InstaCuppa Manual Coffee Grinder with Conical Ceramic Burr Mill and 18 Adjustable Grind Settings for Pour Over, Espresso, French Press, Moka Pot, Aeropress, 40 Grams- Black

Good product for beginners

I have been using Hario mini for a long time. In comparison, I feel it takes longer to grind and requires cleaning often, small particles gets lodged requiring unscrewing and cleaning. The screw between the top and bottom halves in the Hario gives confidence, this one is just a slip in. It may slip out some day when I am holding just the top half.

Having said that, it is a great coffee grinder for the price. Grinds uniformly, which is the most important part. Is sleek, makes it easy to carry around. The lever for rotation is long making grinding easy. Having metal, looks better than Hario.

I bought this product as I am a compulsive coffee consumer but new to the world of Grinding. The product is excellent overall with the following comments:

Pros:
easy to carry
Easy to use
quick to grind and the measurement indicators are exact i.e. what you put in is the output as well.
Build quality is good
Value for money

Cons:
I would have liked the travel pouch and cleaning kit included or optional to buy – cleaning can be a pain as there are a few moving parts and one has to be careful not to let a tiny bolt roll away
the Grinding bolt tends to slip and the variety of grind is limited. however this is an issue with most manual grinders and not just this one,

I got this in Jan 2022, hearing good things about InstaCuppa. It seemed like a decent grinder at a not-so-exorbitant price. My experience with this grinder since than has been mediocre at best. Please read on to check the good, the bad, and the terrible I faced using this over the year, as well as few neat tips and tricks I’ve learned.

The NEED:
But before we get to all of this. Do you even need a grinder when you have ground coffee available?
Absolutely. Coffee beans retain their oil and acidity longer as a bean. Crushing your beans just before the brew ensures that the coffee retains most of its oil as well as flavour. This makes for a less bitter, more wholesome extract, with a nice Crema (if you’re making an espresso at home.) Why don’t we always eat ready to cook meals? Because homemade food is much better and fresher. Same goes for coffee grounds. Now, to the pros and cons.

First the PROs:
1. CHEAP: A very cheap grinder. Grinders can be very expensive. Some of the more functional grinders are 4 to 5 times the cost. The best ones are over 20K and yes, I’m talking manual grinders.
2. CERAMIC BURR: This is a burr grinder and not the usual blade one we’re used to in the country. This ensures a more even grind and some of the finest grinds you can get at home. Please do yourself a favour and never use a blade grinder for coffee beans.
3. GOOD, UNIFORM COFFEE UNDER 10 TICKS: Upto 10 ticks, the coffee that you get is clean and uniform. This is important when making good coffee.
And, that’s it. That’s actually all you need in a decent hand grinder. You don’t need or want fifty features for 1299.

That brings us to the list of CONS and the TERRIBLE:
1. CHEAP: Not the cost, but the material. The ceramic burr and the crank lever is decent. But everything else is made up of cheap material and may not last long.
2. MISSING SCREW (Very Common): Now this may be a design issue but the crank has a missing screw to bolt down the lever hand which makes it difficult to grind well in a flow. The lever hand pops out every few mins unless your pushing the lever hard. I have to reattach it 3-4 times every single time I grind. BIG DESIGN FLAW, and can be very irritating.
3. ANOTHER DESIGN FLAW AND INSTRUCTION ISSUES:
They claim on their website that “each turn or jump” is counted as a “Click”. That is plain wrong. Either the turn can count as a Click (a turn is when you turn the nob 1/6th of the way – since it has 6 heads). A jump is when you feel the burr jump down as you turn the knob. I have done multiple tests and have arrived at the conclusion that 4-5 turns equal to 7-8 jumps. So you don’t know how many clicks will give you what grind size. Jump 20 will give you the same grind as Turn 17-18.
#TIP_01: Consider 1 turn as a Click. Turn your knob all the way to close it. Use a marker to mark any heads position. Use it as an indicator and turn the knob. Each head now equals 1 Click. Using jumps as Clicks can give you inconsistent settings since some jumps are less intensive and may be missed.
#TIP_02: The first 2 settings from this method are ultra fine (processional espresso machines). Avoid using them at home. Turn 3-4 give you super fine grind (finer than salt). Turn 5 is as fine as salt.
4. GRIND SIZE CHANGES ON USE:
As soon as your bean basket (top) is empty, you should stop. But you cannot since you don’t see what’s going on in the baskets. Because of this, the ceramic burr and the knob shifts downwards. For future grinds you have to reset the knob to 0 and then to your desired setting.
5. DIFFICULT TO CLEAN:
The grinder is difficult to clean. There was no brush attached with it. The internal locking mechanisms aren’t super tight and coffee can get into every nook and cranny.
#TIP_03: Open the ceramic burr to dry it out after washing. Water can otherwise be retained which is bad.

To SUMMARIZE:
Usability: 2/5
Quality: 3/5
Value for Money: 4/5
Overall: 3/5.

Good for a beginner, but if you can, please upgrade.