# Grinder for French press......also what are old spong hand grinders like



## Wuyang (Mar 21, 2014)

Well I sold my lido3 and brazen,,,,,,just been using my mothers hand grinder and a French press, although my mothers grinder is quite hard to grind.

I decided to buy a rhinogrinder which is easier to grind with, but my opinion is its a cheap bit of tat.... I know I've been spoiled but the lido, but the ones that sell for £7 can't be much different.

Anyway I'm just curious if anybody has played with the spong hand grinder and what they thought of it, also is the hario slim etc any better quality than the rhino grinder?

Other than the lido and hausgrind what's a good mis range priced grinder for French press?

Thanks


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Hario Slim is not really any better than the Rhino, I preferred the Slim's ergo-dynamics but mine had a very small pre-breaking gap in the burrs at FP grind, making it a chore at finer grinds, due to slow bean feed, plus the handle is on the short side. Rhino & Porlex are a little better in this respect, but all of them can be a chore at doses over 15g or so. So long as they grind the dose in the time that the kettle takes to boil, I'm happy enough 

Just because some grinders look similar, don't assume a similar build quality. Some of the knock-offs are pretty awful.

If you're brewing with doses of 20g plus, it's hard to think of anything that compares to Lido/MBK grinders.

I have an ACAR Turkish grinder (from Turkish Emporium) that still grinds coarser than talc at the finest setting (more like drip grind), had some lovely French presses from it, slightly faster to grind than the ceramic grinders, but many of these Turkish grinders are sold without the brand being declared up front & expect some variability from unit to unit.


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

Just had a read of the HB thread on spong grinders, it seems interesting but goes against mostly everything we have come to understand make a good grinder and burr set. It would certainly be an interesting experiment at the very least.


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## Wuyang (Mar 21, 2014)

MWJB.....had a look at Turkish grinders, how course can they go and what's the build quality like.......also what they like to grind?

thanks


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## Wuyang (Mar 21, 2014)

Eg...... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-SPONG-COFFEE-GRINDER-/321913280427?hash=item4af386d7ab:g:~jcAAOSw5VFWPIuZ


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Wuyang said:


> MWJB.....had a look at Turkish grinders, how course can they go and what's the build quality like.......also what they like to grind?
> 
> thanks


I've got a couple, the ACAR and a Sozen. The Sozen does proper talc, harder work with med/light beans at very fine settings, easier at slightly coarser (1/4 turn out or so), not so recommended for FP. They are both a bit faster, even at fine grinds than Rhino/Porlex/Hario, but they are pretty basic/agricultural, make your hands smell of brass, can be a pain if the catch cup is prone to slipping off. I wouldn't be trying to go particularly coarse with them, like I said the ACAR is good for FP at tightest setting, the Sozen better at a turn or so out. All in all, do a decent job, but fit & finish not as good as the more common grinders.

I keep one as a spare at my parents', OK for 2 mugs or so, just a bit small for 3 mug doses (holds 24-28g beans rammed full). You set the grind with a screw that presses the inner burr tighter to the outer burr, "Turkish" setting is usually fully tight.

I've taken a few speculative punts on hand grinders, I'll probably always keep my Porlex & Rhino (still use them for brewing by the cup), but the thing I have really come to realise is that if you spend £30 here or there, more than a couple of times, looking for something marginally better than those, you're not far off what you could have spent replacing your Lido...if I was burgled and the burglar stole all my hand grinders (it *could* happen), I'd cut to the chase & buy another Lido 3/E.

How big a dose are you typically aiming to grind?


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## h1udd (Sep 1, 2015)

Whilst I was port matching the Macap today, my coffee consumption was fueled by a Lido E ... It did 60g of drip coffee in one go on the 9th notch ... Then straight to notch 3 to grind espressos

worked a charm .... Would buy the lido E ... It's a proven bit of kit


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## Syenitic (Dec 1, 2013)

I have seen some interesting write ups on Spong grinders...

They seem to come in four sizes 1,2,3 and 4.

Cannot remember when or where I read it now, but the No.4 (largest) was reputedly quite good at espresso grinding.

Prices seem to have soared in last couple of years. If you find a No.4 for sale you're lucky, a No.3 will give little change out of £100. I paid about £30 for a No.2 (phnar phnar) on EBay and opened a dispute as it was seized and full of what looked like cement. I was drawn by the wall mounted nature of the Spong grinders which seemed like a good way to manually grind given the big rotational arc of the handles. Having had hands on that defective grinder, I am curious to see just how big the No.4 would be...Anyone got any feedback?

Personally I would say they are more curiosities now, they've become too expensive and probably nowhere near even the Harios/Porlexes/Rhinos for similar or even more money. They are certainly not portable. But if you want a bit of mid 20th century cast iron in your tool set...Spong could be the way to go.


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## risky (May 11, 2015)

I have a rhino and find it so unstable at course grinds. It's good for v60 and nothing courser IMO. There is so much play on the shaft that you get espresso fine to rock salt and everything In between on a course setting. Not sure if mine is just faulty.


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

Wuyang, have you considered a used encore or something like that? Give yourself a break and it should be pretty good grinder as well


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

risky said:


> I have a rhino and find it so unstable at course grinds. It's good for v60 and nothing courser IMO. There is so much play on the shaft that you get espresso fine to rock salt and everything In between on a course setting. Not sure if mine is just faulty.


Sure any of those grinders get a bit wild at coarser settings, they have floating burrs, but there's not really any need to grind coarser than for V60 when grinding for French press. My grind setting for the Porlex set for Hario Cafeor (paperless V60) is coarser than I use for French press.


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## risky (May 11, 2015)

MWJB said:


> Sure any of those grinders get a bit wild at coarser settings, they have floating burrs, but there's not really any need to grind coarser than for V60 when grinding for French press. My grind setting for the Porlex set for Hario Cafeor (paperless V60) is coarser than I use for French press.


I suppose my issue is for Chemex where I really struggle to find a useable grind. Haven't tried French press in a long time. Maybe it's time to give it a go again.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Spong......what a great name, almost worth owning one just so you can stare at your "spong" every morning.

Good old James Osborn Spong...my mum had one of his hand powered mincers for years.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

risky said:


> I suppose my issue is for Chemex where I really struggle to find a useable grind. Haven't tried French press in a long time. Maybe it's time to give it a go again.


Try a Hario 02 paper in the Chemex if V60s are turning out OK.


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## risky (May 11, 2015)

MWJB said:


> Try a Hario 02 paper in the Chemex if V60s are turning out OK.


Ok I'll give it a shot. Was going to start a thread about papers in general as I think I could probably improve my game there.


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## Wuyang (Mar 21, 2014)

Thanks for all the comments. I have considered an encore......still finding my feet at the moment.......dabbling here and there when money allows. I've think the build quality of the rhino isn't that great and grind consistency not that brill, just my opinion and many people may love it, however I'm very happy with the French press coffee I'm drinking using the rhino.

If I do in the future invest £100 ish pound on a machine it will come down to the lido encore hausgrind. I do suffer with my muscles, but I do for some reason I get more satisfaction from hand grinding than using my past electric machines.

I have found a write up on the spong grinders that I will link, but it doesn't mention the hand held one I was looking, covers the 1-4 versions.

Here you go.....it's worth a read,...... http://www.home-barista.com/grinders/spong-coffee-mills-grinder-for-23rd-century-t16165.html


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