# low volume grinder



## r.bartlett (Jun 22, 2014)

Hi chaps

has a search but couldn't come up with anything. I am about to purchase a lever La Pav type machine. I am the sole coffee drinker in the house and I doubt i will be drinking every day so my concern is all the grinders which seem to get recommended appear to be for much higher volumes of beans. I only want to grind as required so a hand full at a time would suffice.

With the above in mind can someone recommend a small grinder hand or electric which fits my requirement.

TIA

Richard


----------



## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

What's your budget?

A lot of the grinders recommended here are commercial types, although they are intended for high volume they are often perfectly easy to use for 'single dosing'. However there are smaller grinders more specifically intended for the home user who wants to grind on demand.

But they range hugely in price, from £220 up (new) but if you can spare more cash you will get a better unit.


----------



## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

The quality of the grinder directly influences the taste of the coffee.

Spend wisely and you will have a nice combination of machine and grinder.


----------



## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

Don't grind a handful at a time, just grind what you need or it will go stale!

If a hand grinder is acceptable you could make do with a Hausgrind.

If electric is more desirable than something like a Eureka Mignon which are around £280 inc vat new, sometimes crop up second hand. If that's too much then the old Iberital MC2 at about £150 but it wont get the best out of your coffee. Londinium have the Compak K3 which might be worth investigating too.


----------



## r.bartlett (Jun 22, 2014)

Hi

When I say 'handful' I did mean as I go 

Can the above handle such small amounts and if so would I need to strip it down after every time?

(still trying to learn)

Richard


----------



## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

No need to strip down any grinder every time, worth doing from time to time but not on an everyday basis.

The Mignon is the grinder of choice for what you are describing really, its a significant step up over the MC2 in terms of quality, lever machines excel at espresso and the better your grinder the better your espresso, it is more important than the espresso machine itself.

If you are prepared to spend a bit more you can consider something like the Eureka Zenith 65E.

I have a Mignon in the FS section if you decide on that one.

p.s. learning is what this forums all about, we all started as complete novices at one point.


----------



## r.bartlett (Jun 22, 2014)

Hi

Yes I saw your mig for sale. I certainly will consider it but I am now feeling drawn to the Hausgrind which will possibly match my needs.


----------



## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

r.bartlett said:


> Hi
> 
> Yes I saw your mig for sale. I certainly will consider it but I am now feeling drawn to the Hausgrind which will possibly match my needs.


The hausgrind is a beautiful grinder. Do consider how much you will be drinking and if you are going to get tired of hand grinding every shot, I couldn't stand it when I had a hand grinder.

Have a good read through the owners thread in Grinder forum if you haven't already.


----------



## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

From what I know about the small levers like the La parvoni and caravel, they are quite grind specific.

For £250-£300 you could pick up a used refurbished Mazzer mini or super jolly from someone like Coffee Chap on the forum.

He knows a lot about levers so he might steer you in the right direction for a lesser well known brand that would give you excellent grind consistency.


----------



## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

D_Evans said:


> The hausgrind is a beautiful grinder. Do consider how much you will be drinking and if you are going to get tired of hand grinding every shot, I couldn't stand it when I had a hand grinder.
> 
> Have a good read through the owners thread in Grinder forum if you haven't already.


I started out with a hand grinder then after 5 weeks bought a Mignon great compact grinder.


----------



## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

Its good advice to consult CC on this, he knows a lot about levers and a lot about grinders.


----------



## Delfi (Jan 4, 2013)

I have a la pav and have recently moved up to a mazzer mini (forum sourced with thanks). This is great with a couple of easy mods as I too grind as I go. I used to also have an MC2 which was a pretty decent entry, but the grinds are a little less consistent. Check on the delivery times of the Hausgrind. Knock do brilliant stuff, but sometimes there can be a frustrating lead time to get it. I've got a Hario Slim hand grinder (fairly cheap) at work, which can probably help take an initial step and help decide whether you could tolerate a hand grinder- for coarse grinds it works pretty well but It may get a little annoying grinding for much espresso.... However if you are looking at a La Pav...the overheating issue may mean you're not requiring too much coffee at a time anyway.

Good luck with the lever too. They're great fun but take a bit if learning!


----------



## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Which experts advised you to buy that grinder?


----------



## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

Finn Felton said:


> Most people make their selection of coffee grinder on the bases on price and style or how it will look in the kitchen.
> 
> I have had several different grinders in the past 5 years and all were replaced after a year. I finally decided to take help of few 'experts' in the coffee industry and selected a MAESTRO PLUS for use at home. It is good grinder, you should also have it.


Same experts who told you to buy/sell Kopi Luwak?


----------

