Rosewood Manual Coffee Grinder

The item is very attractive with the little wood base (it's small, just a few inches square), and it has an attractive little box (see the little knob at the bottom, that pulls out a little drawer made of wood with the finished coffee grinds). The directions (not much, really none) are on the cardboard box that the unit comes in), but the picture of the various parts and how they fit together tells it all. You have a top nut that bolts on to the main shaft, beneath that is a plastic type washer, then the turning handle, then your little inverted metal piece which holds the unit from turning once you have set it up to either fine, medium, or coarse. You simply turn the piece under this holder piece either clockwise or counterclockwise to adjust the ceramic cutters up or down (down for a finer chop, up for more coarse). It took me three times before I finally got a slightly medium coarse grind. As others have said, if you have problems with strength in your hands, this isn't the unit for you. I'm close to 70 years old, but I lift weights, play table tennis, and have fairly strong hands. Nonetheless, you have to impart a fair amount of strength and effort to make it work. (The finer the cut, the more effort you must expend). I have found I can grind enough in two tries (the little box only holds, maybe three tablespoons) to make around 16 ounces of coffee (using my Chemex). I compared this unit to the two Japanese ones on the market; this one is cheaper, looks nicer, and functions very well (it does the job as advertised). My only gripe is the shipping charge was high (like around 10 bucks),but they do ship it through USPS, and it was well protected. It takes a minute or two to grind the beans, depending on amount wanted. Obviously this is not meant to produce a dozen cups of coffee unless you want to spend quite a bit of time and energy creating enough coffee grind to make your coffee, but it is perfect for one or two people who only drink a cup or two initially in the morning. Update: I have had this little unit for several months, and here is some additional observations. First, the exact size (not the very top or bottom) is 3 inches by 3 inches. The inner box (which holds the ground coffee after the grinding) is 1 and 7/8 inches wide, 2 and 1/2 inches long, and approximately 1 inch deep; these are the inner measurements of the holding box; that determines the quantity of ground coffee you can grind before you start backing up into the ceramic grinding unit. First, this is slightly less than 4 coffee scoops (4 tablespoons), so I usually grind one batch, then put in just a little more to make about 4 and a half scoops for my 16 ounces of coffee that I make each morning. The little box fits fairly smugly into the outer shell, but not perfectly, so a tiny bit of ground coffee gets between the box and the shell. No problem, you just gently tap both item after you are done on a hard surface so get the tiny coffee pieces to fall out (I do it on the middle of my sink). The other observation I have is the grinding handle; it is held in place by a nut at the very top of the shaft. After a few times of using the unit, the nut will start to unscrew (I grind in a clockwise fashion; maybe going counterclockwise might stop the unscrewing that occurs); it's not a problem as long as you occasionally check the top nut to make sure it is secure. If not, just retighten by hand, and you are good. Oh, and the coffee beans are all ground when the handle spins freely with no pressure on it. I really think it is the cutest (my faviorite) little appliance in my kitchen with real wood and attractive styling. To me it is a real keeper!

Nice old-world look, but holy smokes this thing is slow to grind even enough to brew a 2-cup pot. It looks great in my cabin and I'll keep it for emergencies when the power is out but I'll need to find something else for regular use. It produces a wonderful consistent grind that brews very well. It does not have fines that get through the filter (paper). It's smaller than I was expecting, if there was a bigger size of this exact grinder I would probably be happy.

It is a quality grinder, but the thing digs into my hands while I am trying to grind with it. My man bought it for me for Christmas and I hate the thing. He loves it! He is also a giant with super sized hands that can grip the thing easily where as I have it dig into my palm making it a pain, literally, to use. =D

Making a judgment from reviews is shakey at best due to the fact that most buyers aren't terribly discerning or really sure what makes the product quality. If you want an even coarse grind, this is not the product for you. There is a large amount of space for side to side motion with the burr. On a coarse setting this will produce large chunks and also fairly fine grind at the same time. I just bought a Chemex manual pour maker which requires an even coarse grind.....this is not the product for that. If you want fine ground, perhaps for an ordinary drip coffee maker, then this would probably do the trick. As far as Chemex or French Press, avoid this unless you want a mix of big chunks and fines.

This is a great manual coffee grinder. We looked at a lot of reviews for the different ones offered on Amazon, and most all have negative comments along the lines of "it's tiny" or "it takes too long." This is a MANUAL grinder, if you don't want to put a little work into it, don't buy it! Also, yes it's tiny, but it works fabulously and grinds enough to make a full pot of coffee (at least at the strength my fiance drinks it). I will say that it holds more beans in the hopper than grounds in the collection box, so you may need to empty the collection box before you've finished grinding the beans, but that's not a big deal. This is great for those who are trying to have less dependence on electricity, or for those times when the electricity goes out. Yes, it takes slightly longer than the electric grinder does, but I think it's a more even grind, and I usually don't mind taking an extra minute. My fiance says the coffee tastes better (I don't drink coffee myself). And it looks nice sitting on the counter, but don't just buy it for decoration! I would recommend this product. Oh, one downside, it did take me longer than it should have to figure out how to put it together, the instructions are totally clear. But once I figured it out, I kind of felt like a dunce for not figuring it out sooner.

I am very pleased with this little grinder and yes it is little, but very attractive and I think well made. So far a I've only used the fine grind setting, but it does a good job at that. You do have to hold fairly tightly while grinding and it is a little bit of work, but it is manual after all. I can grind enough coffee beans for a single serving in one drawerful, so for my purposes it is perfect, altho I don't think it would be unduly difficult to grind more if need be. I spend the summer without electricity and did not want to give up fresh ground coffee, but I can see myself using this even when I return to civilization.