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Out of the BoxLife X Grinder

Ceado has a very unique approach to their packaging; the box the Life X comes in is full of vibrant life scenes, people enjoying coffee. The outer box doesn’t so much promote the specific features of the grinder, but what kind of lifestyle to expect.

Opening the lid, we face a bit of a disappointment in 2024: a lot of styrofoam. This just isn’t acceptable any longer from any manufacturer, when valid and applicable environmentally friendly options are abound. If Breville and Rancilio can safely ship espresso machines weighing 10, 15 kilos or more in packaging based on cardboard forms, the maker of a 5kg grinder can do the same. We do urge Ceado to rethink their packaging for the Life X, to much more environmentally friendly materials.

On a more positive note, the Life X grinder comes with some interesting and unique documentation. Right up top, there’s three documents: a very nicely visual “what’s in the box” pamphlet, a “get to know your Life X” pamphlet, and pretty fantastic guide on how the grinder can build a variety of drinks, from espresso to pour over and more. It’s honestly one of the best “let’s walk you through the different kinds of coffee this grinder can service” guides I’ve seen.

There is also a credit card type thing with a scan code that, other than pointing you to Ceado’s lifestyle / instruction site for the grinder (a nice touch!!!), I haven’t quite figured out what it is for yet. In case you’re wondering, here’s a PDF of the Life X manual.

Interestingly enough, Ceado doesn’t wrap the various parts of the grinder in plastic bags like most manufacturers do, which, on the enviro side of things, is a positive. That said, a lot of the parts I unpacked were covered with a white kind of powder of unknown substance (no, not what you’re thinking) which gives a real reminder that you should always wash all the parts you get with a machine (that are washable) before your first use.

Everything, from the grinds bin, to the hopper feeder, to the on demand hopper all had this powder on it. So a nice warm water sudsy bath for everything, and a good wipedown of the grinder body itself with some foodsafe cleaners was performed.

With everything unpacked, it was time to look at this grinder from top to bottom.

Life X GrinderWalk Through

Right at the top of the Ceado Life X, we start with the choice of bean hoppers.

The grinder comes with two in the box: a 250g max capacity traditional hopper with a bean shut of slide. It mounts via friction into the grinder body, but Ceado also recommends attaching the single mount screw at the back. I do too, after I accidentally dislodged the hopper moving the grinder, and spilt beans everywhere.

The screw mount is a bit difficult to get to by hand only, because the hopper’s bean slider gets in the way. You will need a screw driver to mount and tighten it.

Ceado also includes a single dose hopper for the Life X, and it comes with a detached bellows and press tube. The hopper itself maxes out at around 30-35g of coffee, and you are meant to insert the bellows press tube after the grinding starts and the beans lower down into the grinder. Once the beans are mostly through the spinning burrs, a couple of flat palm presses on the bellows will clear out any stray grinds, effectively giving you a zero-retention result.

The purpose of the bellows push tube is to provide some pressure against the beans aiding them in their downward movement to the grinder burrs, but also to prevent any popcorning of the beans. The flat, blind 50mm burrs spin at a reported 1650rpm, so popcorning can be an issue without this device in play.

The standard hopper has a bean cap over the exit chute to the grind chamber ,and achieves the same effect, in a slightly less efficient way.

The control panel up front is redesigned, compared to the previous Life model, and we’ll cover that more below. The LED display is black with white pixels changing, depending on what mode the screen is in. When on, it displays a cup with a “1” in it, and the programmed time for that (the single shot button, on the left); it displays a second cup, with a “2” in it below, with the programmed time for that (the double shot button, on the right).

The four capacitive touch buttons below the display are single shot, menu, manual / on demand button, and double shot. The two middle buttons change function once you get into the menu, or go into manual grinding mode.

Pressing the menu button cycles through the grinder’s modes. The first press brings up the programming controls for the single and double shot buttons. Press either of those after getting to this menu, and you can change the grind time in .1 second increments.

Press the menu button a second time, and you get to the manual / on demand setting. You can set it either to just run with a manual button press (pressing again to stop it), or as a true on demand grinder, only operating as you press and hold that button.

Manual mode is great for single dosing and also for figuring out the times to program for your single and double shot buttons. When the manual mode is in “on” mode (press once to start, press again to stop), the display pops up a pause button and a stop button – if you hit pause, the timer count up continues to display, and commences again when you hit the pause button again to restart the grinder.

This grinder also has counters, keeping track of how many times each button (single and double shot) has been used, and also the total grinding sessions (including manual use). This is accessed by pressing the menu button 3 times, then cycling through the information presented.

Moving down the front of the grinder, you come to the grind chute, and the folding portafilter / grinds bin fork with it’s adjustable portafilter hook. The grind chute doesn’t jut out of the machine much, but enough that if you place Ceado’s included plastic grinds bin on the fold out forks, it’s lid can clasp and wedge just slightly under the grinds chute to stay in place hands free while grinding.

Thanks to the adjustable portafilter hook, pretty much every portafilter I’ve tried with this grinder fits and stays in place, from the 49mm chopped portafilter of an Olympia Express Mina, to the 58mm Lelit portafilters with their wacky wrap around spouts.

The front panel on the Ceado Life X deserves a bit of mention. On all units, it is black, made of dense textured plastic, and is slightly dimpled inward from its edges, which is a nice style effect. I really like it when companies apply these style characteristics to their products… it feels more professional.

The base of the Ceado Life X is impressive in its own right: instead of four rubberized feet like most grinders, it actually has a wraparound no-slip, grippy rubber base that does two things: minimizes vibrations and sounds from the grinder, and keeps it secure on the countertop.

The back of the grinder also has that dense, hiqh quality textured plastic, but is dimpled outward from the edges. It has a Ceado logo subtly embossed, and a power button in the lower left corner.

The grinds adjustment dial is on the right side of the grinder and is very well designed. There is a plastic arrow built into the black housing, indicating the current setting. The numbers and ticks are easy to see, and the stepless grind adjustment has just enough resistance to feel secure, but still easy enough to adjust.

The sides of the Ceado Life X are where the company applies some colour. It is a painted metal wraparound, all one piece, and is available in black, white, teal and beige. Other colours may be available at some point.

The grinder is small, and very heavy for its size. Operating weight is 5.2kg with the cord (12lb), and it measures 15cm wide, 20cm deep with the forks extended (16cm without) and is only 36cm tall with the 250g hopper in place. (6”x8”x14”). This is a very small grinder, smaller overall than a Baratza Vario+ (though they are the same width).

The Ceado Life X is a 120V grinder, with a 250W motor, spinning at 1650RPM at full speed. The burrs are entirely custom for this grinder and made by Ceado, and are 50mm and “blind” burrs, meaning there’s no screw-pass through on them. Being a blind design, they are the equivalent cutting area of 58-60mm traditional burrs.

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Ceado Life XUpdates

Ceado has a reputation of applying fixes and updates to their grinders relatively quickly; the original Ceado Life was only available in the USA and Canada for about a year before the Life X model was introduced (though Ceado introduced the Life grinder nearly 4 years ago in Europe).

Burrs and Grinder Chamber

The blind 50mm burrs inside the Life X got a big upgrade. The cutting pattern has been changed to feed and break up the beans more efficiently, and the overall geometry has been improved for better performance, and for reduced fines production especially at the coarser end of the grind settings. Ceado also claims the burrs provide a much “cleaner cup” in the brew grind settings compared to the original Life burrs.

The chamber the burrs are housed in has been modified too, along with the grind selection “ratio”. The chamber is slightly taller overall, allowing for more travel between the burrs at the coarsest end. This means the Life X can approach a proper press pot grind (not quite though: we measured particle sizes around the 1050um size; you want about 1100-1200 for press pot). The previous Life model could only get to around 850-900um, so that is an improvement.

This does come with a slight cost: since the range of burr adjustment is greater on this grinder, but the grind selection dial is the same, it means the difference in grind adjustment per “tick” on the grind dial is ever slightly greater. Not a big deal at all though, since this is a true stepless grind adjustment system. Once you get used to the minute, slight adjustments you can make on the espresso side of things, it’s all golden.

Ceado also redesigned the exit chute and flap that covers it so there’s less retention, but also less “kick back” of ground coffee to muck up the grind chamber. It works well for espresso with very little static, but we did see more static build up with coarser grinds. RDT takes care of this.

I asked Ceado’s Cosimo Libardo if the burrs were backwards compatible with the original Life grinder, and while they are, the company explained there’s no real benefit to do so, as the burrs were engineered to work with the new grind chamber and the new flap system at the exit chute on the Life X.

Libardo also confirmed the burrs need a 3 to 5kg break in period before operating at optimal efficiency. That means that once fully broken in, the grinder should be very consistent on timed doses, back to back.

Libardo told me that the new blind burrs have an expected life of at least 400kg, or as he put it “the life of the grinder for a typical home user”. 

Display and Interface

Ceado updated the display and controls for the Life X. The grinder – along with its predecessor – are pitched as a multi-purpose grinder that can do both on demand grinding (using the bean hopper) and single dosing (via the single dose chute), and people generally like a one touch button for single dosing operation of a grinder.

On the Life model, it wasn’t one touch: you had to touch the single and double dose buttons at the same time to get to pulse or single dosing mode. And it wasn’t very intuitive.

On the Life X model, Ceado reconfigured the display and buttons so the grinder now does have a true single press, single dosing grind button that can be set to be on with a single press (press again to stop), or running only while pressed. It also displays a count up timer in .1 seconds when using the grinder this way. There’s also a neat pause function, which keeps track of your total grinding time, if you are trying to measure the grind’s output via weight to program in the single and double shot “on demand buttons”.

Noise and Grinder Speed

The Life X is quieter than the Life grinder; I have tested the sound on the Life X, and it is around 70-71db with beans in the grinder. Referencing online tests for the original Life grinder, that was reported around 74-75db.

The output is also slower on the new Life X grinder. It was reported the original Life had an output speed of around 1.8g/sec for espresso at the 1.5 setting. On the Life X, after I’ve had about 3kg through the grinder for seasoning, I measured the output at 1.4g/sec at the 1.5 grind dial setting. This may change (and improve) as the grinder goes through more seasoning.

The reduced output, combined with the lower noise makes me speculate the Life X grinder may spin at a lower RPM than the original Life. That said, Ceado lists, in their specifications, that both grinders spin at 1650 RPM at full speed on 110V, 60hz power.

I asked Ceado’s Libardo about this speed difference, and he wrote that a combination of factors, including the different burr geometry, the redesign of the grinder flap, the larger grinder chamber all reduced the output speed (and noise) a bit on the grinder.

Other Changes

Besides the updated display panel and its new sleep mode, Ceado did some minor changes compared to the original Life Grinder shown at the Milan Expo in 2021. The grind selection dial originally was embossed metal for the numbers and ticks: it now has black lettering and ticks for much easier viewing.

First UseLife X Grinder

Almost immediately I found the Ceado Life X a pleasure to use (mostly). I got used to the control interface quickly, using the manual button press grinding to find the timings I needed to program in for the single and double shot buttons. I did this in combination with a scale: grind for about 10 seconds, hit the pause button, weigh, realise I needed another 2-3 seconds’ worth, pressed the pause button again, got that, hit pause again, weigh, and find my target “time” based on what the display said.

Then it was a matter of programming the double shot button.. Once that was done, confirm the grind dose via the timed grinding, make one more small adjustment, and the double button was set for doing 18.5g (give or take .2g) each time I pressed it (FYI, it was set to 12.4 seconds with the coffee I am using).

When using the Life X for espresso and grinding directly into a portafilter, it outputs the grinds as if from a sluicebox, jetting them gently to the middle of the portafilter basket. Clump free, fluffy, and centered. You almost don’t need to WDT these grinds. Not static issues at all.

Changing to the single dose hopper and using the grinder for brew grinding showed some minor issues. The grinder does produce more static by the time you get to a V60 grind, but a very light RDT spritz takes care of that. Using the funnel and bellows system, while a bit quirky (you can’t put it into the funnel right away, as the beans are in there and piled up), was efficient, and resulted in nearly zero retention. This grinder does seem to produce a lot of chaff at the end of the grind.

One thing that is a tiny annoyance is how messy the grinder gets around the bean hopper area when you use the single dose system. A lot of stray chaff ends up around the grinder’s rubberized collar. It’s hidden from view (inside the single dose hopper) but once you remove that to put the on demand bean hopper in place, you’ll see the mess all over the top of the grinder.

I suppose Ceado could remedy this by redesigning the single dose plastic hopper so it has a tighter final fit to the entry point to the burrs and grinding chamber.

How Does It Taste?

Honestly? Really good. Flat burrs do an excellent job for brew grinding, and a good job at more balanced espresso brewing (conical burrs tend to highlight acidity more). I’m not a big fan of excessive acidity, so the Ceado Life X hit the absolute sweet spot for me on espresso shots.

For brew grinding, I tested the Ceado Life X for V60 paper, V60 with an Able Kone filter (all metal), siphon coffee, and the Espro Bloom no-bypass brewer (without any filter paper used).

All were… excellent. Nice, well balanced cups, super clean and proper flow on the paper and cloth brews, and not overly muddy or “thick” for all metal filters. I’ve been testing a lot of grinders lately, and the Ceado is one of the better ones I’ve tried with the all metal Espro Bloom, which is a bit of a torture test I devised for grinders (I promise, I will have an article or how to on this soon).

For grinder settings, I was around the 1.5 mark for espresso, 5.5 for V60 paper and siphon cloth filters, and 6 to 7. for metal pour over and no bypass brewing. In our Full Review, we’ll dive a lot deeper into taste results.

Life X GrinderCompared To

At $700, the Ceado Life X isn’t a cheap grinder, but I want to give you a perspective: the premier espresso grinder for the Rancilio Silvia back in 2002 was the Rancilio Rocky. It was $375 (give or take $25) back in 2002. In today’s dollars, that is $650. And I can state, with authority, the Ceado Life X is a way, way WAY better grinder than the Rocky was.

That said, there are flat burr grinders on the market today for as little as $350 or less, that do a good job. One is a model I’ll be comparing to the Life X: the Wilfa Uniform.

Close to the Life X’s price point and output offerings are the Rancilio Stile grinder, and the Baratza Vario+

Rancilio Stile

I really like the Rancilio Stile, a very underrated grinder (our first look is coming soon!). It’s been sitting next to the Lelit Bianca V3 espresso machine for 3 months now, getting daily use, and I’m amazed at the grinder’s ability on espresso: fast (18.5g out in 8 seconds), quiet (even quieter than the Life X), and the motor has an astounding level of confident torque you can just feel the moment you activate it. The Stile is also sometimes priced lower than the Ceado, going as low as $650.

That said, it has its own quirks, and while Rancilio pitches this grinder as “multipurpose” it isn’t really (at least easily). They have no catch cup for it (I’ve been told one is planned) for doing brew grinds. The display is finicky and sometimes non responsive. And some portafilters (like Lelit’s chunky 58mm with the wrap around spouts) don’t fit the forks well. The Stile is also definitely an on-demand grinder, and not suited for single dosing (though you can use it that way if you insist).

The Ceado is better suited as a multipurpose grinder. Adjusting the grind size is easier, and the ability to swap a single dose hopper for the 250g hopper is choice. I struggle to decide which has the better espresso output, because both grinders put out a nice, fluffy and even espresso grind.

Build quality on both is excellent, but the Rancilio Stile seems a tad more “professional grade”.

Basically if all I was doing was espresso with this grinder, I would go for the Rancilio Stile. If I wanted one grinder to do everything from espresso to chemex, the Life X wins.

Baratza Vario+

The Baratza Vario+ in many ways is a very different beast than the Life X. The Vario+ uses ceramic burrs made by Ditting, and some (myself included) argue that these burrs produce a more full and complex balance on espresso shots than metal flat burrs do.

The Vario+ also has a very different adjustment system for the grind levels, and it also has its own quirks: the macro and micro slider adjustments sometimes don’t register one or two micro clicks; you have to go 3 or more clicks, which over-compensates the adjustment, run the grinder a bit, then as it runs, go one or two clicks back to get the adjustment you were hunting for. The Ceado Life X, while having a very tight adjustment range, is stepless, and gives you a better practiced touch (with a LOT of practice) on better dialing in espresso grinds.

The $530 Vario+ has other features the Ceado lacks: a grinds bin + a portafilter fork system, presets, a lit-up dosing area, a more robust hopper system, and Baratza’s legendary after sales service and support. You also get about 100um extra “range” in the grind settings, going from about 200um up to 1150um (vs the 1050um max on the Life X)

The Ceado is quieter, slightly quicker (on espresso), has a better motor, more metal in construction, and those blind burrs make it the equivalent of a 58-60mm burr cutting surface (vs. the Vario+’s 54mm burrs with screw mount holes). I also like the controls and UI more on the Life X.

We wrote up an introduction to the Vario+ if you want to give it a read.

Wilfa Uniform

I love / hate this grinder (read our review). It remains one of the best brew grinders I’ve ever used, and at $350 or less, punches way above its weight class on grind output quality.

I just wish it wasn’t glacially slow (blame Tim Wendelboe’s consultation advice for that).

The Uniform is unique looking, quiet, produces a stellar brew grind and a good espresso grind (the Ceado Life X is better in this regard), and is half the price of the Life X. But it is slow. If your primary focus is on brew coffee, with the occasional espresso, I’d recommend the Wilfa over the Ceado Life X. Keep in mind Jim Hoffmann is also a big fan.

If you need to get to work anytime soon, the Life X will get you there much sooner. And it is a way better espresso grinder.

ConclusionLife X Grinder

For the life of me, I cannot believe that what you are reading now is the first (and so far only) independent content written about the Ceado Life X grinder you’ll find online. I searched high and low, and there are no other independent reviews out there of this capable, well built espresso and coffee grinder. Of course, there are lots of vendor reviews.

I could go on a rant about the whims and machinations of the modern day influencer and ginormous Youtube stars, but I’ll save that for another time. Well, one dig: I’d rather see the Hoff review a grinder like this (and the Rancilio Stile) than put out some celebrity coffee overview (Jim, get back to reviewing equipment, willya?)

Here’s what I’ve learned so far about the Ceado Life X: it’s a really well built, versatile grinder. 

The output on the espresso side of the equation is fantastic, and it also serves extremely well as a brew grinder, where the strengths of a flat burr really shine. It’s unique in that, right out of the box it offers both a single dose system and an on-demand bean hopper. The user interface is intuitive and well thought out. The digital timers, once the burrs are fully seasoned, repeat your doses within .2g (up or down) every time. The grinder is quiet, has a decent (not blistering) output speed, and it looks fantastic. It deserves to be reviewed and talked about more.

The price is a bit steep considering what else is out there in the flat burr market, but you’re getting unique burrs from a top burr manufacturer, you’re getting a beautiful design, a solid build quality and top shelf parts. It is a machine that should last for decades. More important: it’s built by a company that should also be around for decades to come (for that after-warranty service you might need).

The Ceado Life X is entering a very competitive market. On top of the grinders I’ve compared it to in this review, it also compares to the DF64 Gen 2 ($500), and even the DF54 ($350) model. That said, it offers several things those grinders do not, including the multiple hopper systems, the better motors and build quality, and Ceado’s reputation and history. The DF grinders use off the shelf burrs. Ceado designs their own and the housing they go into, as just one example.

The Ceado Life X is now available from select retailers (we list two below, and we don’t make any affiliate income from either). It is $699USD, and available in several colours.

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https://coffeegeek.com/reviews/firstlooks/ceado-life-x-grinder-first-look/

#ceado #coffeeGrinder #espressoGrinder #grinder #lifeX

In case you missed this yesterday in all the "delete Tweeter" hoopla around my fediverse account... we put out some new content, covering what is most likely the best manual espresso grinder on the market today:

#espresso #coffee #espressogrinder #1Zpresso

https://coffeegeek.com/reviews/firstlooks/1zpresso-j-ultra-manual-grinder-first-look/

Out of the BoxJ-Ultra Grinder

The J-Ultra grinder from 1zpresso comes in the same box that the other Ultra series grinders come in. The only way to tell what grinder is inside is by looking at the small white label on the side.

Because these grinders ship with a protective travel case, packaging is minimal, and the only environmentally unfriendly part in the box is a square of polystyrene to keep the shape of the travel case intact, in case some 500 pound weight is placed against the outer box.

The travel case is quite nice, with a good zipper, a nice small size, and the 1zpresso logo emblazoned on one side. Opening it up reveals the grinder, all assembled. There is also a blower to blow out stray grinds when you clean the grinder.

In the back of the case you’ll find a cleaning brush, a silicone ring you can optionally attach to the main body of the grinder for extra grip, and card with a scan code. Scan that and you’ll be taken to the product page and manual for the grinder.

At 684 grams, the 1zpresso J-Ultra is a substantial piece of metal, though still lighter than previous J series grinders. Indeed, other than the semi opaque plastic lid, silicone grip and foot, and the wood handle, it is all metal construction top to bottom.

Holding it in your hand gives the utmost confidence in the device. This isn’t some janky basic plastic manual grinder. The grip area is a slightly smaller diameter than the grind adjustment ring or the bottom catch cup area, giving your hand a natural place to grip and hold the device. When extended, the handle is a good length and the wood grip feel like the perfect size and shape for the task.

The body of the grinder is all curves, and curves with intent. Because the catch cup is held on with magnets, some grinders with this feature had the rare tendency to be knocked off by your gripping hand if you were going to town cranking the handle and grinding at speed. This wasn’t a good thing: ground coffee would fly everywhere. The J-Ultra’s shape is designed to minimize this error because of the bulge and curve of the body about 1.5cm above where the catch cup attaches.

Same goes with the adjustment dial: on some manual grinders with external adjustment rings, users have reported accidentally adjusting the grind size while grinding because their hands would slip and the top external grind selection rings would rotate. On the J-Ultra, this is not an issue: again, the bulge and larger diameter of the adjustment ring area naturally stays separate from your gripping hand as you operate the grinder.

Top to Bottom, Externally

Right up top is the lid and handle assembly. The J-Ultra, like all of 1zpresso’s top grinders features the folding handle design they were forced to come up with after Commandante’s threatened lawsuits. On one hand, I’m not a fan of it because it can be tricky to operate and it’s not the ideal solution for travel or storage, but on the other hand, it does make the grinder more compact when not in use, and makes it less prone to toppling over because of the heavy one sided weight of the grinder when the handle is extended.

As for the range and “feel” of the handle when extended, it’s nearly perfect. The big bulbous wood handle fits perfectly in most hands, and gives you a good operating area for using the grinder. The handle’s rotation circumference aids in good grinding speed and countering the resistance crunching down beans will give to shorter handles.

The main lid that closes off the bean hopper is the only plastic on the device: this is actually a good thing because it helps keep the weight down a bit, and honestly, this part never needs to be metal on any manual grinder. It just needs to fit well on the central spindle shaft connection, and the 1zpresso one does this very well. Of course, the actual metal handle connects to a metal spindle connector.

Speaking of the spindle and shaft: 1zpresso is one of only two manual grinder makers who currently recommend their grinders are compatible with electric drills. In fact, the shaft connector is the same size as the bit holder in most electric and cordless drills. They can claim this because their spindle shafts are thicker metal than most other manual grinder makers’ designs on the market currently.

So basically when the Jim Hoffmanns of the world recommend using an electric drill to power your manual grinder, you really shouldn’t, unless you own a 1zpresso manual grinder (or 3Bomber’s Blade R3, or certain KINGrinders).

Moving down from the lid, we have 1zpresso’s unique (and frankly: amazing) external grind selection dial. It actually works a bit opposite from their other grinders: Rotating it clockwise both lowers the dial into the grinder body more, and make the grind coarser. On their X-Ultra and K-Ultra clockwise rotation also makes the grind coarser, but the dial itself doesn’t move up or down.

The adjustment dial is easy to grip, and features 100 very reassuring and confident clicks per full rotation. The adjustment dial can be rotated a total of five times, giving you 500 (!!!!) total click settings. At the fine end, it stops rotating when the burrs are locked together (and the grinder is factory calibrated to be indicating 0 at this lock point). The collar will also stop rotating after 5 clockwise rotations at the top end, or 500th click.

There are numbers 0 through 9 embossed on the grind dial, with an embossed dot between each. Between each number are ten click settings (the dot indicates the 5th click in each range). They are easy to read in most lighting conditions. The grind selection indicator on the grinder body is five rows of dots, shaped like a pyramid, with the lowest row having 5 dots, and the top row having one dot.

I have a lot to say about this grind selection dial and how it works (including an absolutely ingenious feature 1zpresso built into it) which will come later on in this First Look.

Below the grind selection dial is the grip area for the grinder. If you only rely on photographs of this grinder, you might think this area is wrapped with fabric, showcasing the 1zpresso logo. It’s actually textured silicone, and very grippy. This keeps your hand very secure when operating the grinder.

Moving down the grinder, the narrow diameter of the grip area bulges out to a wider diameter for the lower body. There is a hash ring around the body and just below that, the catch cup is attached, via 12 rare-earth magnets.

This design is the result of 1zpresso’s long term experience designing these grinders and getting user feedback. In previous versions of their magnetic catch-cup grinders, the grip area was the same diameter as the catch cup. Because there was little separation between the grip area, sometimes users would accidentally dislodge the magnetic catch cups while operating the grinder, sending ground coffee flying everywhere.

With this new design, your hand stays more secure in the grip area, and is much less prone to accidentally knocking the catch cup off. 1zpresso also beefed up (upgraded as they say!) the magnets to stronger versions.

The catch cup can be removed either a) through brute force, pulling it straight down, or b) much easier by just twisting it slightly then pulling it down. The magnets line up with counter-magnets built into the main body of the grinder, so twisting the catch cup misaligned them, taking away their magnet effect.

The catch cup’s capacity is just under 40 grams of ground coffee. The J-Ultra’s hopper can hold about 38.5g of coffee in my testing, which is in line with 1zpresso’s claim of 35-40g capacity.

Right at the bottom of the grinder is a silicone footpad, with the 1zpresso logo on it. I mention this because the addition of this kind of material gives long term benefits from a manual grinder. It makes it less prone to slide around and topple over on your counter or table, and long term, will prevent possible damage to wood table tops and the like. It also just makes less noise when you put the grinder back on your table or countertop.

Overall, the 1zpresso J-Ultra is just… a work of engineering art. Curves in the right places. Finished edges. Graceful lines. Fit and finish is honestly the best in the industry. This grinder looks and feels like a precision instrument. It is very reassuring and inspires confidence in its use.

Unlike the X-Ultra, the J-Ultra only comes in one colour choice: it’s a bit hard to describe, but it’s like a midnight blue-purple colour that almost seems like a midnight grey in some light, more purple in other light, and more midnight blue in different light. 1zpresso themselves call it “iron grey”.

What’s Inside

A lot of engineering, that’s what. The entire gear design for the grind selection is brilliant and unique to the J-Ultra (the K and X Ultras are different). The grind dial actually moves up and down on the J-Ultra when adjusting the dial, which also leads to one of the grinder’s killer features, detailed more below.

The spindle is held in place by three bearing rings and three connection points, two of them a solid range of metal. Way back in the bad old days of manual grinders, spindles would wobble as you operated the grinder, causing very uneven grinds. The spindle arm in the J-Ultra stays absolutely straight through the full 360 degree rotation of the grind handle.

The grind selection click dial built into the top of the grinder is very solid and gives reassuring clicks for each individual grind setting. If you want to do just one click (8 microns!) adjustment, you can, with confidence. The grinder can be taken apart entirely without tools, and this starts at the top. Rotate the grind selection a full rotation from zero, then push up on the bottom burr, and you can unscrew the top lock nut, by hand, to disconnect the spindle from the grind selection mechanism. Slide the spindle down through the body, and the spindle with attached inner burr will pop out.

For the J-Ultra, 1zpresso ditched their mounting bottom plate for the burr. It is now directly attached to the spindle (on previous models, only the bottom plate was attached, and the burr mounted on it via a steel nub). You can remove the burr from the spindle, but there is absolutely no reason to do so, unless you need to replace the burrs.

The burrs themselves are a custom 48mm heptagonal (7 bladed) design, titanium coated. These burrs are different from the ones in 1zpresso’s other Ultra series grinders. They are specifically tuned for better output in the espresso and finer range, but still do an excellent job for drip coffee, and a good job for press pot grinding.

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First UseJ-Ultra Grinder

After putting about 2.5kg of old coffee through the J-Ultra to season it, (thank God it is drill compatible!), I started actually using the grinder for its primary use: espresso output. Using 1zpresso’s guide, which says espresso starts at 100 clicks (one full rotation of the dial off zero), I set it to 110 clicks 1+1) and loaded up 18.5g to pull in our lab machine, a Breville Dual Boiler.

The first shots ran very tight, so an adjustment 10 clicks (keeping in mind that’s 80 microns of vertical burr travel, but only about 40-50um actual grind size difference), tried again. This time too fast. I took off 4 clicks (32 microns vertical, about 18um particle size), and as they say in Australia, bob’s your uncle: I had a nearly perfect (visually, and time based) shot of espresso, delivering out 45g of liquor in 35 seconds (including the 10 second preinfusion). This is based on our long standing espresso testing regimen.

Taste? It was a postcard perfect representation of what Social Coffee’s People’s Daily blend can deliver. This was looking very promising.

I happen to be a closet Turkish Coffee fan, and have an automatic Turkish coffee maker. I noted that 1zpresso gleefully claim their grinder can do the powder grind needed for Turkish, so I set that up next. 7.1 on the dial, or 71 clicks off zero.

It took some time, and the grinder was pretty hard to crank at times but we got there, and I got powder. Almost talcum powder levels of coffee grounds. And it brewed a lovely, foamy cup of turkish coffee. This is significant, because even though it was a difficult and long grind session, a) it was easier than other turkish-capable grinders I have, and b) I felt I could go even finer.

Third, pour over testing. Comparing to other products’ output would come later on, I just wanted to see how the cup tasted using the J-Ultra and brewing in a Hario Mugen / Switch hack device. To get there, 1zpresso recommends 2.7 on the click dial – that is, 2 full rotations, then go to 7. 270 clicks off zero! But because the selection dial and markings are so well made, rotating it and getting there was easy. The little pyramid indicator (more on that below) also helps keep track of how many full rotations you’ve done on the grinder.

Absolutely no complaints about the pour over quality from this grinder. In fact, it was one of the better cups I’d had in a few weeks. And fast… this grinder is very fast for a manual grinder. Visually, I didn’t see a lot of excessive fines either, either in my hand, on a white table, or in the filter.

The J-Ultra delivers. Especially for espresso.

The Killer Feature

For many, the killer feature of the 1zpresso J-Ultra is the grind selection dial and the micron adjustment size: just 8 microns in vertical movement in the burr set (which translates to about 5 microns or smaller in actual grind change) per click. And each click feels very precise.

That’s not my fave killer feature though, no matter how amazing it is. No, mine is the innovative way 1zpresso shows how many rotations you’ve made on the grind selection dial! Because the dial moves up and down on the body as you adjust the grind, for each full 360 rotation of the dial, a set of dots is displayed at the adjustment marker. When the grinder is “zeroed” out, meaning the burrs are fully locked, the dial reads “zero” at the marker point, and the marker is a pyramid of five rows of dots: 5 dots at the bottom, 4, then 3, then 2, then finally 1 dot at the top. When you do a full rotation coarser, the first single dot row is hidden by the grind dial, showing 2 dots, indicating the grinder is on its second 360 rotation. Keep going coarser, and then the 3 dot line is the first visible one. And so on.

It’s brilliant, because this grinder has so many clicks to get from an espresso grind to pour over grind (about 140 total clicks between those two!), this little indicator really helps you know exactly where the grinder is in its range of 500 (!!!!!) total clicks.

Speaking of clicks: the dial has embossed numbers from 0 to 9 on it, with a mid dot between each number. Going one full number on the dial is 10 clicks in the grind setting. This means one full 360 degree rotation on the dial is 100 clicks. The dial can be rotated 5 total times (it has a lock out at the coarse end). Given that each click is 8 microns of burr movement vertically, this grinder has an effective range of 0 microns to 4,000 microns, in 500 steps.

Keep in mind, this is vertical movement. The actual grind particle size varies across this range because of the overall shape and curve of the burrs: in the turkish to espresso range, it could be 3 microns change in particle size per click, expanding to around 6 microns by the time you get to press pot. Based on some initial evaluation, the effective grinding particle size of this grinder is 150 microns to about 1800 microns.

1zpresso recommends starting at 7.5 (or about 75 clicks off zero) for turkish style powder (I did this at 7.1). Espresso range starts at 1 full rotation (0, or 100 clicks) through 140 (1rotation+4). Aeropress starts at 2 full rotations (200 clicks), pour over at 2rotations+5, (250 clicks), Chemex / no-bypass brewers at 3rotations+5 (350 clicks), and press pot at 4 full rotations.

That may seem like a lot of clicks – 400 to get to press pot? – but in reality, it’s very easy to do, and the pyramid dot indicators help you know how many rotations you’ve done.

ComparisonsJ-Ultra Grinder

For this First Look, this section is going to be very brief. I put the grinder up against its siblings, the K-Ultra and X-Ultra, and also tested the output next to the Lagom Mini, Turin SK40 and Baratza Encore ESP.

Against the 1zpresso K-Ultra and X-Ultra

The J-Ultra is very close in size and shape to 1zpresso’s K-Ultra; they are even the same colour externally. Two main elements of each grinder is quite different: the K=Ultra’s grind selection system is different engineering and has a bigger micron gap between clicks; and second, the burr group in the K-Ultra is a different design and composition when compared to that inside the J-Ultra.

The K-Ultra is 1zpresso’s “brew primary” grinder, meaning it s designed for optimal pour over, drip, and Aeropress coffee brewing. It is very capable as an espresso grinder, but you don’t have the fine dial in adjustment ability that the J-Ultra provides.

For the First Look, I organized 3 side by side blind taste tests of espresso shots using our standard formula of 18.5g in, 45g out in 35 seconds on our lab machine, the Breville Dual Boiler. After calibrating the grinders as best I could, three samples were brewed and tasted, and in all three cases, the J-Ultra presented the better shot. It was a close sampling, and in two cases, I had to drink the entire shots to come up with my determination.

On pour over tests, the K-Ultra produces a slightly cleaner, more balanced shot with a slightly faster flow through time, telling me that the J-Ultra, for a V60 style grind, produces slightly more fines.

The X-Ultra… this is 1zpresso’s “all purpose” grinder, equally capable on espresso as it is on pour over. The X-Ultra has a much finer micron adjustment range between its clicks, which provides the grinder better dial in ability. The burrs look similar to the K-Ultra burrs, but I’ve been told they are a slightly different geometry and pattern. Taste wise, the X-Ultra is very, very close to the J-Ultra on espresso. I didn’t do the formal 3 shot blind taste test I did with the K-Ultra, but some informal side by side tasting, and I struggled to find a difference between the X and J models.

I will say the X-Ultra, with its more-slim body and weight is actually my favourite of the three models to use. It seems to just work better in my hands.

Against the Lagom Mini

I didn’t think I’d find another conical burr grinder that produced better espresso and pour over results than the Lagom Mini. That grinder is absolutely amazing.

But guess what: the J-Ultra edged it out on espresso taste. It was so close, I had to do 3 different taste tests, and the J-Ultra won 2 of the 3. It’s also faster to grind for espresso: I could do 18.5g in the J-Ultra in about 45 seconds or less; the Lagom Mini’s electric motor takes almost 60 seconds.

On pour over, the Lagom Mini remains the champ, at least compared to the J-Ultra. Cups are more expressive, more rounded, more things to discover. Again, the taste difference is pretty slight, but on three blind tests, the Mini won all 3, one almost a tie though.

Baratza Encore ESP

When I get into the full review process, this one is going to be the most interesting lineup: the J-Ultra and Encore ESP are the same retail price, but offer very different packages to the end user.

In a very brief side by side test of both grinders, the J-Ultra is the “ultimate” in terms of dial in ability. As lauded as the Encore ESP’s espresso-side grind adjustment system is, it cannot match the calibrated magic that the J-Ultra offers. I found on the Encore ESP going one click difference on the grind selection resulted in no real changes some times, and other times, a very big jump in shot times. This tells me the collar doesn’t always move with each single click, but will jump a big jump in selection at other times.

Look, on its own, the Encore ESP’s adjustment system is fantastic. But when you put it up against the precision tool that the J-Ultra is, you see issues.

On taste, I also have to give the nod to the J-Ultra’s shots. As mentioned way earlier in this First Look, I had a postcard perfect example of what our test coffee – Social Coffee’s People’s Daily Blend – has to offer, with the J-Ultra. I didn’t get to that level of shot perfection with the Encore ESP.

When it comes to pour over grinds, I found the grinders were a lot closer in taste quality, but again, the J-Ultra offers way way tighter grind dial in ability, which also gives it the edge. It’s also pretty fast hand grinding 21g for pour over: around 30 seconds. It won’t match the 10-ish seconds of the Encore ESP (not to mention the Encore does the work for you), but it is noticeably fast.

Turin SK40

We didn’t do any real tests against the Turin SK40 and the J-Ultra for this First Look, but plan to compare them in our Full Review.

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ConclusionJ-Ultra Grinder

Given that I had one of the best shot pulls ever from our test-standard espresso blend, Social Coffee’s People’s Daily, and dial in was extremely easy, those two factors alone really speak volumes for how fantastic 1zpresso’s J-Ultra manual grinder really is.

I don’t want our First Looks to draw too many conclusions; for that reason we don’t score products in these articles or give final ratings. But it’s hard not to, with the J-Ultra.

Everything about the grinder screams quality, engineering perfection and precision. I struggle to find anything I don’t like about the grinder. The least favourite thing is the handle design; I don’t like how difficult it is to fold down to its storage position, and don’t like how it has a click-lock half way through the process (why did they design it that way?) But the handle and crank arm itself function excellent under operation and make the grinder very easy to use.

All the materials, all the construction, the ways the 1zpresso J-Ultra go together are best in class. As an espresso grinder, I don’t think this has an equal in the market. I was also amazed at its Turkish coffee grinding ability. As a brew grinder, it is more than capable, being beat by a few models (including it’s sibling, the K-Ultra) but not by any large measure most home baristas would notice.

$200 may seem a lot for a manual grinder. Considering the Commandantes and other ultra-premium grinders are $100 to $150 more, and the grinder I have that is closest in terms of output – the Lagom Mini – is double the price (and slower on output), $200 is a pretty decent price.

Sometimes when I do a First Look, I have a gut feeling my Full Review might change some of my opinion; in the case of the 1zpresso J-Ultra, I’m confident my opinion of this grinder will only get better.

This grinder is the complete package with a special focus on espresso. The case, the accessories, the build quality, the materials, everything are best of class. If you want one of the best espresso grinders on the market today, this is the model for you.

If you are interested in this grinder, please consider buying it via our affiliate link with Amazon. The small income we make from these sales keeps our website going.

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https://coffeegeek.com/reviews/firstlooks/1zpresso-j-ultra-manual-grinder-first-look/

#1zpresso #bestOfClass #espressoGrinder #grinder #jUltra #manualGrinder

New grinders in today to test, review and possibly include in our best grinders features.

From 1Zpresso, the X-Ultra, K-Ultra, and J-Ultra grinders (left to right).

#coffeegrinder #espressogrinder #grinder cc @coffee @espresso

Indeed, this looks to be the "year of the Grinder" on CoffeeGeek. Here's all the models we hope to have full reviews throughout 2024:

- Rancilio Stile
- Lagom Mini
- Lagom Casa
- Lelit William
- Zerno Z1
- Timemore Sculptor
- Fellow Opus
- Turin SD40s
- Turin DF64 Gen 2
- Ceado Life-X
- Mazzer Philos
- Baratza Vario+
- Baratza Vario-W+
- A new Baratza grinder (shhh)
- MAYBE the Varia S3

And the manuals:

- Timemore C3 ESP Pro
- Timemore Chestnut X-Lite
- 1Zpresso J-Ultra
- 1ZPresso X-Ultra
- 1Zpresso K-Ultra
- Timemore Chestnut S3

Yikes. I gotta get to work.

#coffeegrinder #espressogrinder #grinder cc @coffee @espresso

The Rancilio Stile grinder - fully seasoned, is usually within .25g a dose or smaller, based on its timer.

That is... REALLY good. Here's two doses, 3 shots apart (ie, I did three shot pulls I didn't photograph the measurements of). The other two doses were within 0.15g of the first one.

#rancilio #ranciliostile #coffeegrinder #espressogrinder cc @espresso

More on the #1ZPresso's J-Ultra grinder, Asser, the Coffee Chronicler, did a video on it last month, which was a big influence on my own opinion of the grinder and 1ZPresso in general.

#espressogrinder

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfssWimJNaI

I always seem to get good news late in the evening.

We're going to be reviewing both the J-Ultra and X-Ultra grinders from 1Zpresso in the next few months. I've been looking forward to using these grinders for a long time now.

Our Blog contributor Natia owns a J-Max, and absolutely loves it. The J-Ultra is the successor grinder. Many believe it is THE BEST manual espresso grinder on the market today. I finally get to find out if that's true.

#manualgrinder #1Zpresso #espressogrinder

https://1zpresso.coffee/product/jultra/

The first 24h our latest Feature Guide has been online has been pretty good!

Best Budget Coffee Grinders for 2024 has 24,250 reads so far. There seems to be a lot of interest in finding a quality coffee grinder under a budget! Can't wait to see what the number is like in a week, when search engines (hopefully) start doing the work, pointing people to us.

Check it out if you haven't already:

#coffeegrinder #grinder #espressogrinder cc @coffee

https://coffeegeek.com/guides/feature-guides/best-budget-coffee-grinders-for-2024/

What's next on CoffeeGeek?

Why, this is next: our First Look at the Rancilio Stile Grinder. A precision instrument for your home espresso setup. Coming in a few days.

#espressogrinder #rancilio #ranciliostile cc @espresso

New this morning on CoffeeGeek: our latest Feature Guide:

The Best Budget Coffee Grinders for 2024. Our recommendations for the best quality and best bang for the buck multipurpose coffee grinders available today.

#espressogrinder #coffeegrinder #coffee #espresso cc @coffee @espresso

https://coffeegeek.com/guides/feature-guides/best-budget-coffee-grinders-for-2024/

Coming in just a few hours on the front page of CoffeeGeek.com:

Our Best Budget Grinders for 2024 Feature Guide.

Here's a sneak peak at the choices.

#coffee #espresso #coffeegrinder #espressogrinder

cc @coffee @espresso

OMFG.

Option-O has a new consumer-focused grinder coming out. The Lagom Casa. Look freakin' awesome. Up to 65mm conical burrs inside. Monster.

Link: ⬇️
https://www.option-o.com/lagom-casa

cc @espresso @coffee

#coffee #coffeegrinder #espressogrinder

Published this morning, our comprehensive First Look at the Fellow Opus conical burr, multipurpose grinder. Fellow's known for designing unique and beautiful products. They're also known for sometimes missing the mark on their electric products. How does the Opus grinder do? Read about it here.

#coffeegrinder #espressogrinder #coffee #espresso

cc @coffee @espresso

https://coffeegeek.com/reviews/firstlooks/fellow-opus-conical-burr-grinder-first-look/

Here it is. CoffeeGeek's comprehensive First Look at the Fellow Opus Conical Burr Grinder. With over 60 photos, and 3500 words, it is longer than most full reviews!

#fellowproducts #fellowopus #coffee #coffeegrinder #espressogrinder

cc @espresso @coffee

https://coffeegeek.com/reviews/firstlooks/fellow-opus-conical-burr-grinder-first-look/

To show you how much grinders have improved and changed from 2002 to today.

Back then, I firmly believed the entry point to GREAT home espresso was the $400 price point ($685 today!) on grinders: Mazzer Mini (used), Super Joly (used), Rancilio Rocky, NS MDF, etc.

Today, the entry point for a GREAT home espresso grinder is $200 motorized, and under $100 manual:

Turin SK40, Fellow Opus, Baratza Encore ESP, Timemore C3 ESP Pro, etc.

#coffeegrinder #espresso #espressogrinder

cc @espresso

Wow. Turin Grinders (the company bringing in the new DF64 Gen 2 grinder to the US for $400) is getting serious. They posted on IG this photo of their most recent shipment.

Looks like they'll have stock for Christmas!

#espressogrinder #coffeegrinder #grinders

CC @espresso

If you thought 7,500 words was a lot for our Baratza Encore ESP #grinder review...

I just finished my second draft of the Breville Smart Grinder Pro 2023 review. 8,640 words. OMG.

Hope to have it online Sunday.

#coffeegrinder #espressogrinder #coffee #Breville #SGP

Honestly, I think the only thing that could be done to improve the Turin DF64 Gen 2 #coffeegrinder is the addition of a RPM adjustment on the motor.

It's pretty amazing for a $400 grinder. And it's competing with the Lagom Mini as my choice for (tested) product of the year.

First Look, here:

#coffee #espresso #espressogrinder #grinder #turin

https://www.coffeegeek.com/reviews/turin-d64-gen-2-grinder-first-look/

The work never ends at CoffeeGeek!

After completing the monster review for the #Baratza Encore ESP #grinder, moving on to getting our updated, 2023 edition of the #Breville Smart Grinder Pro review out the door. This one's a bit easier, as it's a re-write (with new testing) of this swiss army of an entry level grinder.

Here's the Encore ESP review:

https://www.coffeegeek.com/reviews/baratza-encore-esp-grinder/

#coffeegrinder #espressogrinder #espresso

Posted earlier today: our full, and detail rich review on the entry point, $200 Baratza Encore ESP grinder. Did Baratza redefine the entry point grinder market, or is this grinder still missing a little something special?

#coffee #espresso #coffeegrinder #espressogrinder #fullreview

https://www.coffeegeek.com/reviews/baratza-encore-esp-grinder/

Here's our MONSTER 7,500 word review of the Baratza Encore ESP coffee grinder, Baratza's newest entry point grinder into the world of quality coffee. Who the heck writes so many words about a $200 grinder? Why, we do! It's a super deep dive. Check it out!

(sidenote: probably riddled with typos etc - my own editor wasn't available yesterday, so I had to edit till 2am lol)

#baratza #encoreesp #coffee #coffeegrinder #espressogrinder #coffeegeek #review

https://www.coffeegeek.com/reviews/baratza-encore-esp-grinder/

I can't seem to help myself.

The Baratza Encore ESP review is now 7,400 words.

I mean, seriously. Who the phoque types that much about a coffee grinder.

I have a lot to say. Tightening it up a bit this eve, finishing two missing videos, and hopefully I will have it online tomorrow.

#baratza #coffeegrinder #espressogrinder #espresso #coffee

We try to be really honest with all the reviews we publish on CoffeeGeek. Breville, for example, is a long time advertiser and supporter of CoffeeGeek, and I've done consulting work with them in the past.

That didn't translate into any pulled punches in our review of the Breville Dose Control Pro, a grinder you should probably pass on.

#coffeegrinder #espressogrinder #breville #dosecontrolpro #grinder #coffee #espresso

https://www.coffeegeek.com/reviews/breville-dose-control-pro-grinder-review/

Speaking of the Lagom Mini, which is a finalist candidate for our "Product of the Year", we did the introduction post on this fantastic (and yes, expensive, at $375) single dose grinder on CoffeeGeek back in August. Just an amazing little power punch of a capable grinder, as long as you only use it a few times a day.

#lagommini #coffeegrinder #espressogrinder #grinder #coffee #espresso

https://www.coffeegeek.com/new-products/lagom-mini-grinder-a-diminutive-wonder/

Here is that Turin SK40 next to one of the smallest (and honestly, super fantastic) grinders we're currently evaluating for published review later this year: the Lagom Mini.

The Turin immediately makes me think of a Star Wars droid. It's really a fantastic grinder at the $200 price point. I'm working on the full review right now.

#coffeegrinder #espressogrinder #grinder #turinsk40

It's been a while since we published a proper First Look on CoffeeGeek (a few months) but a new one went up just a few days ago. It's for a grinder that is really turning heads for it's build quality, output quality, and its price. $400 might seem a lot, but this competes with $1,500 grinders... and may just beat them.

And did I mention it has a plasma generator? Yup.

#coffee #espresso #coffeegrinder #espressogrinder

https://www.coffeegeek.com/reviews/turin-d64-gen-2-grinder-first-look/

Is grinds retention an issue with the Baratza Encore ESP grinder? Not for pour over, aeropress, or press pot grinding. But it is for espresso, and sometimes very stubborn to remove.

#baratza #encore #baratzaencoreesp #encoreesp #coffeegrinder #espressogrinder

https://youtu.be/P4_EX-mWC0M

New CoffeeGeek Content this afternoon:

The Turin SK40 is a new entry in the range of high quality $200 grinders. It's an espresso-primary single dose grinder that can do pour over.

#coffeegrinder #espressogrinder #singledose #turin #turinsk40 #coffee #espresso #coffeegeek

https://www.coffeegeek.com/new-products/turin-sk40-conical-burr-grinder-a-200-bargain/

The Lagom Mini might end up being CoffeeGeek's Product of the Year, based on its uniqueness, ability, grind output and build quality. Full review coming soon, here's our introductory first look, published a few weeks ago. I love this grinder!

#grinder #coffeegrinder #espresso #coffee #lagommini #espressogrinder

https://www.coffeegeek.com/new-products/lagom-mini-grinder-a-diminutive-wonder/

We have a Turin DF64 Gen 2 in for review on CoffeeGeek.

Some insider stuff: I never reviewed the original DF64 or its variants because it always seemed a work in progress, one that required lots of hacks, mods, home upgrades.

The DF64 Gen 2 actually seems ready for prime time. Can't wait to put this plasma-equipped 64mm flat burr grinder through the paces!

#coffeegrinder #grinder #espressogrinder #turindf64gen2 #DF64 #coffee #espresso

Arrived today - the surprising (in a very good way), Turin Grinder SK40 model. It's hard to believe this all metal, 40mm conical burr, single dose, bellows equipped, torque-ey, quiet grinder is around $200. It's smaller than I thought too - pictured next to the diminutive Lagom Mini for comparison.

We're doing a feature on $200 grinders this fall on CoffeeGeek. Both the SD40 and SK40 from Turin are in that matchup.

#coffeegrinder #turinsk40 #singledose #espressogrinder #grinder #coffeegeek