Reddit reviews Porlex Mini Stainless Steel Coffee Grinder

For the best value, get a hand grinder. Electric you are paying for convience and the motor. Hand grinder usually has better quality to warrent the price. I recommend Lido 3 (best but a little expensive, $200), Porlex Mini, or Hario Skerton

https://prima-coffee.com/equipment/orphan-espresso/lido3

https://www.amazon.com/Porlex-Mini-Stainless-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B0044ZA066

https://www.amazon.com/Hario-Ceramic-Coffee-Mill-Skerton/dp/B001802PIQ

1. Aeropress and metal filter
   
2. Porlex Mini grinder -- Fits inside the Aeropress
   
3. Small electric immersion heater to boil water
   
4. Good whole-bean coffee
   
   I've traveled with this setup for years on the road and it has yet to let me down. It makes a better cup of coffee than you get in most speciality shops.

Porlex Mini, no questions asked.

https://www.amazon.ca/Porlex-Mini-Hand-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B0044ZA066

I take it motorcycle camping, used with my aeropress.

Porlex mini, it actually fits inside your Aeropress so you can really minimize on bulkiness. I can't see any other option, really. Quality of a Porlex, good price, good size.

http://www.amazon.com/Porlex-Mini-Stainless-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B0044ZA066

My best tips:

Fresh beans + fresh grind + good water = great coffee pretty much regardless of your brewing method.

The 4 ways you can increase the quality of your coffee is to focus on improving these things: beans, grind, water, brewing method.

This is my set-up:

Beans: I get whole beans sent to me in the mail every two weeks from Moustache Coffee Club. This ensures I always have fresh beans on hand.

Grind: I use this Porlex hand grinder and really like it. I used to use this Hario hand grinder, which was cheaper. I haven't yet splurged for an electric grinder. Maybe some day.

Water: I use a kitchen thermometer to make sure my water is between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the optimal range for brewing. I also use this Bonavita kettle for heating the water.

Brewing method: I started off using a Melitta pour-over cone. I've since moved to the AeroPress. I also have a French press. The AeroPress is what I use almost exclusively. I also have a kitchen scale to measure out the water and beans. I use a 16:1 ratio of water to beans. For the AeroPress, 16g of beans and 256g of water fits perfectly. When I measure the water, I aim for between 256 and 260g. I'm not so obsessive that I make sure it's exactly 256 every time.

This sounds like a lot (and there's more, but this is a good start), but I built up to this over a period of a few years. Take your time. Keep learning and exploring and have fun.

So, here's a consideration. A Keurig requires less than 10 seconds of effort. Anything else you hear in this sub will require from 4 minutes upward of manual effort or concentration, in order to prep and brew. Do you think he is willing to go through with that just for a cup of coffee, since it's quite new to him? If not, either stick with Keurig, or get into the hobby together and make the coffee together. You'll be the one driving for the first few days I'm sure - so then the question becomes are YOU willing to go through the motions, until he gets into it?

If you are I'd say a porlex mini hand grinder, a stainless steel simple French press, and some nice beans (plus some of those single serving chocolate flavoured creamer) would be a perfect starter kit for beginners. Aeropress and chemex can come later when you actually know how to taste the difference - not being snarky, just realistic :)

I strongly recommend a Porlex Mini hand grinder.

Porlex Mini Grinder

I cannot stress enough how great it is compared to every other grinder I have ever come across. The stainless steel construction and the compact size were key points for me. As a bonus, it works perfectly for camping and travelling too!

It is the ideal size for Aeropress and for 3 cup Moka pots.

I think you get the best home results with a pour over, which is just a cone that holds a filter over your cup while you pour water in slowly. You can get the whole setup for about $100. $45-55 for a hand grinder (Porlex or Hario), $20 for the cone (V60), plus V60 filters from Amazon and a kitchen scale that measures in grams. You'll need a kettle with a fine spout too but you don't truly need the special goose neck kettles they sell.

You can find youtube videos of how to do the brewing but basically you use a lot of beans per cup (25g), pre-wet them, then add water slowly in phases up to a full cup (360g).

As for beans, Stumptown is a good bet for premium beans if you're mail ordering.

Making espresso at home is much harder and takes expensive equipment to get right so stick with the shops for awhile.

if you're looking at the slim for it's form factor during travel, i'd suggest the porlex mini instead. if you're doing any sort of travel with this grinder, the porlex mini is still significantly smaller than the hario slim.

if you do not plan on traveling with this grinder, i'd take the skerton over the slim. the slim will work for the aeropress, but the capacity is just too small for anything larger than single-cup; you'll have to dump the grounds to make room for more. while not necessarily difficult to adjust, the skerton isn't nearly as easy to dial in as the slim, though, so that's the trade-off.

I use a Porlex mini grinder

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0044ZA066

It's the only high quality single-serving size grinder I know of. I don't see the need for a glass reservoir as you can simply fill the top with beans and crank until there's no longer resistance and then you have just the right amount of grounds for 16-24oz of coffee. I've been using it for several years.

This guy?

I'd go with a porlex mini. It's a better grinder, smaller and if he happens to have an aeropress, it fits snugly inside it like this for super convenient travel.

Porlex mini? It's stainless steel and the handle stows away on the side.

The lightest weight approach I've found is a pour over and a mini grinder. I found many of the pourover setups to have stiff elements that make packing them difficult. I've also found that most grinders are actually quite bulky (in fact, I returned the GSI JavaGrinder as I found it to be HUGE). The best selection I found was:

• Porlex mini mill (same as what /u/brett88 suggested). It's minimal, it creates a really great, adjustable grind, and it's made out of stainless steel (outside) and ceramic (grinder) http://www.amazon.com/Porlex-Mini-Stainless-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B0044ZA066
  
• Cuissential SlickDrip Pourover. This collapsible pourover cone is entirely silicone, so it folds up in a snap and you can stuff it just about anywhere. http://www.amazon.com/Cuissential-SlickDrip-Collapsible-Silicone-Dripper/dp/B0051HEFAS/ref=sr_1_5?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1395682135&sr=1-5&keywords=cuissential

Which ones are you looking at? Have you looked into Porlex? They make (from all accounts I've read) one of the best hand grinders available.

Here's the most recommended model

Here's a smaller, more portable model

I got my baratza encore about a year ago and I love that thing. Though I've considered picking up the smaller porlex for camping trips and when I travel.

I think your beans might be rancid. I found that old or sub-par beans don't work well with my moka pot. I have one of these mini Porlex hand grinders. I'd also ask local cafes where they get their beans or if they can sell you some.

If you're looking to brew a single cup at a time then you might consider getting an Aeropress. They run like $30 on Amazon. They work kind of like a French press, but they're much easier to clean and maintain. They make excellent coffee, and you can get a steel filter if you don't like the disposable paper ones.

Being to cheap for $100+ for a grinder, I picked up a hand grinder. It does well enough for me, and I got the grinder, Aeropress, and steel filter for under a bill.

I recently purchased this metal filter. The best I've seen out of these metal filters so far. Also, this grinder lets me get the most consistent grind for my money. I can't afford a fancy grinder and with this one, my aeropress, and a cheap scale, I can consistently make a fantastic cup of coffee no matter where I go.

Yes, I have the Porlex mini. It's not cheap at $42, but be glad you're not paying CDN prices - for me it was $60. The Porlex JP-30 Stainless Steel Coffee Grinder is larger, It says 30g capacity. I thought it held more. My mini holds 25g easily, which is a common dose for a single pourover.

The Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill Skerton is often recommended here and is slightly cheaper at $37, but I don't have any experience with it. I like that the porlex seems more durable as there is no glass. the Porlex mini also fits inside an aeropress. But you're going for the pourover first right?! ;)

The Lido is another option but maybe beyond your current budget. You can see what /r/coffee thinks about it here

Porlex Mini. It's supposed to fit inside the plunger of the Aeropress but I've found it doesn't fit as well as I'd like: it still sticks out the top, and if you push it down too far the grind hopper gets stuck in the plunger and is really hard to get out. Also you need to remove the rubber ring which leaves you with nowhere to put the grinder handle. It's still a very nice and compact grinder.

The Porlex Mini stows beautifully inside an Aeropress.

When camping, I usually bring pre-ground beans and an ultralight pour-over.

I got recommended the porlex mini and the porlex JP-30. Both are the same expect for size and use burr grinders. Got the JP-30 and I think its great. Also heard the Hario Skerton and Hario Mini are pretty good.

I think it's awesome, but let's price it out...

Porlex Mini Grinder: $45.00

Bonmac Dripper: $20-ish

50 unbleached flters: $4ish

2 Falcon Enamelware Tumblers: $24ish

Custom Felt Zarfs (X2): No freaking clue

Bag: No idea.

So the stuff priced out to around $93 bucks (probably $100 with the Zarfs), so that makes the bag worth about $75ish? Not bad- Timbuk2 makes high quality stuff.

However, I don't know if I have any use for it...

EDIT: Like others mentioned... Where's the kettle? Hm. Odd.

Can you order from any other places? If so, I'd get a porlex mini and an aeropress. Aeropress produces a clean cup and is super quick to clean up.

http://www.amazon.com/Porlex-Mini-Stainless-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B0044ZA066/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1395256524&sr=8-2&keywords=porlex+hand+grinder

Grinders are easy to travel with. You can even fit a Porlex Mini inside an Aeropress!

I have a Hario Skerton though which I always bring with me, along with a V60 and paper filters, coffee beans, and a weighing scale, inside my backpack.

No problem! You can always get the Hario mini mill for ~$22 if you want a cheaper option; that's what I'm using right now until my LIDO 3 comes.. which will hopefully be sometime soon.
A step up from that would be a Porlex grinder for $52. From what I've read, the mini actually fits inside the Aeropress which will be good for travel. I think it has better grind consistency than the mini mill, but there are pretty cheap mods you can do to the Hario Mini Mill (tape and rubber band) and the Skerton (someone sells a 3d printed mod attachment). The Porlex is made of metal, though. Which may be worth the extra, if that's your thing.

If you're looking for an electric grinder that's good for everything but espresso, you can look for a Baratza Encore, which is widely recommended on /r/coffee. It's ~$120, but can last you a long time. Baratza also sells them on their site refurbished for ~$90 from time to time. Though, shipping costs will kill you and make getting a new one almost more worth it. I was thinking about getting one for myself but I opted for the more expensive LIDO since I anticipate living with roommates for a few years and electric grinders are loud. If I were older and settled down, I probably would've opted for this or a Virtuoso. I'm planning to get myself a Baratza Sette 270W when I actually make money, though :p

I use this

Porlex Mini Stainless Steel Coffee Grinder https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0044ZA066/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_77IbBbDV12QPF

This is the cheapest and best coffee (burr) grinder you can get for your money. By best I mean most consistent grind size, especially at extremely fine espresso settings. The problem with hand grinders is that the time it takes you to grind the beans can affect the flavor.
http://www.amazon.com/Porlex-Mini-Stainless-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B0044ZA066

These are apparently quite well-regarded (and are much cheaper than the Zassenhaus), though I've never personally used one.

Though if you were thinking of spending that much on a hand grinder but don't really need portability, I'd be tempted to stretch the budget a tiny bit and get a lower-end electric burr grinder.

Although the best deal would be the Hario Mini Mill, I've heard great things about the Porlex Mini.

try either one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/Hario-Coffee-Mill-Slim-Grinder/dp/B001804CLY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1453036671&sr=8-2
or
http://www.amazon.com/Porlex-Mini-Stainless-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B0044ZA066/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1453036749&sr=8-2

I've been using an older version of this Porlex mini, daily, for probably 6+ years now. The version I have has a hex shape at top (rather than the flat), and its wear over the years means the lever occasionally slips off if I'm not careful, but I've used the hell out of it without any other complaints.

I've used it hiking, camping, traveling, and at home, and the best part is that it fits snuggly inside an Aeropress cylinder, so it packs really compact and can be brought with you wherever you go.

• Wake up at 6:30, an hour later than usual. I fell asleep in my jeans last night after half a bottle of wine, but it made this morning more convenient.
  
• Hand grind a Burundi Mwaro Rusama I roasted last week. Grinder = porlex mini but saving up for the baratza encore. Stopped the roasting too early, so it's a bit too light for my tastes (fairly acidic as well), but live and learn, I guess.
  
• chuck bicycle and leftover mac/cheese in the work van so I can bicycle home. Getting ready for a brutal week after some pretty bad screwups last week.
  
• Writing all this out just made me realize I forgot my breakfast. Usually oatmeal with PB, golden raisins, walnuts, local honey, and cinnamon, but it can also be some sort of leftovers with fried eggs on top.

Are you not from the US?
http://www.amazon.com/Porlex-Mini-Stainless-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B0044ZA066/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410376953&sr=8-1&keywords=porlex+mini

Grinders: Others have given good advice, but here are links:

Hario Skerton: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001802PIQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_D3I0BbDTAYZ8M

Porlex Mini: Porlex Mini Stainless Steel Coffee Grinder https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0044ZA066/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_P4I0BbAWT6K97