Drinking a self roasted Comlumbia huila, melitta coffee drip, very yummy.. buttery feel.. was worried that i roasted too light, but surprisingly turned out rather decent.

Bought a over the stove roaster and green beans from taobao. https://world.taobao.com/item/551816510812...._u=624n3bru594c

Take note shipping green beans from overseas must be done thru forwarder as it is sensitive item, currently using https://www.oops.sg/shipping_rates.php so far so good using their sea shipping.

So far enjoying the experience of trying all kinds of beans, no worries about stale beans, really your taste palate trains thru cupping sessions and much substantial cost savings..

Nope would not dare to sell them given my roasting skills haha.. my roasting skills still need to be improved.. still very much at the learning stage..

i have actually just placed an order from Squaremiles roasters a few days ago, to kinda of like benchmark myself, cannot wait to do a cupping session with their coffee. Tim Wendelboe roasters is also on the top of my list.

Funny how i wanted to self roast to save money, seems like i end up spending more instead..lol..

delonghi KG89 is not something i will recommend.. its very plasticky, my sis had one and had to send in for repair less den a few months of light use.... The Welhome model ZD-12 looks decent, stepless adjustments..

The grinder is usually considered the single most important gear in coffee preparation, get a good one and its will last you a very long time.. Alternatively you can try getting a manual hand grinder, best bang for buck, but you need to order from overseas like taobao

I will be writing a short thread on Feima 600N grinders style in general, those who are planning on purchasing may want to wait awhile, while i complete the article.

All grinders below are found in Taobao, this would serve as a guide to the confusing array of grinders and prices available there.

Feima 600N & 610N
This range of grinders are extremely popular in Taiwan for pour over coffee and follows loosely the Fuji Royale design which have been used in Japan for eons.

This class of grinders have a burr size diameter of 60MM.
The prices for 600N style grinders in Taobao ranges from 20 usd to 90 usd. Why the difference in pricing is in the class of this grinders there is a lot of copies and OEMS. Those who wants the original branded 600N Feima would be looking around to pay 80 to 90 usd. The burr design of this class is flat and rather similar to EK43 cutting (only in looks).

Those who are wanting a better upgrade can consider 610N, the difference is the burr design or AKA ghost burrs. These burrs seems better constructed with deep cutting teeths. Claims to be better for espresso. However I would caution against using for espresso as it is a step grinder, there is too little adjustments to play with. Maybe it would be more suitable for pressured portafilter as it is more forgiving. Pricing starts from 120usd or you can buy the burrs separately for 50 usd to install in 600N.

Fuji Royale Clones

This range of grinders are follows more closely to the original Fuji Royale R220 design and burrs.

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r....ucket=11#detail

Basically the difference between this and Feima 600N is the burrs and physical size of the grinder (+20%). Burrs size are around 75MM as compared to 60MM. Design wise it employs a crushing design burrs which is similar to the Original Fuji Royale and USA Grindmaster burrs. Price wise starts from 80USD. Some of the design comes with a small button in the front whereby you can push with the collecting jar to activate the grinder. I am personally using this grinder as attached in the link.

Fuji Royale R-440

Feima 207N grinder follows closely the Fuji Royale R-440. The difference is the 90MM burrs size and its build size. This thing is huge and is commonly used commercially.

To sum it up, these are the grinders commonly available on Taobao, personally if you are familiar with buying from TB can consider getting the Fuji Royale R220 clone. Pricing wise it is similar to Feima 600N but you get bigger burrs and faster grinding speed.

Taste wise as I have not used the Feima 600N I cannot comment. But so far I am loving this style of grinders due to its low retention and ease of adjustments.

If you are planning to replace your super jolly burrs can take a look at this thread i started in HB

https://www.home-barista.com/grinders/mazze...mod-t48458.html

I cannot help you with lazada as i never used them, you can try https://www.oops.sg/ have been using them without any issues so far, there is an option for sea shipping which will bring down the cost by alot.

My FR R220 clone, it is not fine enough for espresso..maybe if you try making it modding it stepless it is possible but i dun have experience in that. I use mine for pour over only.

The ssp burrs did make a major difference in taste for medium light roast.. Even when dialing in wise.this burrs seem seems to make it much easier and predictable .. my previous super jolly burrs when dialing in seems to be all over the place. But this burrs seem to stay in within a very predictable range when dialing in.

Interesting modification, wonder if i can do the same for my R220 copy.. Mind sharing the specs of the thrust bearing?

For Grinder evaluation, a naked porterfilter would help to detect channeling issues.

A poorly calibrated grinder would have an uneven grind size distribution leading the channeling or uneven extraction across the puck.

Bear in mind also that grinders seems to have different sweet spots imho, after modding my mazzer mini burrs, i realised that a slightly shorter extraction of 25 secs seems to yield better results den previous burrs at the same time.

Try a range of brewing methods and see how they compare to each other.

Wow.. thats a big jump from skerton to fuji royal.

I am using a fuji royal clone, have been contemplating to get a hand grinder just for fun, any difference between the fuji royal and hand grinder you are using in terms of taste? i drink a fair bit of filter light roasted coffee too.

If you are comfortable with taobao there are a few options.

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=5524720...1z09.2.a1z6e.74

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=5706.1...60-608cfc318663

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=5706.1...60-608cfc318663

I am so trying to prevent myself from buying the last option... haha... endless upgraditis.

That's for the bottom container... I think they are selling as accessory just in case one breaks it

Hand grinders depending on the models can easily do espresso, but the cranking can be a pita.... some models which come to mind are helor 101 and some models from taobao prices are in the range of 100+ usd. i have recently bought this https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z09...._u=r39atddl265b

Easily does espresso, and fine enough to choke my machine. Changing to pour over grind setting is a simple twist from the top. Really good grinder with very sensitive minute grind adjustments. Start with a good grinder, from there you can branch out to pour over or espresso.

A good grinder and really save alot of frustration especially in the beginning.

Totally agreed...if you are looking for the most bang for buck grinder, a premium hand grinder would completely kick lower range and maybe even mid range motor grinders... 500 rm can get really decent hand grinder online. the zero grind retention and consistency really makes coffee preparation much easier.

Are you using the grinder mainly for espresso?

Let me chime in on the topic of hand grinders since i have three grinders from ranging from entry level, mid range to high end. I will touch mainly on using it for espresso grinds. All prices in SGD




Starting from the Skerton (not Plus), imho this grinder is not capable of doing espresso grinds, maybe for pressurized porta-filter yes but not for normal portafilter. The most important part of a good espresso grinder is the ability to dial in the grinds, having precision and reliability when adjusting the grind size. The skerton using the grind adjustment is very finicky and unreliable. Built quality wise the body is mainly plastic. This grinder is more suitable for causal pour over or french press. While the pricing may seem cheap ($60+) compared to the mid range grinders ($120+), you are sacrificing alot which in return for i would consider minimal savings. The frustrations of grind adjustments, wasting coffee beans while dialing in the grinds and lastly taste.

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r....ucket=16#detail - 精彩手摇式咖啡磨 Wonderful grinder (literal translation) – ($133 + shipping $10)
I have the Itamill (titanium coated version), Build wise, very solid metal body and nice feel and weight to it. This grinder is slightly different in the grind adjustment design, usually adjustments are done on the burrs itself, but this is done on the top, allowing for more precision dialing in and referencing. Very easy to zero in the burrs via the markings. Used it for espresso and pour over, the joy and ease of dialing in the grinder makes this a no brainer. At this price range I believe its hard to find a similar grinder at this quality with top grind adjustment. While some may scoff at MIC products, trust me this product can easily compete with the helor/ feldgrind at a significant discount.

Kinu M47 (400+)
Using the Kinu is like driving a super luxurious car, the weight is double that of Wonderful grinder at 1kg + The whole chassis seems to be from a solid block of metal. Speed wise its slightly faster than the wonderful grinder. Adjustment is also extremely easy via the top. Using it for espresso, visually extractions seems to be slightly better. This grinder just reeks of quality, from the zero burr rub at set point, to the smoothness when grinding. But at more than double the price of MIC grinders, it can be quite hard to swallow when you can be getting something similiar at less than half the price as above.

If you are comfortable and familiar with ordering from Taobao, I would suggest skip the hario/porlex range entirely and look into other offerings online. Also beware that there are hario copies around.

Below are some of my suggestions below $100, double bearing grinders, CNC burrs
https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r....ucket=16#detail $60+, full stainless steel body with 38MM burrs.
https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r....ucket=16#detail $80+

Seems like you may need to review your business model. Is your focus on the food? coffee? Take away? ambience? etc etc... Whats the pricing? mainstream? budget? etc etc... You really need to speak to industry professionals or maybe work in a cafe setting which specialises in coffee for a while.

If you are planning to go the route of the proper machine like the commonly one used in cafes, ie grinder + coffee machine + barista, alot of training and workflow issues will have to be resolved before you can charge a premium for the one cup of coffee, however if your business focus is on speed and volume sales but with man power issues den a super automatic will suffice, but the pricing must reflect the quality of coffee if not you be pissing off alot of customers.

While i agree speed is essence in commercial biz, its only a small part of the biz model. Quality should always comes first, followed by balance of speed. Whats the point of fast fast fast when the end product is like

Would have to disagreed with the last part..Australia have a very vibrant coffee culture and is always pushing the advancement of coffee, so much so that starbucks never really gotten a strong foothold in the country..

They know their coffee stuff very well and their customer base are equally advanced in their taste buds..

https://www.baristainstitute.com/blog/karin...-coffee-culture

Usually not a good idea as it may jam up the grinder..