In May I reviewed the GSI Javagrind and was quite enthusiastic about it. Unfortunately it only took one more use of it to change my mind.
The other night I took the Javagrind and (reluctantly) GSI's french press over to Leah's parent's tent at Victor Bay, determined to have a good cup of coffee while over there. When it came time to brew the coffee I took the Javagrind and began grinding my Yergacheffe coffee beans. After about four turns of the crank, the Javagrind stopped working.
The central part of the burr mill is what turns, grinding the beans against the outer, fixed part of the mill. This turning piece is attached to the crank by means of a bolt, the hexagonal head of which sits in a recess of the mill, allowing it to turn. In only its second use the head of the bolt stripped out of its recessed fitting, causing the shaft to spin helplessly inside the mill.
Again this was only my Javagrind's second use, and it certainly hasn't seen any rough handling. I was able to finish grinding the beans by shimming the bolt in the recess with a thin strip of cardboard, but it appears that the material used for the mill can not stand up to the minimal torques of the grinding process.
Disappointing, as I was quite pleased to find a hand cranked coffee mill for out on the land. The press perfomed marginally better this outing, but still had a sloppy seal on the plunger and is not worth purchasing.
Comments
2 responses
Clare,
It is completely coincidental but just before your post the $30 deluxe ‘President’s Choice’ electric coffee mill that I purchased about a year ago gave it’s last gasp. It was the worst grinder I ever owned for the following reasons:
-couldn’t grind fine without clogging;
-blew coffee dust all over;
-coffee particles magnetically charged;
-plastic parts degraded rapidly;
-degraded plastic wound up in grounds;
-had tiny capacity; and
-cost more than I’ve ever paid for a mill.
Determined to avoid purchasing another useless appliance that did more harm than good I dusted off an old coffee mill I purchased from a thrift store for a couple dollars. Despite showing slight wear it was in pristine condition and after sanitizing it I had no concerns about where it had been. It is the same design as the one you describe although it is all made of sturdier steel and attached to a small wooden box with drawer that catches the milled coffee. I had been using it as a decoration as it looked rather handsome and was a nice stash for my spare keys. I was very impressed to find that despite my jostling it while grinding this mill ground coffee to a perfect fineness and collected it into the drawer below without leaving anything to clean-up. Grounds from the steel and wooden mill did not become charged and stick to everything which contributed to the mess of the electric one (with plastic housing and parts). The only drawback is that I have to do the grinding which I’m fast getting used to thanks to the perfect grind (it tastes better) and the time saved cleaning up the mess blown over counter and onto floor. It looks like it could last a lifetime.
I have always owned a mill made in Poland and sold in homebrew shops for just over $25. I spent $100 for a tooled steel brace to replace the original cast aluminum which could not stand up to the stress I would put it through. I have used it regularly, mechanized with a power drill ($20), for 20 years and 100s if not 1000s of kilos of hard grains (same drill too and has no noticeable wear). It is completely adjustable and I have it mounted inside a vessel with feed and receiving hopper for the cost of a used plastic 10 gal carboy (free). It grinds uniformly at a rate of about 3-5kgs/minute which is too much for my coffee consumption (now) but does the trick with my all-malt brewing as well as wholesome fresh flours for baking.
Clare, I know you have seen the coffee mill I described and I’ll be looking out for one for you. My treat if I can find one. With the wooden housing removed it is probably smaller than the one you’ve pictured and with housing intact isn’t that much bigger.
I despise plastic for its use and limited life in what should be durable goods.
Regards!
Thanks Chris, the wooden ones are pretty readily available, I’ve seen them on line in a few places. I’ve resisted getting one, because I want a handcranked one for camping, and they just don’t seem to be something I want to throw in a pack. I’m working on a more permanent solution for the GSI javagrind (that will probably involve epoxy) and still use it, rather than consign it to the dump.
My purpose was to correct my initial glowing report on the Javagrind (which reminds me I should go back to the original post and put in a link to this one)