced one I could find and the only thing it didnt have that some others did was a scoop. That didnt bother me at all as I have plenty of spoons I can use for my coffee grinds. I normally get pre/ground coffee, but we got a few packs of beans as a gift so I picked this one up to give us the capacity to occasionally mash up the beans when needed. I also liked the idea of being able to do this without having to plug another device into an outlet.
All right, so was great, shipped it in a day, and the box included everything that was advertised. You get two jars that can screw one at a time into a grinding assembly that combines a bean holder, burr grinder, and a handle. You adjust the depth of the burr to control the coarseness of the grinds, put coffee beans into the bean holder thats integrated into the device, put a silicone lid over the beans to keep them in place, and affix a handle to the whole thing with a thumbscrew. Then you turn the handle and the thing pulverizes the beans into coffee grinds.
In short: the quality is decent and it absolutely does work.
Concerns:
/ Speed. It takes 10/15 minutes to get enough grinds for a full 12 cup pot of coffee, less if you just want to make 5 or 6 cups as I do each morning. You can mitigate this by using the kits second jar. I grind a bunch the day before or earlier while watching TV and put the lid on it and its fine and ready to go the next day. If I could have a second lid for the second jar thatd be nice, then I could grind two jars in advance for the whole week. But they only give you one lid. Unfortunately the jars dont have what appear to be standard lid grooves so you are not easily going to find a third/party lid. However, a bit of plastic wrap and rubber band would probably suffice just fine. Or use a sandwich bag; its really not a complicated issue.
/ Effort: I read some of the negative reviews complaining about how hard it was to grind the beans. You have to be kidding me. Those are either fake negative reviews, people that didnt use the device properly, people using metal beans, or someone on a deathbed. This thing grinds pretty easy, honestly a toddler could turn the crank. I will concede that my off/hand, the one holding the jar and grind assembly while the other hand cranked, could get a little cramped from gripping tightly for minutes at a time, but it wasnt a problem to take a break if I needed to. If I could ask for an improvement, it would be that the jar and grind assembly be designed for a more comfortable grip.
/ Durability: So far Ive only had the thing for a day and have ground two jars of coffee. I have no idea yet how long it will hold up. The parts do seem well made, but the plastic end on the handle is affixed by a thin dowel of metal and I wonder if it will wear out after many cycles.
Overall, item is as described and works fine. For occasional need to grind beans itll do fine. If you do a lot of grinding, get an electric.
11/Jun/2022 Update: After finishing a bag of beans I took the device apart to clean it. It comes apart easily, but I was dismayed when I was cleaning the burr to find a couple small cracks in the ceramic. They stood out and were easy to see with the color of the coffee beans in them contrasted to the rest of the white burr. Ive reviewed them but cant tell if they were like that when I got the grinder or if they developed after grinding. The burr appears to be very solid and firm and so I think it was just like that and certainly the burr is stronger than the beans and theres a good chance itll continue to work fine for years. Ill update this review later after a few more bags.
24/Sep/2022 Update: Have continued to use this grinder a couple times a week. I am happy to report the small cracks in the burr seem to have been slight flaws that were there in the manufacturing process and havent hurt the burrs ability to keep grinding.
Basic, effective, a bit slow, but kind of fun
Its a simple manual coffee grinder made in China. Youll see a few of them out there with different seller names but the core components of grinder, dual jars, and a cleaning brush, are pretty consistent among the different kits. This one was the best priced one I could find and the only thing it didnt have that some others did was a scoop. That didnt bother me at all as I have plenty of spoons I can use for my coffee grinds. I normally get pre/ground coffee, but we got a few packs of beans as a gift so I picked this one up to give us the capacity to occasionally mash up the beans when needed. I also liked the idea of being able to do this without having to plug another device into an outlet. All right, so was great, shipped it in a day, and the box included everything that was advertised. You get two jars that can screw one at a time into a grinding assembly that combines a bean holder, burr grinder, and a handle. You adjust the depth of the burr to control the coarseness of the grinds, put coffee beans into the bean holder thats integrated into the device, put a silicone lid over the beans to keep them in place, and affix a handle to the whole thing with a thumbscrew. Then you turn the handle and the thing pulverizes the beans into coffee grinds. In short: the quality is decent and it absolutely does work. Concerns: / Speed. It takes 10/15 minutes to get enough grinds for a full 12 cup pot of coffee, less if you just want to make 5 or 6 cups as I do each morning. You can mitigate this by using the kits second jar. I grind a bunch the day before or earlier while watching TV and put the lid on it and its fine and ready to go the next day. If I could have a second lid for the second jar thatd be nice, then I could grind two jars in advance for the whole week. But they only give you one lid. Unfortunately the jars dont have what appear to be standard lid grooves so you are not easily going to find a third/party lid. However, a bit of plastic wrap and rubber band would probably suffice just fine. Or use a sandwich bag; its really not a complicated issue. / Effort: I read some of the negative reviews complaining about how hard it was to grind the beans. You have to be kidding me. Those are either fake negative reviews, people that didnt use the device properly, people using metal beans, or someone on a deathbed. This thing grinds pretty easy, honestly a toddler could turn the crank. I will concede that my off/hand, the one holding the jar and grind assembly while the other hand cranked, could get a little cramped from gripping tightly for minutes at a time, but it wasnt a problem to take a break if I needed to. If I could ask for an improvement, it would be that the jar and grind assembly be designed for a more comfortable grip. / Durability: So far Ive only had the thing for a day and have ground two jars of coffee. I have no idea yet how long it will hold up. The parts do seem well made, but the plastic end on the handle is affixed by a thin dowel of metal and I wonder if it will wear out after many cycles. Overall, item is as described and works fine. For occasional need to grind beans itll do fine. If you do a lot of grinding, get an electric. 11/Jun/2022 Update: After finishing a bag of beans I took the device apart to clean it. It comes apart easily, but I was dismayed when I was cleaning the burr to find a couple small cracks in the ceramic. They stood out and were easy to see with the color of the coffee beans in them contrasted to the rest of the white burr. Ive reviewed them but cant tell if they were like that when I got the grinder or if they developed after grinding. The burr appears to be very solid and firm and so I think it was just like that and certainly the burr is stronger than the beans and theres a good chance itll continue to work fine for years. Ill update this review later after a few more bags. 24/Sep/2022 Update: Have continued to use this grinder a couple times a week. I am happy to report the small cracks in the burr seem to have been slight flaws that were there in the manufacturing process and havent hurt the burrs ability to keep grinding.