I paid $180 for a hand grinder last spring and my $40 one is now a paperweight

Xena Owens · 2026-09-30T17:00:04.269427+00:00

Last April I got tired of my cheap blade grinder making dust, so I saved up and bought a hand grinder for around $180 at a little shop in Portland. The first week I almost sent it back because my arm got sore and a full dose took like 90 seconds of cranking before work. But then I made the same beans side by side and the cheap one gave me this muddy cup with bits floating in it while the new one came out clean and sweet. I started noticing stuff in my coffee I never tasted before, like the berry thing people always say about Ethiopian beans. Six months in I did the math and I brew twice a day, so it works out to like 50 cents a cup for a tool that should outlive me. My old grinder sits in a drawer now and I feel a little bad about the 40 bucks, but not really. For the folks who made the switch, how long did it take your arm to stop hating you on light roast mornings?

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I paid $180 for a hand grinder last spring and my $40 one is now a paperweight | Coffee Enthusiasts - Talk Freely