The Best Flat Burr Grinder For The Price, Hands Down
There is an awful lot of hype about the SHARDOR 64mm Burr Coffee Grinder with a die cast aluminum body on the internet today. There are also many mistaken mistakes about this grinder because of the confusion with its ‘baby’ brother also for sale on Amazon today. Most say they are the same grinder with different bodies. THIS IS NOT TRUE.The ‘baby’ brother does indeed have a plastic body but that is not the only difference. They both have the same 64mm ‘Mazzer-like’ flat burrs. They both have similar type motors but this grinder has far greater horsepower. This one has a 1250W motor compared to a 300-350W motor in the other. And that difference is huge.These two differences alone make this grinder worth the current $80 higher price for this grinder worth every penny because the motor is more professional than consumer. This grinder grinds 25 grams of coffee beans in six (6) seconds. That is just a little over four (4) grams per second which is what I call blazingly fast. This is faster than just about any other $249.99 grinder on the market today—or probably any other grinder for sale today.It comes with a large 27 oz plastic coffee bean hopper that can be removed and replaced with an optional single-dose dispenser which is a silicone bellows with a beautiful wood cap that fits perfectly on the metal top. This bellows is available for purchase on Amazon for $17.99 and is amazingly priced. The grinder has a very large and brilliant display panel a countdown timer for grinding the coffee beans. You can set two different timers as well as a manual grinding timer. This is a ‘grind-by time’ only grinder offering no option for ‘grind-by-weight.’The grinder also comes with a portafilter ‘fork’ which is height adjustable. Tests have shown that although made specifically for a 58mm portafilter it will safely accommodate small-sized portafilters including, but not limited to Breville’s famous or infamous 55mm size portafilters. Interestingly, with the portafilter ‘fork’ installed and raised to its highest position, the stainless catch cup can sit quietly and steadily on it with the lip of the cup wedged behind the grinding chute to prevent the cup from falling—a very nice design feature.Most importantly, there is zero or a near-zero retention of coffee grinds (grounds) left in the chute or left on the grinder with or without RDT. This particular grinder uses the latest PLASMA generated internal ionizer which helps reduce retention of coffee fines in and around the coffee chute resulting in no or virtually no coffee ‘mess.’ The plasma ionizer eliminates the need for the RDT or Ross Droplet Technique which is spraying small droplets of water on the coffee beans before pouring them into the coffee grinder. Personally, I still use RDT as an added precaution; however, as indicated above, I have used no RDT in many grindings and found no mess or retention on or around the grinders chute or other external parts of the grinder including the catch tray beneath the chute and portafilter tray.The Shardor 64mm Grinder is a stepless grinder with the grind size selector ring marked from 0 to 100 and is reached with one revolution where 0 represents the finest grind size and 100 is the most coarse. The coffee range collar is at the top of the grinder and is very easily removed. When rotated, you will notice that the removable is made of brass which is grooved and made to screw into an aluminum or steel housing which when combined will make the turning much easier because of the softness of the brass. The collar ring is clearly marked on the outside at each ten numbers—10, 20, 30…90, 100. Between the numbers is a small vertical line marking one stop and at every fifth step is a longer vertical line. Near the number 100 is the word COARSE and near the number 0 is the word FINE both words representing the size of the grind. Also clearly marked at the proper locations on the ring are the different sizes grinds should be used for different types of coffees: ESPRESSO, MOKA, AMERICANO, COLD BREW/POUR OVER and FRENCH PRESS. The word Americano is used instead of DRIP.Other minor conveniences include the lighted on/off switch making it easier to find in darker kitchens early in the morning when making that first cup or pot of coffee. There is also a stainless steel coffee ground catch plate that fits below the fork to catch any stray grounds that might fall to the astray from the coffee chute. In my experience, however, there has been almost no grinds that do not fall into the catch cup. I have not yet ground coffee directly into the portafilter. I prefer grinding my beans directly into the catch cup and then to the portafilter using a magnetic dosing ring. As a side note, the included bean hopper is very large and when installed makes the grinder very tall and rather ungainly looking for the typical domestic barista. But that is my opinion and how it looks in my kitchen. Too I am a single-dosing coffee drinker both with espresso and drip coffees. I do sometimes in colder weather make as much as a liter or 1.5 liters of coffee in my Fellow Aiden coffeemaker or when I want a nightly smaller 10 oz cup of decaf I use the xBloom Studio which has its own internal Timemore grinder.However, nine times out of ten I now turn to the Shardor 64mm die cast aluminum Coffee Grinder and for good reason. As I stated above this grinder is near flawless so far. What is to be seen is how long it remains so. When I purchased it I wanted it to last two to three (2-3) years before upgrading to a better grinder. Now I am not so sure. As with so many others, it has surprised me even beyond expectations. It’s so good, I am hoping it will give me five to six (5-6) years of perfect grinding years or longer. If so, I will be more than content. I will be ecstatic. This grinder is one fantastic grinder that does that other $1,000+ pro-level grinders do. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS GRINDER and if you are thinking about buying the ‘baby’ brother Shardor 64mm Burr Coffee Grinder, please consider spending the extra $80 for this ‘big’ brother. It’s worth the extra money and you will be glad you did.