If you’re looking for a manual coffee grinder there are a lot of options to choose from. They’re great and definitely worth purchasing. Even if you plan on taking yours with you to a foreign location without electricity or even camping then they’re invaluable. For regular domestic areas such as your kitchen, though they’re a lot better for grinding ground coffee that electric blade grinders since the burr mechanism tends to be better at producing consistent, even grinds without too much excessive fines.
Ceramic and steel manual grinders are two of the most common types out there. The ceramic ones are made from all kinds of materials ranging from glass to stainless steel. The steel ones are typically made of all kinds of durable metals including titanium and stainless steel. The ceramic ones can produce the same amount of specialty coffee as their steel and glass counterparts, while also being less likely to damage or chip coffee beans.
One kind of manual coffee grinder that is gaining in popularity however is the burr grinder. These are actually ground up pieces of wood with a burr mill attached to them. The main advantage to these is that they tend to be a lot quieter than other kinds of grinders since the grinding of the wood is done rather mechanically. This translates into quieter operation as well, which means a quieter experience when drinking your coffee. Although they aren’t as strong as electric or blade coffee grinders, they still make a great choice if you want to enjoy the flavor of specialty coffee beans right from your own kitchen.