14 manual coffee grinders under €100 tested – Which ones grind well for both filter coffee AND espresso?

Manual coffee grinders have several advantages over heavy electric coffee grinders. As a mobile, lightweight, and handy option, they're the perfect coffee grinder for on the go, whether camping, hiking, or traveling. But there's another important argument in favor of manual grinders: for under 100 euros, there are already some models that produce relatively homogeneous grounds.

Suitable for filter coffee and espresso?

While many manual grinders do a good job with filter coffee, hardly any manual grinder can grind espresso-fine. Most electric grinders also fail in this discipline. The grind size for espresso is so fine that it demands a lot from the material. This pushes both cheap burr sets and the driving force—whether a motor or a person operating a manual grinder—to their limits.

Moreover, the grounds should not only be espresso-fine, but also free of larger particles and lumps. These tear holes in the espresso under the pressure of brewing water, allowing it to flow through faster and resulting in uneven extraction. That's not tasty!

In advance: four coffee grinders under 100 euros passed the espresso test in our examination, some even quite well.

Why manual grinders make sense

We're often asked how to improve coffee quality at home. The first answer is simple: grind coffee fresh. Freshly ground coffee is the first requirement for brewing good coffee. It doesn't matter whether you're preparing filter coffee or espresso.

After grinding coffee, its surface area has increased many times over. The consequence is that many of the most interesting aromas of a coffee dissipate within minutes of grinding. Moreover, the surface of the coffee bean is greatly enlarged, and oxygen and light easily reach the ground grounds. As a result, the oils present in the coffee oxidize more quickly.

This is why pre-ground coffee often tastes rancid and lacks complexity. This is why purchasing a Kaffeemacher is so worthwhile. A manual grinder not only does good work, it's also significantly cheaper than its electric counterpart.

Surprisingly: many inexpensive manual grinders perform better than some electric grinders costing over one hundred euros.

The basic data of the manual grinders

The technical testing and evaluation was carried out by Felix Hohlmann. Did he know what he was getting into with this test? Actually, there's quite a bit you can compare when testing coffee-hand grinders. It starts with the maximum bean capacity in the upper area, includes the holding capacity in the grinding chamber, and ends with material quality, the burr set, and adjustability. And of course, the grinders also had to prove themselves as filter and espresso grinders.

The following table summarizes the most important basic data.

You'll find the complete table with more information here.

Here are some noteworthy observations. The Handground grinder is by far the largest grinder in the field. With 85 grams of capacity in the upper chamber and 60 grams in the grinding chamber. At 790 grams and 21 cm, it's anything but a good travel companion, especially since the grinding chamber is made of glass.

The smallest grinder is the Nitrip Mini Black at 14 cm tall and 5 cm in diameter. With only 19 grams of capacity for both beans and grounds, you can just grind enough coffee for a double espresso or 300 grams of filter coffee.

The three test winners of the manual grinder test

Four grinders are suitable for grinding both filter coffee and espresso, setting them apart from the rest of the field. However, if you're only looking for a filter coffee grinder, you'll find good models among the other grinders as well.

Of the four grinders, we can unreservedly recommend three. The Nitrip Mini Black, the manual grinder Nitrip Easy Clean Red, and the Timemore C2 performed strongly in many respects.

The grinder Grøneberg* costs only 25 euros and is the best of the very cheap grinders under 30 euros. However, in terms of workmanship and handling, it leaves some things to be desired. If you're looking for a value-for-money test winner, then for us it's the Nitrip Mini Black*. It costs around 50 euros, but scores both in terms of material quality and ease of use.

Nitrip Easy Clean Red – top espresso, high-quality build, and a visual standout

The red Nitrip Easy Clean Red stands out visually among the 14 test grinders. A closer look at the grinder reveals surprisingly high-quality workmanship. The entire grinder is made of metal and, at 500 grams, the manual grinder is among the heavier ones in the field. With 25 grams of capacity in both the bean hopper and grinding chamber, the grinder has an ideal size for a manual grinder. This allows you to load a double espresso (approximately 18 grams of coffee beans) just as easily as coffee for 400 ml of filter coffee (24 grams of coffee). The grinder's axis is mounted multiple times and the guide is also made of metal. The wooden handle has a fine grain and feels nicer than the other handles of the coffee grinders in the field.

The steel burr set can be precisely adjusted by clicks. In our test, we ground 18 grams of coffee each time and compared the grind consistency of the grinders. At normal "hand grinding speed," the Nitrip Easy Clean Red ground the grounds in 35 seconds, the second fastest.

We obtained good filter coffee and the tastiest espresso in the field with the Nitrip Easy Clean Red. However, the espresso evaluation should not be overvalued. We had the grinder set to 10 clicks, which still allows for further adjustments in both the coarser and finer ranges. However, extraction times jump by several seconds, which makes perfect grinder adjustment via grind size alone hardly possible. But this is a general disadvantage of manual grinders that hardly matters, especially when the extraction is as good as in our case.

There's really only one criticism point regarding the Nitrip Easy Clean Red. The lid of the coffee grinder falls off a bit too easily. The principle of the smaller sister grinder Nitrip Mini Black would have been better.

When we bought the Nitrip Easy Clean, it cost 55 euros. At the moment, we've seen it for prices between 70 and 80 euros. We're keeping an eye out and will link it again when it appears. And we're trying to find the manufacturing company and bring the grinder to the European market ourselves.

Timemore C2

We're honestly glad that the Timemore C2 manual grinder is in the top 3 of the grinders in the field. Because Timemore is a real coffee equipment manufacturer, whereas Nitrip also offers pillows and fire extinguishers. From Timemore, for example, one of the cleverest scales on the market with dual weighing function.

The Timemore delivers very solidly, was responsible for one of the best filter coffees in the field, and has also ground espresso-fine. The grinder is made of stainless steel and the axis is mounted multiple times. At 465 grams and a height of 15.7 cm, the grinder is among the more powerful and heavier manual grinders in the field.

The bean capacity is 21 grams and the grinding chamber holds 27.5 grams of coffee. Like the Nitrip Easy Clean Red, the Timemore C2 also has a "lid drop" problem. It lacks a magnet or other retention mechanism.

The steel burr set can be adjusted stepwise and appears high-quality and sharp. For filter coffee, we set it to 25 clicks and for espresso at 13 clicks. The Timemore C2 was the fastest of the 14 grinders in the field. 19 grams were ground in about 30 seconds. However, the burr set is apparently different now, because for espresso-fine grind sizes, the grinder takes much longer.

The Timemore C2 has an outer ridged structure, which facilitates a strong grip and prevents the grinder from slipping. The circumference of the grinder is still comfortable for smaller hands.

Online we found the Timemore C2 for prices between 79 and 85 euros.

Disclaimer and note: we now carry the Slim Plus by Timemore. This grinder is even better suited for espresso. Especially because the C2 apparently now has a different burr set and no longer grinds nearly as fast as in our original test.

Nitrip Mini Black

The manual grinder Nitrip Mini Black* has only one complaint: it can hold no more than 18 grams of coffee in either the bean hopper or the grinding chamber. However, if you primarily use the grinder for yourself or as a companion for hikes or travel, the Nitrip Mini Black is an excellent choice.

This grinder is also mounted multiple times in a metal housing. The grinder weighs 290 grams and is 14 cm tall with a diameter of 5 cm. This makes it the smallest and most handy grinder in the field. The fine ridges on the body make it easy to grip and it won't slip from your hand.

Unlike the first two grinders, the Nitrip Mini Black doesn't constantly lose its lid. It clicks in securely and stays in place even when you flip the grinder upside down. The wooden knob is held firmly to the handle by a magnet. This also looks high-quality and well-made.

Like the other two grinders, the Nitrip Mini Black is also well-suited for brewing filter coffee and espresso. Because the small grinder is uniquely suited for mobile brewing, we prepared an espresso with the Flair. Very convenient—the bean hopper fits perfectly into the brewing chamber. Filling the ground coffee powder was therefore very easy.

For filter coffee, we set the burr set to 23 clicks and for espresso to 11 clicks (for the Flair to 10 clicks). By the way, the grinder ground 19 grams in 35 seconds, making it one of the faster grinders as well.

The Nitrip Mini Black was the most affordable of the three best grinders at around 50 euros, making it our value-for-money test winner.

How to adjust manual grinders using "clicks"

Once you've found a suitable grind size for filter coffee, you only need to readjust the grinder if you're using completely different roasts or coffees. For example, when switching from a light roast coffee to a dark one, this might be necessary. In everyday use, filter coffee usually requires only minimal adjustments since strength and extraction can also be controlled through turbulence and dosing. For proper espresso adjustment, more precise setting is important.

If a grinder can be adjusted in steps and has a click mechanism, it greatly simplifies adjustment. Above all, you can easily return to the original grind size. Adjusting the grinder by one step produces an audible click. The zero point is the completely closed grinder (conical burr fully retracted). From there, you count up to the desired grind size. For example, we set the Timemore C2 to 25 clicks to grind coffee for filter coffee. For espresso adjustment, our grinder was set to 13 clicks.

Grinders with "clicks" allow you to note recipes, switch coffees, and return to the old grind size.

Advantages and disadvantages of stepped and stepless adjustment in manual grinders

Very good professional grinders are either stepless or have step mechanisms with very small intervals. Stepless grinders can be adjusted most precisely because the adjustment isn't bound to a mechanism. Examples are the EK43 or Niche Zero, both grinders suitable for both filter coffee and espresso. These grinders can be quickly changed from fine to coarse and adjusted to the smallest increments because a marked scale provides orientation.

With grinders that have steps, the adjustment is always bound to a mechanism. If the step jumps are very small, this grinder can also be adjusted very precisely. In the espresso range, a stepless burr set is typically preferred.

Manual grinders with steps have advantages. This is mainly because the adjustment screw is turned many times when adjusting the manual grinder. With stepless grinders, you simply don't know "where you are when adjusting" if the grinder can't be counted by clicks. In theory, a stepless grinder would also be more precisely adjustable for manual grinders. However, orientation is so difficult that we clearly recommend grinders with steps and "clicks" for manual grinders.