5 Best Manual Coffee Grinders for Making the Perfect Pour

Here is list of our top 5 favorite picks:

• KitchenAid KCG0702ER Burr, Empire Red (Our best Choice)
• Baratza Vario
• Rancilio Rocky Espresso Grinder with Doser
• Technivorm Moccamaster Drip
• Baratza Encore

There is no one-size-fits-all for the best coffee grinder because what is perfect for us may not be perfect for you. You need to consider your budget, how much space you have, and of course, the most important thing is whether you need a hand coffee grinder.

While some people can live with an electric blade-type good coffee grinder for convenience sake, your best option is a burr-type manual coffee grinder if you are serious about great coffee. It is important to understand that even the most expensive electric blade grinder can't grind as evenly as a good hand burr grinder.

The main reason for this is because blade-type grinders spin at very high rates of speed and cannot vary their grind from coarse to fine. A burr model can be adjusted by a few settings from the French press down to a nearly powdery fine grind that works well for Turkish coffee.

Most of the best coffee grinders will cost you less than a good electric blade grinder and will, over the long haul, end up saving you money since it uses no electricity. Below are some of the reasons you should try out the best hand coffee grinder.

• Full control over the process

With an electric grinder, it is all about what the manufacturer tells you. While some are accurate, many others are not because they can't adjust to your specific taste. An electric blade simply cannot because of speed limitations. With a hand coffee grinder, not only do you have full control over the actual grind size, but you can also vary the coarseness or fineness by tightening or loosening the burr. This gives you endless possibilities to get your perfect cup of coffee.

• A nice aroma

As a blade spins very fast, it heats up, and this heat then transfers right into the beans that are being ground. The heat from a manual burr is negligible and will not affect the beans in this way. It is also possible to easily pre-grind your coffee before you brew it. This will allow the coffee to release its full aroma and flavor without becoming too hot by grinding just before brewing.

• Convenient use

It should be pretty obvious that a hand grinder is extremely easy to use. There are no cords or batteries needed, all you need is a little bit of elbow grease, and it will be enough power for perfectly ground coffee beans every time. Because the motor is not electric, it's also much easier on the environment, meaning fewer pollutants are produced by using it daily.

• You can take it anywhere

Hand grinders are also great because they can easily be used anywhere you have a power source. If you want to start your day with an iced coffee, grind the night before and put it in a container with a tight lid until morning. This works even better if you pre-grind right into the container that will hold your coffee. You can also take it to other locations such as camping or anywhere else you want your coffee by simply carrying the grinder with you.

• More than just for coffee

Another important point is that hand grinders are not limited to just coffee beans. You can use them for spices which usually break down into smaller pieces when sliced. This is especially important for spices like peppercorns which are traditionally always ground with a good quality grinder. It is also easy to adjust the grind size, which you cannot do with an electric pepper grinder.

• It helps you become a purist

If you truly want the full experience of having freshly brewed coffee, this is probably one of the best ways to get there. In most cases, it will also be cheaper in the long run. Freshly ground coffee will always taste better, and you will quickly find out that not only is a hand grinder easier on your body, but they do a great job overall.

Burr grinders are much better than milling your beans with blades because the grind will be consistent. Blades whirl around and chop the beans into different sizes, which will cause the coffee to become under-extracted or over-extracted. Grinders that use burrs are often called "stepped" grinders because they have little ridges that move up and down.

When you turn the grinder, the grinding plate moves in a direction perpendicular to your crank movement. It is simple, but it does mean that you have to pull the crank back in between each stroke if you want a finer grind. This is another reason why baristas often prefer manual burr grinders because they can get fine espresso grounds with just a few pulls of the handle. So what exactly makes a manual burr grinder so special?

• It is simple to use

By pulling back on the handle, you rotate the inner burr by hand. This means that it is much easier to achieve a fine grind than with an electric grinder. The only disadvantage one might see is that it can be tiring for larger hands.

• It has plenty of benefits

The manual lever allows for consistency in ground size. You can also choose to grind for more than one type of brew, like coffee and espresso. As we mentioned before, manual conical burr grinders are the best because it's easier to keep your beans cool when you pull the handle back every few seconds. This also means that heat can't build up in the machine as you are grinding, which would affect the flavor of your coffee!

• There are different kinds of burrs

The most common kind is the steel or ceramic cone-shaped burr. This spins against a stationary flat conical burr that crushes the beans between them, resulting in an even particle size. This is called a "conical burr" grinder.

• There are different ways to grind manually

Some manual burr grinders use a step-less gearing system, which means you can continuously adjust the coarseness of your grind without having to stop and start over again. This is helpful for baristas who change their beans often or need to make coffee for multiple people.

Conical burr grinders are types of manual grinders made to give the best grinding experience possible. It is also called a "burr mill" or simply a coffee grinder. A conical burr grinder has two revolving abrasive surfaces separated by a fixed barrier.

This barrier keeps the grounds inside the machine until a user turns a crank or pushes a button to activate it. The conical burr grinder works in the same way as its predecessor, the mill burr coffee grinder. However, instead of stone grinding surfaces, they have cone-shape metal screws that slowly rotate against each other to grind even and uniform coffee beans into fine grounds.

Grinding coffee using a conical burr grinder results in less heat which preserves the flavor of the beans. This can be seen when it becomes dusty and stays that way. Heat creates friction, and friction creates heat; thus, only minimal heat is produced during grinding with no friction involved.

Pros of conical Burr grinders:

• Gives a uniform grind size.
• Less heat is produced when grinding coffee beans, minimizing the loss of flavors.
• Easy to use and clean.

Cons of conical Burr grinders:

• The price may be quite high for some people, compared to other manual grinders or electric models.

Flat burr grinders are the ultimate upgrade to an espresso machine, but do you know what this means? It is time for your coffee game to change forever. What makes it so special? A flat burr grinder is much more efficient in how it grinds coffee.

The flat burr method allows the barista to grind coffee to a consistency that allows for more precise preparation. Flat Burr grinders feature two grinding burrs where the business end of the grinder is flat. These allow for more even coffee particles, which means you get a higher quality shot at extraction. Gone are the days of worrying about grind size like a skerton pro.

This upgrade will do all that dirty work for you, and then some! You will be surprised how much this little change will elevate your espresso game!

Pros of Flat Burr Grinders:

• More consistent grind size with less noise.
• Grinds are easier to distribute evenly in a portafilter or ground bin.
• Grind particle size is more adjustable, which results in a better cup of coffee.
• Easier to clean, espresso machine agitator is not affected by the burrs!

Cons of Flat Burr Grinders:

• Generally, they are more expensive than their steel burr counterparts.
• They are louder than their steel burr counterparts.

Pinned burr manual grinders are heavy-duty, high-quality grinders that are built to last. All pinned burr hand grinders share the same basic design premise. They have a conical grinding mechanism called a pinion that rotates against a stationary cone called a crown which forces the coffee beans between them to be ground.

Generally, the burrs used in these machines are made from stainless steel. Pinned burr is the best manual grinder that offers portability, durability and high grinding precision. They can be taken pretty much anywhere you want to go, and they will work every time without fail.

The pinion/crown design yields consistent particle sizes for optimum flavor. Most connoisseurs prefer pinned burrs because of their low retention of grinds, high grinding control, and flexibility to produce a wide range of grinds from Turkish fine to coarse espresso.

Pros of pinned burr grinders:

• In general these grinders are built to last a lifetime. Even the least expensive models will require very little maintenance over their lifetime.
• The pinion/crown mechanism is designed specifically to deliver an exceptionally consistent particle size. This yields a more even extraction and fuller flavor.
• These grinders are not only easy to take apart but they are small and light in weight. This makes them the perfect grinder for traveling, camping or even just taking them to work or school with you.
• These best manual grinders generally offer a wide range of grinding from very coarse to very fine.

Cons of pinned burr grinders:

• The pinion/crown design is the reason why these are so durable and produce such an even particle size but it also means they are noisy when grinding beans. Some people consider this a con, others don't mind so much.
• Because of the rotating mechanism, grinding is slower than other types of hand grinders. If you are looking for speed, this is not your grinder.