Great comparison of the best hand grinders: the Comandante vs. Timemore

What do you need from a hand grinder? You are most interested in thequality of the ground coffee in the result and especially its consistency, comfortable grinding including coarseness adjustment, thevolume of the grinder, durability, storage and last but not least the appearance. All this, of course, at a pricethat is as affordable as possible . The Timemore and Comandante mills are regarded as the top products among hand grinders. They can grind roasted beans for French Press coffee and change the coarseness of the espresso grind with a quick adjustment.

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES AT A GLANCE

At first glance, you may notice things about the grinders such as the materials theyare made of. Only high-quality ones are used in these two stellar hand grinders. The Timemore has a grinder body made of cool aluminum, and you can either have the container for the ground coffee made of plastic or choose a grinder with a wooden container. The handle of the grinder is wooden. Both grinders have conical grinding stones made of hardened stainless steel hidden inside and in the case of the Comandante grinders they are further reinforced with nitrogen.

TheComandante grinders are made of stainless steel with a thin layer of bamboo veneer and are available in many colour variations. The bottom part, the container for the ground coffee, is made of glass and the handle of the handle is made of wood. Unlike the Timemore grinders, the Comandante has slightly more plastic parts - for example, a variable grind coarseness setting.

THE USER-FRIENDLINESS OF THE GRINDERS

In terms of theconvenience of the grinding process itself - howeasily you turn the handle - the Comandante takes the cake. However, this may not always be an advantage. The firmer turning of the crank on the Timemore grinder , on the other hand, is more stable.

From the eye, you'll notice a difference in size, with the Comandante appearing a bit more robust than the Timemore, which is a bit more slender. These differences in appearance affect the volume of coffee you can pour into the grinder. The Timemore can hold around 30 grams of coffee beans, whereas the Comandante can hold up to around 40 grams of roasted coffee.

The grind coarseness setting is similar for both grinders. As we are used to with manual grinders, thegrinding coarseness is adjusted from the bottom of the grinding unit by turning a screw that brings the grinding stones closer or further apart. The knob for adjusting the coffee grind is three-way and plastic on the comandante grinder, whereas on the timemore you turn a metal knob. In both, the direction of rotation is clearly marked for fine or coarse grinding.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING INSIDE: THE GRINDING UNIT

The consistency of the grind is an absolutely important feature of the grinder. The adjusted grinding stones of both these grinders hold firmly in place and grind the coffee into equally sized pieces. TheComandante grinder has slightly larger grinding stones (38mm and the Timemore 39mm) and on closer inspection, its grind seems a little less dusty, but if you taste the coffee from these two competing grinders in a blind test, you most likely won't be able to tell the difference.

FINAL DECISION

Both the Timemore and Comandante are nicely crafted grinders. With the Comandante, though, you have more choice in the appearance of the grinder body. In contrast, the Timemore with its wooden container for ground coffee is a really stylish piece.

In theend, it's often theprice of the grinders that is the deciding factorwhen you're hesitating about which coffee grinder to get . The difference of 3,000 CZK is often the definitive indicator. If you are looking for a hand grinder primarily as an "upgrade" to your original grinder and simply intend to replace the ceramic grinding stones with something more powerful or are choosing a piece of basic barista equipment, theTimemore Chestnut grinder is the right one for you and we highly recommend it.

You ask, if these grinders are so similar in function and virtually indistinguishable in the taste of coffee made with them, why buy the more expensive Comandante? Because even a slightly more perfect grind means a much more perfect cup of coffee. That's what every barista and home coffee enthusiast wants to achieve. TheComandante C40 MK3 Nitro Blade grinders are a long-term investment and will help you brew coffee even more creatively.