Hand cranked coffee mills

[kozimodo]

Does anyone have experience with Camano Coffee Mills? I've read in various places that the Zassenhaus is the way to go in the hand cranked world but I don't care for the little box where the grinds end up. It's messy and grinds get lost, etc. The Camano fits onto and empties directly into a jar -- much cleaner and easier.  But how well does it work?

[donn]

I don't know from experience, but then with the Zassenhaus you'd get answers all over the map - experience varies a lot, or maybe it's varying expectations.

One good thing, just from the couple of pictures I can see, is that the crank spindle looks to be held in place fairly firmly, and perhaps accurately.  Some grinder designs put the crank on top of a thin plate, with the depth adjustment nut bearing on that plate.  The plate flexes, can't hold the adjustment and tends to work loose.  The way they're doing it is like the better Zassenhaus models.

[headchange4u]

I have been wanting to pick up a really nice hand grinder for the camper, travel, times when the power is off, and other times where I just want to get physical with the coffee beean instead of tossing it into the electric grinder. A long time ago I was directed to Orphan Espresso. They sell vintage refurbished hand grinders. It may not be what you are looking for but they have a really nice selection. They even offered to test any of the grinders before I bought them so that they could give me an idea of the range of the grind. Super nice people to deal with.