I recently dropped my trusty old Breville spice grinder on the floor, smashing it into a zillion pieces. What a great excuse to go and buy a new coffee grinder!
I definitely wanted a manual hand grinder, rather than another electric chopper, and I certainly didn’t want to spend too much money (preferring to spend $$ on coffee beans instead).
The Porlex hand grinder seemed to regularly come up in searches and attracted my attention firstly because of the stainless steel construction, but more importantly, the ceramic grinding burrs. In my research I found that ceramic burrs do not blunt anywhere nearly as quickly as steel or (god forbid) plastic. Add the fact that it is Japanese manufacture – one thing we know about the Japanese is when they make something, it is really, really good!
The Porlex Mini II looks good. Nothing flashy, but you would be comfortable leaving it out in a modern kitchen.
It comes apart easily for cleaning, breaking down into eight components. Being a man, I didn’t need to read the instructions and it seemed easy enough to breakdown and put back together.
I did need to read up on the burr settings though – once the burr is fully tightened with the little star nut, you can back it off for a number of “clicks”, depending on how fine or coarse you want the grind. I use 4-6 clicks for hot brew, and around 10-12 for cold brew. Just test your grind and refer to our article on the best size of grind for cold brew HERE.
Once put together, the handle of the grinder slots easily away on the black rubber band around the unit for convenient storage. You definitely don’t want to lose the handle!
The unit feels solid and well-made.
How to use the Porlex Mini II coffee grinder
To use, weigh your beans (I use the small stainless steel receptacle on the base of the unit) and pour into the hopper at the top of the unit. Replace the stainless steel cap to close the hopper and replace the receptacle to the base of the unit to catch the grinds. Make sure you have set the burrs to the desired number of clicks BEFORE putting in the beans! HINT: I set the clicks when putting the unit back together after cleaning so it is ready to go in case of a coffee emergency.
Then, attach the handle and start grinding!
I must admit, it takes a fair bit of work to grind. I reckon it takes around two minutes to grind down a serve of beans, and it is a decent work out. My 12-year old son can’t do a full minute! If you don’t have a lot of energy or upper body strength, stick with an electric grinder. (EDIT UPDATE: I am so sick of grinding beans in this thing! I am definitely upgrading to an electric grinder soon!)
You will know when the grind has finished as the handle faces no more resistance. There is usually a pretty good smell by this time too!
Once completed, simply remove the base container and pour the grounds into your French Press, pour-over or Aeropress.
Good to go!
To clean, simply take apart and wash under water. Leave to dry thoroughly, then put the unit back together.
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