Hario MSS-1B 1-Piece Coffee Mini Mill Slim Grinder

After a months use, of making 2 coffees a day I haven't tired of manually grinding and have been charmed enough by this to buy a second - one to leave on an espresso grind, one on a french press grind, and to write a more detailed dedicated review on my blog with both French Press and Espresso grinds, timing, photos and a lot more detail if you are interested, but I've done a full summary here. [...] Shipped directly from Japan it can take a while to arrive, but very pleasantly surprised with the quality at the price. It is really compact, which means it perfectly fits in a shelf, the handle just clicks off - so it uses almost no footprint in the kitchen. Beans go in the top (securely enough), and the cup at the bottom collects everything neatly and has approximate graduations which you quickly become able to judge how much to do with minimum effort and coffee wasted. The main thing people warn about manual grinders is they take a lot of turning. Exactly how much is not very clear from many reviews. So for the amount of coffee I need to grind for one double espresso in my machine, on the finest setting for this grinder, it takes me 2m 25s, ensuring a nice smooth action to get the best grind. At this speed this leaves my arm tired, (like whipping cream manually), but me not out of breath, although slightly more awake. On the finest setting (click positions not infinitely adjustable) the grind is very very nice. Very even, and good texture. Much better than my previous electric burr grinder. Stands up to and improves on the grind of some premium mail order ground coffee I was back to backing it with. Practically (and I think this might be a winner for me) It is much, much quieter than an electric. My work means I regularly leave at 05:00 and putting the electric grinder on wasn't fair on my better half, or the baby. Whilst not silent, this noise is definitely not an issue for anyone outside the room - I just need to budget 2 minutes of grinding rather than 20s. Lastly the intangibles. I really liked doing the coffee this way. I felt involved, it's a nice hands on object, it made a measurable difference to the quality of the coffee, and it really didn't cost very much.

I deliberately delayed this review for a few weeks so I could give a view from some experience. I enjoy good coffee, but top quality equipment like grinders and espresso machines are expensive pieces of kit. I had been using a cheap burr grinder but the grind was coarse and uneven. The Hario was a revelation. The quality of the build seems good, the plastic parts seem good quality and will hopefully last a while, and when they eventually do wear out replacing the mill won't break the bank. It's easy to adjust the grind and I can get a nice even moderately fine grind for my Aeropress if I tighten the adjuster nut until it's locked, and dial back 3 or 4 clicks - that reliably gives me the grind I want. The finer you grind, the longer it takes, it takes me about as long to grind enough beans for one cup of coffee as it does for the kettle to boil. I've been meaning to have a go to see if it will grind fine enough for a Turkish coffee, but haven't got round to it yet. The handle is comfortable in the hand and easy to turn, and it's much quieter than an electric grinder, I can get up early and brew up and not wake anybody. The mill is easy to strip down and reassemble for cleaning, you just need to take note of the order of the parts, although it's mostly pretty obvious. There's something rather satisfying about grinding coffee beans by hand as well - part of the joy of brewing coffee for me is the ritual, and this is a little bit more ritual. The Hario is not the answer if you're brewing up a big batch of coffee for guests or a dinner party, but for making a coffee for one or two it's just the job. I'm very pleased with it.

I've used this mill daily for just over two months. It's very nice to be able to hand grind my own coffee, I can't use an electric mill due to noise issues, this is quiet. The grinding sensation can also be quite relaxing! Grinding size is is easy and simple to adjust. I can grind for two cups and leave half the ground coffee in the receptacle until I want to use it. -I use a somewhat fine grind setting, as I find using the finest setting takes far too long for me to grind for a single cup. Grinding two cups' worth can be a bit tiring on this setting, but doesn't take more then a couple of minutes. Tip; I give the grinder a light tap after finishing grinding to displace any grounds that have not fallen out of the mill, -otherwise they often end up on the counter-top. The general build construction seems good, the handle is sturdy and I have not been worried about breaking the grinder. Cleaning the receptacle has been easy, although I haven't tried cleaning the mill itself. The handle detaches effortlessly to allow the mill cap to be removed, the receptacle screw-action feels sturdy. The grinder can be stored very easily (I'm a student- space is a premium!) and doesn't take up much space. - Detaching the handle reduces the grinder's profile for storage. I'm unsure how bean size would affect the grinding, but the mill processes small beans very well (5mm?). I can't come up with any faults for the product. Overall, I'm very happy with this purchase and would recommend the product. Delivery from Japan Syndrome was very slow, but arrived within a month.

There's never been a better time to be a home coffee drinker. Every supermarket stocks a remarkable variety of blends, brands and styles. But, even with the choices now available, there's nothing to beat the enjoyment of fresh ground coffee. Sure, you can buy coffee that's been ground already; but for sheer aroma, freshness and taste, nothing matches that made from beans that you've just ground yourself. You can buy an electric grinder for a relatively modest outlay, but to use an appliance powered by the mains for a task that can be done by hand may seem like taking a sledgehammer to crack a walnut (or, indeed, a coffee bean!). Which is where the Hario MSS-1B 1-Piece Coffee Mini Mill comes in. The device consists of a handful of parts; a chamber where the beans go, two ceramic burrs that move against each other to grind the beans, fixed by a small nut, and a clear cup to collect the ground coffee. A thread runs through the middle and a detachable, ergonomic handle fits on top of this to turn the burrs. All parts are easily fitted together by hand, and the device can be taken apart and washed after use. Once you've used it a couple of times, the process becomes second nature. It's like this: pour your coffee beans into the chamber on top, place the burrs in (there are two; The larger, hoop-shaped one has slots to line up with tabs in the opening of the chamber, ensuring a perfect fit, and the second just drops into the middle). Screw on the specially-designed nut to keep it all together and adjust it to get the grade of coffee you desire. The trick is to find out the setting you need to attain the coffee you want. The tighter the nut, the finer the coffee and vice versa. The best way to do this is to fully tighten it, then unwind it gradually; as you do so, it clicks. I personally find that around ten clicks will provide me with perfect ground coffee for my French press; as good as the stuff you can buy in any supermarket, with the additional pleasure of knowing that you ground it yourself. Finally, fix the handle onto the nut on top and grind away! The best method is to turn the handle constantly, with an even, gentle pressure, while holding the assembly firmly lower down. The whole process will take less than a couple of minutes once you're used to it. Criticisms? Well, the instruction leaflet does leave questions unanswered with regards to the best way to operate the mill, and if you want to make coffee for more than two you may want something a little more substantial, but these are trifles. As mentioned above, it shouldn't take anybody more than half-an-hour to get the hang of – probably much less – and most fresh coffee drunk at home will be consumed in small quantities, which the Hario MSS-1B 1-Piece Coffee Mini Mill is ideal for. For a modest outlay, this delightful gadget will add layers of depth - aroma, interest and satisfaction - to your morning coffee ritual.

This is a fairly portable grinder that grinds consistently and smoothly - at least, for now. What is worrying me is that I can clearly see scoring and wear on the central shaft where the handle has been turned - this is not long after use and it feels like it is going to continue until it just strips away and becomes useless. Why isn't the material harder when this is a known and common issue after use? Using a pentagonal nut and shaft is just silly, it is clearly that way so you are stuck when it messes up. The stepper is useful but hard to gauge accurately and the steps are too big - if you're thinking of using this for espresso, forget trying to get the perfect grind size, you'll have to get close then adjust by coffee dose, this is just not that accurate for fine-tuning. I also find it is difficult to know where exactly you are on the grind scale - the general convention is to count the clicks from the tighest setting, but the tightest setting is ambiguous - it always feels like if you really squeeze you could drive it in one more step, but you're never sure if that's too far or you are just being precious. Therefore the recommended click numbers are not that useful if you're off by a bit. The plastic base tends to stick with static from time to time so I usually loosen up the remaining grinds with a small paintbrush. When it is all working, it does a great job and I have pulled some brilliant espresso shots from it as well as great Aeropress brew - but it just feels like Hario is not willing to make the changes required to really take this to the next level, and I find that disappointing. Don't get me wrong, I am glad I got it and it has been working well, but there are days where after cleaning I've 'lost' my desired setting and I end up wasting a lot of coffee trying to get it right. This could easily be avoided.

Didn't know what I was looking for when I first started looking at coffee grinders, found these reviews very helpful. After a short while narrowed the choice down to this one and it's slightly bigger brother 'Hario Medium Glass Hand Coffee Grinder' So what is the difference? well this one has a cap on the chamber which receives the coffee beans, so the beans stay in there (the other one doesn't have a cover but not having tried it not sure whether they jump out or not when you get near to the bottom, it's just what I read on other reviews). This one only grinds enough coffee beans for 2 cups at a time, that's all I wanted, nothing larger, it has marks on the side of the bottom clear chamber for 1 cup and 2 cups. The ceramic burrs I read are the best to grind the coffee beans, these are normally found in bigger more expensive electric machines. Both these have the ceramic burrs, the good thing about this one is that it is so easy to change the setting from a fine grind to a coarse grind, the other one I read needed a little taking apart to alter then put back together. You can but this grinder for just over £10, the only thing that hikes the cost up is the dear postage as these seem to get shipped over from Japan, so overall £17'ish but still a good price for this grinder, I am well please as it is well made and is a sturdy piece of kit. One thing, other reviews say that this is good because it is made in Japan, when you look at the packaging/literature it actually says made in China, but this does not mean that it is not a good griner, Go for it and buy one and you will not regret it.

I have always blitzed my coffee beans in an electric grinder, but as I have learnt more about coffee brewing I was keen to get a proper ceramic burr grinder. It makes a big difference. The mill arrived promptly from Japan and it's great. My observations are: It is built very well, but it is made in China (it said so on a sticky label on the bottom) and not Japan. I thought I should mention that as other reviewers (reviewing a while ago) seem to have bought ones made in Japan. But still, I don't think it makes a blind bit of difference if the quality control is good, which it clearly is as my little mill is flawless. The pieces go together perfectly and it is satisfying to use. It takes a lot longer than I had expected to grind the beans. Several minutes at a steady pace. But I don't mind. There are no rubber feet, so it will slip and slide on a worktop. A non-slip mat (I am just using a cork placemat) will solve that. As I think other people have said, if you are going to regularly switch between different coarsenesses, then this will be fiddly as you will have to count the number of clicks of the turny nut between your favourite settings and then remember them! The English bits of the instructions are perfectly adequate and most people would probably work it out without even looking at the instructions anyway. Overall, I get a fantastic, even grind with a lovely aroma which makes for a lovely mug of coffee.

Perfect cheap alternative for great coffee grinding. I brew coffee using four different ways from home roasted fresh coffee beans. French Press, Filtered Slow Drip, Stove top Moka Espresso maker and Gaggia Classic espresso machine, To my experience this little grinder was perfect for the Filtered Slow Drip, Stove top Moka Espresso maker and Gaggia Classic espresso machine but not as good for the French press. Its possible it could be one of the many variants of my French Press coffee brewing, but i don't enjoy French Press when grinding with this manual grinder. I now have a Gaggia electric grinder which use more often, but i always prefer the Manual Grinder as it provides such a soothing experience during the manual grind. There is something else about the repeated turning motion while gradually the fantastic aroma rises to one's nostrils and awakens such an almost hypnotic sense, very soothing indeed. Takes me around two minutes for Moka Espresso maker grind. Different beans have different settings, difficult to advise here, experimentation is key, between 4 and 6 clicks from fully closed did it for me. Its very easy to use and to clean. and after 1.5 years its still working fine. I ma looking for ward to taking it on camping trips and travels together with the Moka Espresso maker which in my opinion is the best combination for this grinder.