Some notes about my specific needs:
- I have MCAS/food allergies which means my allergy-safe foods are expensive and can sometimes go out of availability so I don't share them, and I need dedicated equipment for many things to avoid cross-contamination with anything other people in my house can eat that I can't.
- I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) which causes fragile skin, hypermobile and easily damaged joints, and puts me at high risk of repetitive stress injury, so ergonomics are very, very important.
- I am neurodivergent and can have difficulty with loud noises at the wrong time.
- I make coffee every. single. day.
Coffee is one of the many foods I have to buy a very expensive version of to avoid allergen-cross contamination, and because of the cost I don't share it with my spouse, so we have our own coffee grinders and coffee makers (well, a french press for me).
I initially got this grinder for my spouse to replace the huge burr grinder that took up way too much counterspace and had a weird design that made emptying the grounds into the coffee maker also throw grounds all over the counter. Once I used it a few times to make "his" coffee, I realized that the grinder I used for myself was making every morning just a little worse than it has to be, so now I'm buying a second of this model for myself to replace my current grinder.
Pros:
- Removable cup is easy to clean and is much easier on bad shoulders to empty into the french press than lifting the whole entire grinder.
- Removable cup has rounded edges so it is physically more comfortable than some other grinders to get in and out of the base. (see below for caveats)
- Removable cup seals to the plastic lid so grounds don't fly around and fall into the base while grinding (this happens with the other grinder)
- grind button is easy to press, even with floppy, easily-dislocated EDS thumbs and doesn't need to be held down for the grind cycle to complete. (I have splints but the odds of finding them before coffee is low.)
- The grind coarseness setting is more useful than you'd think on a blade grinder *if* you are always grinding the same amount of coffee. The button seems to basically set a timer for how long the motor goes, so you don't have to sit there and hold it and try to track how long you've been grinding. (See below for caveats)
- QUIET. I thought that all coffee grinders had to be loud. I didn't even realize that the noise bothered me until I was used something quieter and didn't have my teeth set on edge for the entire grind time. I don't know that this is so quiet I'd be able to have a comfortable conversation standing right in front of it, but at least I don't have to also tell people in the next room that they won't be able to hear each other for the next 30-40 seconds because I'm grinding coffee.
- Does the intended job- grinds your coffee about as well and evenly as any blade-grinder can.
Cons/Caveats:
- Consistency issues with the quality/ease of seating the bowl: The first grinder I got was very easy to get the bowl and lid properly seated. The second one I bought for dedicated use with my allergy-safe coffee beans was much harder to get seated and physically hurt my hands. I had to exchange 3 times and swap bowls and lids between units to get the same smooth mechanism as the first one I ordered.
- Even with the ideal fit of bowl and lid parts, there are still some fiddly bits that may be difficult if you have coordination issues. I think these fiddly bits are very necessary to make sure the cup is properly seated into the base to avoid undue wear on the motor or gears, but it may still be a barrier for some. It's currently okay for me but I am not sure for how long.
- The grind coarseness setting is not really a coarseness setting. As noted above, it's useful, but with any and all blade grinders, the actual coarseness is in part determined by how many beans are in the cup. So this is only helpful if you grind the same amount of beans every single time. Fortunately we mostly do.
- (UPDATED) Long-term reliability: When I initially purchased, I was worried about both the long-term reliability of the product, and the possibility of the maker going out of business. 7 months later, the manufacturer still exists, but the first grinder I purchased has started to have an issue with with the mechanism that detects the bowl is locked about 7 months later. About half the time the machine will not run without re-seating the bowl and lid a few times. I emailed the seller and they are sending a replacement, but that also means I'm throwing away a bunch of hardware which I don't really prefer to treat a small appliance as disposable.
I don't feel the reliability issue is worth a full star downgrade since the seller stood by it, but if I could downgrade it like, 1/2 a star, I think I would. Maybe 1/4. If my second unit also craps out in under 2 years I may go ahead and downgrade- the waste really bums me out.
| Color | Black |
|---|---|
| Brand | SHARDOR |
| Style | Adjustable |
| Product Dimensions | 4.7"L x 4.3"W x 8.2"H |
| Recommended Uses For Product | Grinding |
| Voltage | 120 |
| Series | US-CG638B |
| Item model number | US-CG638B2009 |
| Item Weight | 2.5 ounces |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 4.3 x 4.7 x 8.2 inches |
| Manufacturer | SHARDOR |
| ASIN | B08JCJGJSX |
| Country of Origin | Belize |
| Date First Available | September 17, 2020 |
