Why You Might Want to Add a Hand Grinder To Your Coffee Collection

If you've got into filter coffee recently, you'll know that it's a completely different game to the espresso scene. Whilst they are both coffee, filter comes with its own niches: different roast, different grind size, different amounts, different drink taste profile. We like to segment our filter lives from our espresso lives by having two different coffee stations at home. But one thing on our filter coffee station that we'll never regret purchasing is our Commandante C40 MK4 Hand Grinder. 

This stunning German engineered hand grinder is a popular burr grinder and is world renowned for grinding consistently without the need for power and large machinery. Hand grinders like this one are also much quieter, which I'm sure our neighbours also love. Not only is this great for having a filter coffee on the go, but we love it for another reason that you might not have thought of...

Hand Coffee Grinders Don't Release As Much Heat

Yes, that's right, hand grinders are so efficient in what they do that the even the beans are keeping cool in there. With electric grinders moving much faster, and with more energy, than our human hands, a lot of excess energy is released in the form of heat. This heat isn't disappearing in an electric grinder, it is being passed on to our ground coffee. 

This extra heat on the grounds can greatly affect the taste of the coffee beans. If the filter coffee beans are carefully roasted to best bring out their flavours, why compromise this roast with unnecessary heating of the beans?

When it comes to filter, the delicate balance of flavours is so important, especially for brewing smaller quantities using a V60 or similar. So we like to hand grind for these types of pour overs. 

But, let's be honest... we're definitely not suggesting you get rid of an electric grinder altogether. Espresso beans are roasted to much higher temperatures and are generally more robust than filter beans, so we're keeping the electric grinder right next to our espresso machine for when it's espresso time.

But when it comes to filter coffee, we love a hand grinder for the amazing portability, reduced noise level, and better taste of the brew.  So will always have a soft spot for our hand coffee grinder!