****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I already have great electric burr grinder that sits on my counter. It holds caffeinated coffee beans which is for morning/afternoon coffee. However, there are times at night when I want a cup of decaf coffee & it's a bit of a hassle to empty my 1/2 pound grinder for 1 small 8-12 ounce cup of coffee. So I decided to get a handheld coffee grinder for those times.After doing some research, I found that many of the handheld grinders work the same way. So I decided to go with EZE Homegoods Hand Coffee Grinder, based on the reviews & definitely the price (under $20, awesome!). The package arrived on time, no issues there; & after doing a quick hand wash & air dry, I started using the grinder it seems every night now. I'm still trying to determine the right amount of beans to grind for my personal tastes; but the grinder itself works perfectly. I have been grinding a coarser grind for a french press & this grinder does a great job at that.All you have to do is put 2-3 tablespoons (but it could hold a little more than that) of whole beans in the top part of the container, put on the lid, then the handle, & twist. It helps to hold the grinder in your other hand when grinding so it's more secure & easier to turn the handle. After few minutes you have freshly ground coffee! Then you twist off the bottom on the container (which also can be used to store extra grounds, if needed), dump out the coffee grounds, & brew as usual.The grinder is very easy to use & adjusting the grind size is not difficult at all. You just have to remove the top part of the container & turn the dial on the bottom to the desired grind size. The grinder mechanism is ceramic which doesn't rust & will last a long time, a nice plus.Cleaning it is also easy; but I would say hand washing is best, though. It doesn't seem the actual grinding components comes apart; but you can clean it with a small long brush. I use the one that cleans the straws in my water bottle.The only thing that I have a problem with is the lid that covers the top part of the container. The lids just sits on top so it's not very secure. If there are whole beans inside the container & it accidentally falls over, the top just pops off & the beans spill out. It happened a couple of times & I had beans everywhere. When then handle is on, then it seems a little more secure; but not by much since the handle comes off easily too. The bottom container is very secure, however. You do have to twist the container off in order to get to the grounds. If the lid did the same thing, it would be nice.All-n-all, I really like this grinder. I think it would also work great for grinding spices too; but I think I would get separate one for that. Despite the loose lid issue, I'm very happy with my purchase & this product. Thanks EZE Homegoods!I really like this coffee grinder. I do. Well, I did. I enjoyed the thought of taking a more meaningful part in making my coffee. Allowing the process of grinding the beans to serve as a practice in mindfulness. This lasted about 2-3 weeks. Then I started to resent the work. The last thing I wanted to do in the morning was do even an iota more work than I had to. I barely have two brain cells to rub together in the morning. I mean, I barely know my own name in the first 30 minutes after I wake up. And what was a semi-meditative and rewarding action became really god damn annoying.Now, don't let that put you off. That's just me. As I said, I am borderline catatonic in the morning. And, the EZE Hand Coffee Grinder works really well. It uses a burr grinder, superior to the standard blade grinder, which results in some damn fine ground coffee. Moreover, it isn't soul crushingly difficult. It's not as if you are a feudal peasant in 16th century France who has to wake up at 4AM to milk the cows and churn butter for 2 hours straight. It's just slightly annoying. Especially if you are making coffee for more than one person. It pairs well with something like a French Press. The tube holds the perfect amount for such a method. But if you plan on using a drip machine or making multiple batches then I would look elsewhere. Turning that handle for a couple minutes is manageable. Doing it 3 times in a row to get enough coffee grounds really begins to eat away at your soul.The biggest issue is in using it for something other than coffee. Many electric grinders can be used for coffee beans, spices, whatever fairly easily. The EZE Hand Grinder, not so much. Maybe it was just my negligence, but doing so more or less broke the product. I tried grinding pine nuts for some pesto, which worked, however the crushed nut residue was impossible to fully remove from the internal grinder. It could have been the water content of the pine nuts. Nonetheless, infusing pine nuts into a burr grinder is not a sustainable action. Less than a week later, the grinder was growing mold and smelled like a YMCA locker room. So I threw it out and bought an electric grinder that more suited my lack of morning motor skills.Regardless, for $15 you won't find a better hand grinder.
