Liechtenstein mills with an unconventional grinding method. Come find out why Etzinger hand mills are so unique and how they actually work.
Etzinger: coffee grinders with a unique design
I pick up two different hand grinders and in most cases they are very similar. Functionally, that is. Leaving aside the external design or dimensions, each time it is a pair of grinding stones placed on an axis inside the cylindrical body of the grinder. At the top is a handle and at the bottom is a container for the ground coffee. What usually differentiates grinders are the grinding stones (material, geometry, size) and the axis mounting (amount and material of struts, bearings).
Then there are the hand coffee grinders from Etzinger. When I first saw them, I thought "the comrades must have made a mistake here". The wide opening inside the grinder was absolutely free of the axis and internal construction. How can such a mill work?
How do Etzinger hand mills work?
When you want to understand the grinding system of a special Etzinger Etz-1 or Etz-U series mill, you need to become familiar with the term "RRB". The full name in English is "Rotating-Ring Burr" and translates to something like a stone on a rotating-ring. This is the magic Etzinger used to get rid of the internal parts of the mill.
One grinding stone is fixed firmly to the bottom of the mill. The other stone is movable. The top of the mill is designed as a body with a rotating ring on which the top stone is mounted. Quite simplified - it is a kind of double walled tube, where you hold the outer part and the inner part rotates.
Grinding quality comparison. Etzinger and other hand grinders
Do you think grinding stones like this work better or worse than traditional hand grinders? Let me tell you the big advantage of Etzinger over axial grinders. Minimum variance in grind coarseness. How so?
With conventional grinders, the internal axis moves during the grinding process. In premium grinders this problem is solved by using multiple bearings and stabilizing struts. Cheap hand grinders react to uneven movement of the crank and so the ground batch of coffee happens to contain a range of different sized particles. It simply moves the grinding stone on the axis as it grinds, and this changes the position of the stones, or the set coarseness of the grind. A Bezos Etzinger doesn't have to deal with this problem at all.
Etz-1 vs. Comandante
Let's stop theorizing. On the website of the Japanese coffee laboratory Komameya I found a comparison of the grinding of the Etz-1 and Comandante grinders. In their test they ground coffee on both grinders at similar grind coarseness. They then compared the grind variance in a chart. Although at first glance the grind looks quite similar, the Etzinger wins in the lower number of larger particles and the "peak" is not as sharp. However, on the proportion of smallest particles, the Comandante wins .
How does this translate into common coffee practice? We can say that the Etzinger feels very good at a fine grind. Ground coffeeis denser because of the dust particle content. You can achieve interesting extraction results with espresso because the finest part of the grind (called "fines") can thicken the coffee bed in the portafilter to increase the yield.
The quality of Etzinger coffee grinders
Let me tell you a little more about the manufacturer of these grinders. Etzinger may not be quite as well known to many of you as, say, the aforementioned Comandante. In addition to its complete coffee grinders, Etzinger isknown as a manufacturer of grinding stones. These are sourced by, for example, Baratza, a traditional manufacturer of electric coffee grinders.
The Baratza series of conical stone grinders is assembled using Etzinger stones. Specifically, the Baratza Sette, Virtuoso and the popular Encore models among home baristas. The flat grinding stones for the Baratza Vario and Forte are manufactured by Ditting.
What else will impress you with the Etz-1 and Etz-U?
To make today's comparison article complete, I have a few more things to mention. These Etzingers have two other cool features. One of them is the world's coolest crank. By making the grinder hollow inside, this empty space acts as a place to store the crank. Absolutely unbeatable know-how for travel.
The second thing is the grind setting on the micrometer scale of the ETZ grinder. This is on the outside - so no disassembling the grinder when readjusting the grind. And when you need to disassemble the grinder the setting stays as it was. So you clean it and don't have to find the ideal grind position for your daily coffee routine again.
