Manual Coffee Grinder with Ceramic Burr by Cozyna, Coffee Bean Grinder, Stainless Steel - Aeropress Compatible - Original

LATEST UPDATE: I'm all in! After a little more research I was able to contact the seller via email. The replied within 12 hours apologizing for the failed part and asked that I reply back with a photo of the broken part so they could mail out a replacement immediately. I did so and within a few days I received not only the little black plastic do-hickey that broke but also the ceramic base it fits into AND two spare plastic do-hickies with absolutely no cost to me. Granted, they could make it easier to locate this information since a big reason people order this is the LIFETIME WARRANTY, but they do honor it after all. Here's the email address I used: [email protected] . I'm so happy to have my awesome little grinder functional again.UPDATE: After 8 months of use the black plastic center portion of the burr grinder cracked and shredded. Although this product claims to have a lifetime, unconditional warranty there is no information posted here (or online that I can find) telling the consumer how to use it. I've also noticed a few more reviews stating this same component broke in other peoples grinders and that they too have not found any information on this lifetime warranty. I hate adding more "stuff" to the landfill so I'm disappointed in the lack of longevity of this product...and disappointed they don't post any information (easy to find) on how to utilize their warranty.This grinder is so simple to use and clean...and the grind appears to be very consistent. Previously, I had been using the dry bade in my VitaMix as a coffee grinder which left an inconsistent grind...near the blades was too fine and toward the top was too course, however, I believe in grinding my own beans to I stuck to it. My next obstacle is that I travel fulltime throughout the US and Canada in an RV. We mostly live off of solar generated electricity and we're always looking for ways to conserve our battery power AND have limited space for more "things". An electric grinder was out of the question (in the past they've proven no better than my Vitamix) and, since I brew in the Areopress the Cozyna solved all my problems.I have to tell you, my first cup of fresh ground coffee using the Cozyna was outstanding. It holds and grinds the perfect amount for my Aeropress and makes my morning cup a special treat. The couple of minutes required to hand grind works out well with the amount of time it takes to heat the water. Plus, it's kind of meditative and really connects you to what you're doing. I guess it's like a mindful cup of coffee. Very please with this purchase and highly recommended.

This grinder works great for individual use or use on the go. I have only tested it on it's finer grind settings, but what it has produced so far has been more than adequate in terms of grind and consistency. It takes about 30 seconds or so to grind one serving for an Aeropress coffee maker, and this is accomplished much easier by grinding with the included reservoir attached to the bottom. I know it says it fits in the Aeropress, and it does to some extent, but you can crank much faster without having to worry about holding all the loose pieces together. Also, this design is much narrower than the Aeropress's opening. One other minor complaint is that the bottom reservoir was very very tightly attached when I first tried to open it; so much so, that I was concerned I was doing something wrong and about to break it. This tight fit must be part of the design, though, because friction is all that holds the two pieces together.I know there are many products out there right now that are essentially the same, just bought in bulk and branded differently by different people. However, that doesn't mean they are all equal. This one seems to have good quality controls and nothing I have found so far makes me value it less than the $22 I spent on it. I will update if anything changes.Pros: affordable, good consistency, easy to hold while you're grinding (with bottom reservoir attached), can collapse to fit inside Aeropress for efficient transportation.Cons: doesn't fit flush into Aeropress, bottom reservoir came very tightly attached

After using this grinder for a few weeks, I've found some issues with it that compelled me to write a review. I'll start by saying that if you plan on using this to grind beans strictly for the AeroPress or an espresso machine, it should perform just fine. If you want coarser grinds for something like a V60, though, you may start running into issues like I did. Let me preface this by saying I'm a mechanical engineer, so things are about to get technical.The design of this grinder combined with the manufacturing tolerances of its parts lead to a pretty loose fit between the rotating shaft and main chassis. Basically, the whole assembly gets wobbly once you start loosening the thumbnut on the bottom. There are two burrs in the grinder. One is permanently attached to the chassis, the other is fixed radially but floating axially on the shaft. The point of the thumbnut is to change the axial distance between the burrs, thereby changing the size of the gap between them. This gap determines the size of the grinds that come out of the grinder. This whole design is dependent upon the burrs remaining concentric, but as soon as you throw a wobbly shaft into that mix, your ability to get consistent grinds goes out the window. If the shaft is able to wobble, the gap between the burrs is larger on one size than it is on the other, so your grinds range from incredibly fine to incredibly coarse, when you really wanted medium-fine. A side effect of this wobble is that the plastic components up at the top of the grinder get worn down by the sharp edge of the cap as you crank the shaft around, thereby creating a fine plastic dust that deposits on the top of the cap. I wouldn't be surprised if some of that powder was created on the underside of the cap as well, making its way into your coffee grinds.Another minor gripe I have is the design of the plastic cup in the bottom portion of the grinder. It has a little channel around the inside edge that catches fine grinds, and you have to smack the bottom of the cup when pouring your grinds to get them all out. It's not a big deal, but if the bottom of the cup was just flat, this wouldn't be an issue. I don't see any reason why it has to be designed this way.With all that being said, this isn't a bad grinder. It makes good fine grinds, is pretty easy to disassemble and clean, is small, and is good looking. But if you need coarser grinds, I'd think about picking up something like the Hario Skerton. There's even an aftermarket brace you can buy for it to avoid the exact problem this Cozyna has.