Comandante C40 Hand Grinder - Roadshow & Lottery

[milowebailey]

Best I can tell from the posts is that mass. Wine guy has it.

[sonnyhad]

Has no one heard from the wine guy?

[sonnyhad]

Cool! Would liked to have heard his thoughs on it.

[Mass. Wine Guy]

Hey folks. I'm very sorry for being so late to comment here. I've sent the grinder on to the next person.

I was extremely impressed by this product. It's built like a tank and every component it's made of is high quality. I don't make espresso, just French press, so I thought the grind was perfect. Very consistent with no noticable powder (I forgot the right word for this). Definitely thought my coffee tasted fantastic when ground this way. One thing that puzzled me was the metal dial you use to set the size of the grind. I read that it was supposed to click into place, but this just spun freely.

I would love to have this grinder to take with me on trips so I could drink my own roasted beans as fresh as possible. The gears are such that it takes very little effort to grind, it's easy to assemble and clean. I think the Comandante is a real winner, but I would have a difficult time getting past its price tag. I'm grateful to have had a chance to live with it for a while and think most people would love it as much as I did.

[jbviau]

One thing that puzzled me was the metal dial you use to set the size of the grind. I read that it was supposed to click into place, but this just spun freely.

You didn't feel any detents/clicks when adjusting the grind? I did.

[Mass. Wine Guy]

Maybe I just didn't try adjusting it long enough to get it right.

[headchange4u]

Comandante has landed. I will be putting it through the paces over the next week. First Impressions: extremely well built and test grinds look promising.

[Mass. Wine Guy]

I wonder if when you loosen it up for press pot if the spring is relaxed enough that you don't feel the detents.

Could be. But I really didn't adjust it very much at all.

[sonnyhad]

Where are we now with the Commondante? No posts in over a week!

[Mass. Wine Guy]

I sent it to headchange4u.

[headchange4u]

The grinder is in transit to its next stop, Bassguy.

I'll post some notes soon.

[Mass. Wine Guy]

Ok, it's been pretty quiet on this thread, has the grinder arrived, Bassguy?  Any review comments HC4U?

Or from headchange4u? Curious to hear what you think of the grinder.

[Bassguy]

The grinder arrived the other day, but I haven't had the headspace available to audition it yet. My wife's gallbladder is earning a bad reputation at the moment.
Anywho, I unpacked it today. Nice piece of kit. Smooth feel, solid in the hand. Very well made. Tomorrow I'll throw some beans through it, dial in the proper Eva Solo grind size and test it out. I might have some time to try an Aeropress shot or two as well, but to be honest the Eva is all I ever use anymore...
 Stay Tuned!

[Bassguy]

I brewed some Tanzania Burkha Estate just now and am sipping the resulting brew. 30 grams, in 500ml water, steeped 4 minutes, pretty standard at the moment.
I just eyeballed the grind size for French Press, Eva Solo, might've overshot it a little bit. Little to no fines in the cup, big boulders of beans in a wide range of particle sizes. Might turn it down a click or two next time. The cup tastes a little bland, could be due to under extraction, not adjusting the brew time for the bigger size. I only roast so much at a time so I don't have a bunch of beans to experiment with. No Bean Left Unbrewed!
Easy to grind, a few hard beans not withstanding. The whole 30 gram was done sooner than I thought it'd be, didn't count turns.
I like the size and build. I own a Hario Mini Mill (collecting dust) and an OE LIDO, which I use every day. I'm not in the world of Espresso yet so that range isn't important to me. The LIDO is perfect for me at the moment, I don't see the C40 knocking that out of the top slot.  If I were on the road a lot I would probably find a way to justify bringing the Comandante along with me.
I'll report again tomorrow. Maybe I'll try getting some action shots.

[sonnyhad]

Thanks for the update, been looking forward to this kind of feed back.