Hario Coffee Mill Ceramic Slim

I bought this mill a few months ago, together with Aeropress, hoping to make excellent coffee without breaking the bank.

My expectation were fulfilled - this is an excellent grinder, and does everything exactly as you would want and expect.

1. Build quality: second to none, 5/5
You can really tell this thing is made in Japan and not in China. All parts fit together perfectly, the finish is flawless and the operation is smooth. Ceramic burrs will never rust and wear extremely slowly.
The person mentioning nut failures must have used it to hammer nails or something because this is a VERY SOLIDLY made item. Only way to improve it, would be to use wood or toughened glass instead of plastic (I am no fan of plastics in general) - but at this price you really couldn't ask for better.

2. Ease of use: very easy, but instructions are in Japanese, 4/5
It will take you a while initially to figure out how to use it, because it comes with no instructions in English. But because it is a very simple device, there is not a lot to figure out, really: the top handle comes off, the clear top cover comes off, the clear container screws on and off, and the adjustment nut is under the burrs. That's it.

3. Practicality: Very good 4.5/5
Let's start with the grind adjustment: the adjustment nut has locking "steps" and because of that it takes a bit of effort to turn it - but on the other hand it always stays in position, so this is a good thing. Also, the steps make it easy to aim for the desired grind coarseness.
Grinding itself is easy and only slightly tedious - will usually take between a minute and four minutes, depending on your coarseness and quantity and size of your beans (bigger will take longer). It can be quite fun too, and my guests (especially children) often enjoy grinding as a kind of novelty.
One very minor problem I have is that because the container is plastic it accumulates static charge, which often causes grinds to stick to walls. A strong tap usually helps, but occasionally I have to resort to a spoon to get all of them out.

4. Coffee quality: Excellent 5/5
Some people suggest that manual grinding is better as it doesn't heat up the beans, which harms flavour. I am not sure if this is true, but I always find coffee ground manually to be slightly better than the same coffee ground in an electric mill. It might be purely psychological (i.e. "I put a lot of work in it, so it has to be better"). But one certain fact is that the grind is very consistent, which is certainly paramount to achieving good coffee.

All in all, I am very happy with this mill. I consider grinding to be one of the cornerstones of great coffee (the other being beans, water and the brewing process), and this mill certainly fulfils its purpose well. Five stars from me.

I have had this grinder for about three weeks. It is solidly built and has a quality feel to it.

It takes me about a minute to grind a double espresso so that is just about on its finest, and therefore slowest, grind. If you are wanting a coarser grind for a cafetiere it will be quicker. The grind is consistently excellent. I am very pleased with the price, quality and ease of use.

The order was processed and delivered very quickly, the grinder was very well packaged.

A neat product that grinds coffee thoroughly and with perfect consistency.
The ceramic blade contributes to my attempt at coffee purity.
The four stars for me are because this is not a product for coffee in a hurry,(I revert to untidy electric metal on those occasions!).