I appreciate there are a fair few YouTube videos on this topic but it would be good to get some opinions on here! I’d been considering buying a Niche so I could switch between single-dosing for V60/MoccaMaster and espresso. However, my x54 has been behaving fantastically well lately which means a Niche would be a bit extravagant. I’m keeping an eye out for the updated Ode as an option for filter, but I’m also considering a hand-grinder as it would be good to have one for travel as well as home use. As per the title, what’s the best hand-grinder under £200? Speed isn’t hugely important as I only tend to make filter once in the morning, so quality is key! Edit: I could stretch to £250 if the extra £50 is worth it as I see the Commandante is £249.

@"Ernie1"#p9801 Commandante, Jx Max, Jx Pro, Feld to name a few.

> @"Cuprajake"#p9812 1zpresso jx pro is very good It is…I have one, and it works well, I think they even gave it double the adjustment points now.

You mentioned a Moccamaster, how big of a dose are you anticipating?

@"Ernie1"#p9801 I have a Comandante and have had it for a couple of years and love it to bits. It’s solid, extremely well made and the grind quality is fantastic (by my judgement at least). Can easily grind for espresso and pour over, the ‘clicks’ stepped adjustment makes it easy to reproduce grind sizes, switch between brew methods and also really useful for sharing recipes. My only gripes would be that the barrel can quite often slip in my hand while grinding for espresso, there are bands you can get that would hopefully help with grip but not managed to pick one up yet. Other than that, with it being stepped then sometimes I’m between clicks for the right grind. There is a red clix mod which essentially halves the step size (or doubles the number of clicks) so I’ll likely pick that up soon but it obviously will never be infinitely adjustable like a non stepped grinder. These are pretty small issues for me and I would 100% recommend it. There is no question about the quality or that it will last for many, many years.

Owners of the 1zpresso jx pro rave about them. I have a Kinu M47 Classic and it's pretty awesome. Never had a 1zpresso jx pro so can't compare.

@"MWJB"#p9820 It’ll be 35-40g max, I tend to use the Moccamaster if I’m making two cups, V60 for one. If family/friends are over they usually want espresso drinks. It’ll also only ever be used for brew so finer settings with fewer steps shouldn’t be a huge problem. Sounds like the JXPro/Kinu/Commandante are all pretty favourable so it’ll just be down to aesthetics I suppose! Thanks for the replies

Best hand-grinder under £200?

LMSC

BTW, we have a JX pro; it’s great and we use it for pour overs and espressos.

Ernie1

Thanks, lots of votes for the JXPro!

The official product listing says 30-35g capacity.

I’m guessing that means 36 fits in ok? I rarely dose more than 34-36g for two cups of pourover but is 35g an actual maximum?

DavecUK

Ernie1 when I reviewed it I could get about 33g in, obviously it depends on coffee density….but more than 35g, I don’t think so.

LMSC

Ernie1 I’m guessing that means 36 fits in ok? I rarely dose more than 34-36g for two cups of pourover but is 35g an actual maximum?

36.7g, although beans size and weight dependent

MediumRoastSteam

Ernie1 - not a hand grinder but, for approx. £100 (or a lot less second hand) you can buy a Wilfa Svart which does a fantastic job for on the filter front. I sold mine after under a couple years of ownership. I realised filter isn’t my thing.

Ernie1

@MediumRoastSteam

Thanks yeah it’s not so much the cost more just the worktop space. The Bianca being enormous and the x54 fairly sizeable for a home grinder, something like the Niche or the Ode is the only thing I’m likely to get approved by the other half! I had an Encore for about 10 years which was great for filter but I sold it when I got into espresso.

@DavecUK That’s good to know, thanks, I guess I could grind finer to compensate as I don’t need to be dosing 17/18g a cup. I just like a massive mug in the morning.

hornbyben

Ernie1 you could also just weigh the beans into a separate cup and then grind in batches. That’s what I do with my aergrind if I need more than can fit inside at one time.

Ernie1

LMSC

Thanks for checking!

Ernie1

hornbyben great idea! I figured there must be hand grinder users that make more than one/two cups occasionally!

Frothbewithyou

@Ernie1 I swear we are mirroring each other I am currently loving the X54 and I am going to buy a hand grinder for similar reasons and to allow a rotation to start alongside a staple in the X54.

My shortlist from research if this helps has got it down to 3, I am leaning personally to the C40 due to the community side and I only really drink filter/pourover/aeropress at the moment.

Comandante C40 MK4 pros - great community recipes, burrs give great flavour profiles in filter, easy to replicate grind size. Cons hard to source in the uk in the colour choice you may want. Glass bottom while strengthened could be broken in some circumstances.

1zpresso JX Pro pros - cheaper than C40, great espresso results Cons - Smaller grind size but generally people love it who have it

Kinu Pros - Design and build quality (all metal), big size and good grind experience on all roast types. Cons Expensive! Though you can now get versions of the Kinu in your price range with the same burrs but more plastic.

Note// a mention needs to go out to Feldgrind too lots of people rate these too I just had to make a decision and these are my choices.

Ernie1

Frothbewithyou

Thanks! Yeah seems like we are in a similar position, really good to hear your thoughts.

I’m going to go with the Commandante. I agree it’s not easy to get all the colour ways here. Thankfully none of the options quite match the Bianca walnut so I might just go with whatever is in stock.

Thanks for the help everyone, I shall report back when it arrives!

Mark-drinks-coffee

Ernie1 I’m going to go with the Commandante. I agree it’s not easy to get all the colour ways here. Thankfully none of the options quite match the Bianca walnut so I might just go with whatever is in stock.

Good choice! I got mine from Foundry, looks like they have black, American cherry, blue and red in stock:

https://foundrycoffeeroasters.com/collections/brewing-at-home/products/commandante-c40-hand-grinder?variant=32272342122561

DavecUK

Ernie1 Don’t forget to ask them if they give discounts to members of this forum…after all we are now the busiest UK coffee forum by quite a large margin!

jcb1973

Great helpful thread, have ordered a 1zpresso jx pro, as (having reflected on my workflows / competence!) I think that’s going to be just right for me for the occasional trials of different beans without needing a costlier upgrade / addition to vvv small kitchen space, and keeping my Specialita (which I am happy with). Thanks everyone for experience shares!

Ernie1

Ahhh no! Too late! I ordered from the big A as it was £235 and arrives tomorrow. I got the American cherry finish.

Grif

Ernie1 Good choice, very happy with mine.

DavecUK

In fact, anyone buying anything (beans, machines, accessories)in the UK should ask the same thing…if you don’t ask you won’t get.

Do you give any discounts to member of https://coffeetime.freeflarum.com

They can only say no…..if they stop and think though, we are getting larger and busier and higher up in the search rankings, by asking there are 2 unsaid messages to the smart retailer.

I would like to see if you offer a discount as a member of a busy UK coffee forum, If I’m asking you, I am asking other people as well and I may buy from one of them if they offer a discount.
By giving a discount, I am likely to mentioning you, the product and the price favourably to other members, who may choose you, your product etc.. over the competition

Although the forum itself is non-commercial, and we don’t have advertisers, the more members that ask for a discount, might make things work to the benefit of all members.

LMSC

DavecUK In fact, anyone buying anything (beans, machines, accessories)in the UK should ask the same thing…if you don’t ask you won’t get.

Do you give any discounts to member of https://coffeetime.freeflarum.com

They can only say no…..if they stop and think though, we are getting larger and busier and higher up in the search rankings, by asking there are 2 unsaid messages to the smart retailer.

I would like to see if you offer a discount as a member of a busy UK coffee forum, If I’m asking you, I am asking other people as well and I may buy from one of them if they offer a discount.

By giving a discount, I am likely to mentioning you, the product and the price favourably to other members, who may choose you, your product etc.. over the competition

Although the forum itself is non-commercial, and we don’t have advertisers, the more members that ask for a discount, might make things work to the benefit of all members.

I had a good chat with Foundry about their beans, the roast level and the positive reviews our forum members have about their coffee. I don’t know who the gentleman was. I should have asked. He was friendly, helpful and polite.

He asked a lot of questions on how I identify the roast level and the roasting process, which I answered to the best of my knowledge. He said people seldom call and talk about coffee roasting, and the roast level in as much detail as I did. He was glad I had called.
He refused to be drawn in calling out the roasts. He said they call them as medium roasts if there is a query as people purely go by the colour of the beans, which is he said is not correct.
But, he picked out Rocko Mountain and Columbian Diofanor Ruiz on the lighter roast side.
On the discount for forum members, he asked what forum is this. I gave him the name, the number of members, how busy the forum is, etc., and a potential market for sales. While he appreciated we had asked, he politely said no discount as a company policy. Perhaps, he might have a re-think if a few more were to call and ask.

CafeNoir

LMSC Owned the Feld 2 couple of years, plus Aergrind and recently bought a J-Max which is a flasher rendition of the JX-Pro.

Can’t really go wrong with the 1ZPresso units IMHO, they are built by a firm of engineers and the build quality is very good, an absolute joy to my finicky little soul to use. Really fine adjustment on J-Max, totally ok on mate’s JX-Pro too. I still love my Feld2, but it’s had its fair share of minor QC issues which I fixed myself because let’s just say the MBK customer service is legendarily Pythonesque

Ernie1

It arrived!

First impressions… possibly the best packaging and presentation of any product I’ve ever bought.

It’s incredibly well made.

Very very impressed with the grind quality. 26 clicks in a V60, fantastic.

Thanks again for the recommendations.

HVL87

Ernie1 looks great and probably what I would go for! How was the coffee?

Mark-drinks-coffee

Ernie1 First impressions… possibly the best packaging and presentation of any product I’ve ever bought.

Hahah, I agree 100% with this - I remember wishing I had filmed the unboxing, not to make some fancy YouTube review but just so I could relive that moment! I love it when a company think so much about their product and the user experience that they look after every little aspect from the moment it arrives with you to first use.