CafeSing GRIZZ 63 Manual Coffee Grinder, 63mm Conical Burr

I wanted to try a conical burr grinder for espresso. A hand grinder seemed a good way to start at the shallow end and the CafeSing grinder fit the bill. Out of the box, the grinder is a bit bigger than my flat burr hand grinders. I wear a large glove and without the included rubber bands, the grinder would have been a bit difficult to hold while grinding.I normally break in my grinders with rice or old coffee. Since I had none of the latter, I tried rice. Don't try it... at least not with this grinder. I think the conical burr shape allows too much rice to come into contact with the cutting surfaces and the grinder jammed. I just had to bite the bullet and sacrifice some fresher beans.I've used hand grinders with magnetic catch cups but always knock them loose while grinding. The CafeSing's catch cup screws into the grinder. It takes a few seconds to attach/detach but it's much less time consuming than cleaning up a mess of coffee grounds.The grind handle is a perfect fit. Once you attach it, it won't come loose while grinding but it remains easy to remove when you're finished grinding. The shape of the knob hasn't created any pressure points that will callous my palm should I choose to open a coffee stand with the CafeSing as my only grinder.The specs list the CafeSing as having 63mm burr set. This is bigger than any of my other hand grinders and noticeably requires a bit more elbow grease to turn. I also think that conical burrs have a bigger grinding/contact surface than flat burrs so the extra effort needed to turn the crank makes sense.It seems like the coarsest grind setting is a little coarser than what's needed for drip. I don't think it's quite big enough for press but maybe there's a brew-time variable that I'm not getting just right. The finest setting is more than enough to choke my espresso machine so there seems to be a lot of room on the finer side for experimenting. With all things being equal: coffee in, espresso out, temp, and brew time, I can't tell the difference between my flat burr grinder and the CafeSing. However, as my flat burr grinder was a bit more expensive, perhaps that speaks well for the CafeSing.After about a month of daily use, I'm quite pleased with the CafeSing grinder. I've not had to disassemble to the grinder for servicing and hope this stays the case. Nothing has worked loose and the grinding remains as precise as the the day I opened the box. In cleaning, I have no problem brushing off the coffee grounds unlike some of my other grinders that have a super-static attraction to grounds.

This is an excellent coffee grinder. I make a lot of coffee and make it several different ways that requires different coarseness grinds. For espresso, this works better if you're using a pressurized filter cup, which is much more forgiving of medium grind size. However, for espresso, using a non-pressurized filter cup, this does not grind fine enough, at least not for my machine. I use this primarily for pour over coffee which needs medium to coarse grind size. This also works great for Moka Pot coffee. It's very easy to use and also very easy to clean. It is exceptionallt well made and high quality. The adjustments are very precise and there's plenty of adjustment available. Everything about this grinder is precision and has a very nice hefty and solid feeling in hand. The handle and crank are excellent with no wobbly play when turning the handle. The storage cup on the bottom that collects the grounds is precision milled with fine threads for a perfect fit but I do notice grounds will collect on the inside crease of the cup, but that is minimal. Comes with silicone bands that are a nice feature because they add a really good grip. This is hands down, the best manual grinder I have ever owned.

I have been slowly upgrading my coffee equipment. While I use an electric grinder for drip coffee, I prefer the feel and precision afforded by a hand grinder for espresso drinks. I have another hand grinder that I really like. I was curious to see how this one might stack up.I'll start with what I like and wrap up with what could be improved.What I like:* You can really load this up with beans. I can easily get enough in to make a couple of espresso drinks, which is great since I usually like to make one for my wife and one for me.* There is a lot of room for adjustments. You can get really fine to rather coarse. I stop shy of the finer settings because of our pressurized portafilter, which can cause our machine to choke on finer settings. It really gives me control.* Consistency - the size of the grounds seem quite consistent at a given setting. I don't see a lot of fine dust created along with the ground size of my choice.* Speed - this grinder is fast. It's the fastest hand grinder that I have used yet. My prior grinder requires about 80-90 turns for a double-shot. This requires about half that.* It's a rigid, solid piece of equipment. The bearings for the handle and burrs work great to keep things centered and working smoothly.What could be improved:* The numbers on the grind setting are not as useful as I would hope. It won't go all the way to "0" before the burrs completely touch. When going coarser, you can actually spin the adjuster so far around that it passes the "0" and other numbers again. At best, it is something you can log and note, but the numbers are not "absolutes" of "0" is fine and "9" is coarse.* There are no instructions included on how to care for or clean the device. For something of this price (you are getting into the range of inexpensive "very good" grinders) I would expect better.The neutral:* With a faster grind comes more resistance and occasional "jams". These are overcome by backing off and trying again.My negatives of this device are just enough to hold it back a star. I really feel that at this price I would expect just a little more. That said, for the quality of grind and the speed at which I can achieve it, I feel it's a good device.