Product Comparison | Hario Skerton vs Mini Mill Hand Grinder
Hario’s Skerton and Mini Mill Slim hand grinders both offer coffee lovers an inexpensive means to having freshly ground coffee no matter where they go. But how are they different? Which is better? Is one preferable to the other? In this video, Chris shares what you need to know about these popular hand grinders from Hario, so you can decide which one’s the best fit for you.
Transcript
Hey, Chris here from Prima Coffee Equipment. Today we are comparing Hario Skerton hand grinder to the Mini Mill. Let's take a look at some of the things that make these different.
You can see they're both about the same height, but Skerton is of course much wider and heavier. The chamber at the bottom here is glass, whereas the Mini Mill is almost entirely plastic. That makes the Mini Mill advantageous for traveling in our opinion. Still they're both fairly compact and easy to use hand grinders.
They both have similar handles up here. They're both very comfortable to use and now they both also come with hopper lids. This prevents the beans from flying all over the place when you're grinding by hand. Hario Skerton didn't use to have that, but they both have those now and they both work very well.
The Skerton's hopper and its grinding chamber will hold around 60 grams of coffee, whereas the Mini Mill will only hold 24 grams of ground coffee at the bottom. So, Skerton is definitely better for larger batches of coffee. Chemex, Siphon, big French Press, anything you are making for a group of people is going to be best done with your Skerton.
These both have conical ceramic burrs. So they're going to put out similar grind consistency, but the Mini Mill might have the Skerton slightly beat because its burrs are spring loaded. We've seen that this means consistency of coarse settings. They both, though, offer a full range of grinding from near Espresso to pour-over drip, all the way up to French Press and everywhere in between, too.
Overall, we think that the Mini Mill wins for anybody who's going to travel. If you're getting a hand grinder because you want to pack light, the Mini Mill is the best hand grinder we could recommend. Skerton is better if you're looking for a hands on approach, where you're looking to make big batches of coffee, Chemex or something like that. It just holds a lot more. Having this rubber boot at the bottom makes it a little easier to grind on the surface. It's especially nice to have that strainer reduced on your body if you're grinding 60 grams or so for a big batch. That's why we like the Skerton for.
Both are really solid grinders with ceramic conical burr sets made by Hario, and we trust the quality of both of them. I think you are enjoying both for these different reasons. Thanks for watching.
