Mini-Slim PRO Coffee Grinder

Perfect everyday grinder! It’s particularly great for those who are only making 1-2 cups of coffee.

Hi! I'm fairly new to the specialty coffee scene, but having this be my second hand-grinder (and the one I'm still using) I'll give my thoughts. I've been using this hand grinder daily usually one cup of coffee a day since the beginning of the year.Pros:1. Shape and size: very easy to grip, holds up to about 30g of beans in the hopper while the lower chamber on the "Mini Slim Pro" model will comfortably hold over 60g (haven't tried more). The opening of the hopper is wide enough to pour beans into without spilling too!2. Materials: The metal hopper and bin feel really sturdy, no noticeable scratches so far and it feels like it will last forever3. The Handle: super sturdy, I think it's cast aluminum and will never bend on you.4. Decent grind quality: This will not be as good as the $230 Comandante or other very high-end hand grinders, but for drip coffee, Aeropress (my method of choice), and pour over (I've tried Kalita Wave 185) this grinder will make tasty coffee!5. Burrs: Made of ceramic, I haven't had any problems with them.\6. Noise: this thing is much quiter than any electrical appliance with a motor, great for not waking up roomates!Cons:1. The latching mechanism: Instead of threads, Hario went with a simple latch that makes it easy to attach and remove the bin from the hopper - if it's facing the right way. It's a small annoyance, but if I remove the grounds bin to pour my freshly ground coffee in my Aeropress and the hopper isn't facing the right way, I have to hunt around the side of both pieces to make sure the little latch is aligned.2. The latching mechanism: so this isn't actually a big problem - yes the latching mechanism does wear a little bit on the "hopper side" of the grinder, as you can see in the picture. Most of that wear occured within the first month or two, and now I've had it for over 5 months now and it hasn't progressed. If you're worried about wear, just grip the grinder a little higher and support the hopper a little more. However I do feel this issue was overlooked in the design.3. Grinder Consistency at coarser grind: So for a <$100 grinder, the consistency I believe is pretty good, but if you're grinding for french press, filter, or cold brew you're gonna have a decent amount of fines, which are smaller particles/dust than what you're aiming to achieve. For Aeropress and French Press this doesn't matter too much (you'll still get great coffee as long as your beans are also good) but these fines do have a tendency to clog paper filters, such as for pourover (not as bad if you're only making a couple cups) and for cold brew. I ground 90g of coffee coarsely to make some cold brew yesterday for the first time, and I thought I'd filter the coffee through my Kalita wave, but yeah that didn't work out very well, the whole thing clogged up. I had to use my aeropress to pressure-filter the coffee!4. Setting the coarseness: if you've never used one of these before, trying to figure out exactly how many clicks to set the grinder to the first time is intimidating and confusing! Just remember: 10 clicks from completely closed is medium/drip, 5 would be fine/espresso, and 14 is about as coarse as you want for french press/cold brew (I brew french press at 12 clicks). This website is also super helpful: https://honestcoffeeguide.com/guides/coffee-grind-size-chart/ (the mini-mill chart also works for this)5. Effort: Yes this takes some elbow grease. Apparently much more expensive hand grinders have bearings and sharp metal burrs to make it a lot easier and smoother, but this isn't that fancy (or as expensive)6. While slim and portable, it doesn't fit inside my aeropress like the aergrind might. I wish there was a slightly easier way to carry it for travel, but this is more of a nitpick than a real concern.As you can see, most of my cons are more nitpicks and annoyances, but in reality, are very easy to deal with day to day.Experience:The grind quality of this may not be too terribly much better than the "plus" model or other grinders out there, but I really enjoy the metal body and large grinds bin this grinder has. For a hand grinder below $100 I am very happy with this purchase! It takes a couple minutes to grind the 17g of coffee for my cup in the morning, but it's always much less time than it takes for the kettle to heat up. Over 30g of coffee though and you'll have to refill the hopper, and by then the churning of the handle starts to get old (the 90g of coffee for the cold brew yesterday took ages!). Also, pourover brewing will probably take a little longer than some instructions say due to the filter beginning to clog a little near the end of the brew, but it's not that big of a deal and your coffee will still taste really good! (and sometimes excellent!) I usually go with aeropress (at a medium-coarse grind) and I get a consistently tasty cup :)

I'd been having trouble finding a good quality hand grinder, but this delivers. I swapped it for my GSI camping burr grinder at work because the lever is longer and more comfortable for large grinds.The connection of the crank to the shaft isn't superb, but it's decent, and the the grinding action is nice and smooth. All in all it's a solid nonelectric burr grinder for portable and general use.

I have been using the the Hario Plastic grinder for 3 years and I thought I need to updte!This product is a metal version of a plastic Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill with 3 times higher sticker price.However, all of the good things about the original product are negatively effected.Cons:- Its heavier- 3X more expensive- The container locking mechanism is is weak and it opens up without your intention. Its a design flaw cause by charging the design that was already working.- the metal surfaces are slippery in comparison to the plastic one and not easy to use for a product that needs to be mechanically operated.- every time you open and lock the mechanism some of the metal and paint surfaces would grind into your coffee and contaminates it.4- The customer service was not helpful in addressing my problems.They sent me another container thinking that the replacement of the lower piece would solve the issue of container opening up randomly, but it did not.Pros: the grinding handle is a better qualityConclusion: Don't buy the over-priced metal one and just buy the basic plastic Hario.

I went with the Hario Mini-Slim Pro after doing a lot of research into electric grinders and being unsatisfied at not being able to find a clear winner at the $130 - $150 price range. The $60 I spent on this grinder is worth every penny and, in retrospect, an electric grinder would've been overkill.I'm a light coffee drinker, so I'll only have two to three cups a day and around the same time; so filling this little guy to capacity and combining the grounds with my French Press gets me what I need.No real complaints, other than a suggestion to very closely read the instructions before using the grinder to make sure that you set it correctly, know how to clean it, and understand how not to break it.I'd recommend the Hario Mini-Slim for anyone who needs a coarse grind and doesn't drink a ton of coffee each day.