The Hand Coffee Grinder - Give Yourself a Hand!

Of the many types of coffee mills on the market today, a hand coffee grinder is one of the most attractive and elegant choices for the true aficionado.

Among their desirable features is the burr mechanism common to all hand grinders. A burr mechanism grinds coffee to uniform size, unlike blade grinders. Burr grinders also do not heat the grounds through friction as blade grinders do. Rather than a sharp edge, they use two revolving abrasive surfaces to grind. The ground coffee collects in a bottom container that is part of the mill. Manual burr grinders are turned by hand. The rotation of the handle moves one grinding surface against another. The fineness of the grind can be adjusted, usually with a small screw on the outside of the mill.

Most hand grinders take only a minute or two to grind enough coffee for six cups of filter drip grind. Grinding coffee finer than this takes longer. The grind is even and excellent for stovetop coffee makers, filtered coffee or for French press. A well made hand grinder can even prepare beans for espresso or Turkish coffee.

Perhaps the most common type of hand coffee grinder is the basic box mill. It simply looks like a cube with a handle on top. The beans go into a small door and feed into the hopper. An average box mill's drawer holds enough beans to make six cups of coffee. Most of the mechanism is usually made with stainless steel. A knee mill is a mild variation on the box mill. The two main differences are that the knee mill is a rectangle, while the box mill is a cube, and that upper bean hopper is often lined with porcelain, rather than steel. The open hopper is a variation on the box mill with an uncovered brass hopper on the top. The closed hopper mill has a narrow neck between the hopper and the bottom, which helps for getting a good grip on the mill.

Another option for a hand coffee grinder is the Turkish coffee mill, which is cylindrical and decorated on the outside. Also adjustable, it grinds coffee powder fine for making Turkish coffee, in which the grounds are never filtered and end up in the drink. Turkish coffee grinders are often made of decorated brass and are very attractive. They can also be used as decorative pepper or spice mills.

Hand coffee grinders are great, but if you want more than a personal serving or two a day, you might be better off with an electric burr coffee grinder. Unless the hand mill is part of your personal exercise program - it's a heck of a way to build arm and core strength.