For every product category like air fryers or bathroom scales where it’s downright depressing to try to find just product not made in China, there’s a category like coffee grinders. While Amazon is certainly overridden with cheap China-made coffee grinders, it’s nice to see that there’s one category where countries around the world—especially ones where brewing coffee is a time-honored tradition—are continuing to produce grinders within their borders
One thing I didn’t know until I started researching for this topic is that most people who are serious about coffee prefer using manual hand-cranked grinders. It certainly makes sense: it gives you complete control over the amount and coarseness of your grind.
Generally speaking, you’ll want to look for coffee grinders that use burrs (disc-like blades) as opposed to blades, as they offer more consistent grinding that brings out the full flavors of your beans.
Best Coffee Grinders Not Made in China – Electric
1. Baratza Encore ESP
There are only a handful of brands to choose from if you’d like an electronic grinder. The most famous is the Baratza Encore ESP. It’s the brand of choice for coffee professionals, and it was named as the best overall coffee grinder from Wirecutter and one of the top 3 by Consumer Reports.
Baratza is a unique company in that it just makes coffee grinders, unlike other companies that make coffee makers and are “forced” to make a coffee grinder. That means that their grinders are engineered to make as perfect a grind of coffee as possible. You won’t find cheap parts or manufacturing; the steel burrs are made in Liechtenstein, and the product is manufactured in Taiwan. You can adjust the settings to make a perfect grind, whether you’re using a drip coffee maker, an AeroPress, a French press, or Espresso.
Their higher end model, the Baratza Virtuoso+, is Wirecutter’s “Upgrade Pick” and adds features such as a slightly faster and more consistent grind, as well as a digital timer.
Baratza was purchased by Breville in 2020, but so far Baratza is operating independently, is maintaining its factory in Taiwan, and hasn’t sold out to China like their Australian parents. Let’s hope they keep it that way.
2. Rancilio Rocky Espresso Coffee Grinder
Italy takes its espresso very seriously. If you do too, you’ll want to invest in this Rancilio Rocky Espresso Coffee Grinder. It uses commercial-grade grinding burrs as you’d find in high-end coffee shops, and grinds fast directly into a filter. Just as anyone who’s serious about rice should invest in a Zojirushi rice cooker, anyone who’s serious about espresso should invest in one of these.
3. Eureka Mignon Specialita Espresso Grinder
In addition to Baratza and Rancillo, the other name you hear over and over again from the top coffee experts is Eureka. It’s hand-built in Florence, Italy, and of course if you can afford one of these you need to go for the “Ferrari Red” version. Because why not?
This gets into the upper echelons of equipment designed for home use, but the results are just as good as professional equipment. It’s built to last and the burrs will last a very long time.
There are of course other made-in-Italy grinders such as this one from Fiorenzato for $1,100 that get into the world of professional equipment.
4. Technivorm Moccamaster
I listed Technivorm as one of the best coffee makers not made in China, and the same is true of this coffee grinder. It’s made in the Netherlands, just like their coffee makers are. It features 50mm flat steel burrs, a direct-drive motor that grinds evenly, and even a spout that reduces static. They even source their materials from within Europe.
5. Urbanic 070s Electric Coffee Grinder
This Urbanic coffee grinder is a classic design from SKYKOREA that lets you put coffee beans up top and then turn the dial to select up to 20 levels of grind. It comes with a flat Titanium burr. It’s easy to clean, easy to use, and it much more compact than other models.
6. Bosch TSM6A011W
If you just need a no-frills grinder, they’re going to be impossible to come by in the US. Which is why American shoppers need to look toward Europe.
While Bosch appliances for the US market are unabashedly made in China, many of the ones designated for the European market are made in Europe. This Bosch handheld coffee grinder appears to be made in Slovenia. You can grab one at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.es, or from this site called TradeInn.com. If you’re not too picky about how your coffee is ground, it’s a great low-cost option that’s not too much more expensive than cheap made-in-China models, even when you add shipping from Europe.
Best Coffee Grinders Not Made in China – Hand Cranked
Like I said, coffee purists who drink coffee for the sheer enjoyment of it and don’t necessarily need to churn out hundreds of cups an hour tend to prefer grinding coffee by hand. There’s just something that feels more immersive and “grounded” (no pun intended) of connecting back to the way coffee has been made for hundreds of years.
1. Comandante C40 Hand Grinder
This coffee grinder doesn’t come cheap, but hundreds of people have bought it and rated it the top coffee grinder on Amazon, both electric and manual. It’s made in Germany and is a classic among coffee aficionados. The stainless steel, crafted as only the Germans can do, is hard and strong and will retain its edge for decades. The crank is smooth and satisfying to use.
2. Porlex Jp-30 Stainless Steel Coffee Grinder
At under $100, this Porlex grinder takes us a little bit down from the stratosphere pricing-wise. It’s made in Osaka, Japan. One reviewer mentioned that it was simple to use and reliable thanks to its simple construction. It uses ceramic conical burrs and allows you to adjust the grind. Most people seem to prefer this for making French Press coffee.
3. Kinu M47 Phoenix Coffee Grinder
h/t to voinageo on Reddit for this one. It’s a Kinu Grinder made in Germany. As you might expect from a German-made product, reviewers say that the build quality is fantastic, in the words of voinageo, it “feels like something from a lost era of quality made products”. Amazon reviewers rave over the accuracy of its grind, the ability to replace the burrs (as opposed to throwing the whole thing out), and its smooth operation.
4. Kalita Coffee Grinder
I had high hopes when I read about a Taiwanese company called 1Zpresso, only to find out that they made their grinder in China, which will all but guarantee that their product design will be stolen.
On the flip side, I was happy to see that Japanese company Kalita is making these coffee grinders in Taiwan, and they’re among the more affordable options on this list. You can see from the picture how beautiful these things are, and they’re easy to turn and dishwasher-safe.
5. Millu Ceramic Burr Manual Hand Crank Coffee Grinder
Another sub-$100 option is this Millu coffee mill which also use ceramic burrs, avoiding any metallic odors. Reviewers state that it’s reliable, and one reviewer states that it’s faster than most other hand grinders, although as with most hand grinders it’ll take you about a minute of cranking for a large cup of coffee.
6. Zassenhaus M040012 Brasilia Beech Wood Manual Coffee Mill
This coffee mill is from Zassenhaus, a German company that’s been around since 1867. The Amazon product description lists the country of origin Germany, but the reality is that it’s made in the Czech Republic. In either case you’re talking a free country that has put tyranny behind it.
I love the old school feel of this grinder. You adjust the grind, pour coffee beans in the top compartment, grind, and then open the drawer on the bottom to collect your coffee grounds. The grinding mechanism is a conical burr made of high grade steel.
7. Peugeot KRONOS Coffee Grinder
No, this isn’t Peugeot the car maker, but it is a French company that’s been around since 1812, and which produced its first coffee mill in 1840. They’re renowned for their pepper and spice mills, which naturally carries over to their coffee mills. This mill is made in France, offers 43 grinding positions for precise grinds, and has a large capacity of 50g.
8. Hario Ceramic Octo Coffee Mill
Here’s another lower-priced option from Japan. I mentioned Hario’s Syphon Coffee Maker in my article on best Coffee Makers, and this grinder is made in Japan. I like how you can see the grounds clearly in the bottom clear body as you grind it (it’s not glass, but hard and thick plastic). It’s compact and durable, so you can use it at home but also while traveling and camping.
9. Garrett Wade Large Coffee Grinder
I love this grinder; it make me want to open a general store and sell coffee to frontiersmen. It’s an Italian-made hand-cranked Burr coffee grinder, made of cast iron. Unlike most other hand grinders, this will stay anchored as you grind it. When you’re done, just open the drawer at the bottom and collect your grounds. It’s not cheap (they do also sell a handheld coffee mill made in Italy).
Conclusion
It’s interesting that while there are some categories that are nearly impossible to find things not made in China, there are others were there are tons of options. There are a ton of reasons. In some cases, China has produced so many poor quality products that customers actively seek products in that category not made in China. In other cases, China has been unable to monopolize the supply chain for components. In other cases, experts are willing to pay more for quality and durability. And in still others, things like tariffs have helped to level the playing field.
Amazon has done a lot to elevate China manufacturers and suppress manufacturers outside of China. Ironically, with sites like Temu gathering popularity, they themselves are getting a taste of their own medicine. I am not one to say we should boycott Amazon or dunk on them, but rather send them a message by actively choosing products not made in China and educating our fellow citizens to do the same.
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- coffee grinders
- coffee mills
Since Peugeot pepper mills are very common in good restaurants all over Europe, it must be top quality since professionals can’t afford to use junk products or to offer their guests a pepper mill which would break.