Video Overview | Timemore Chestnut C2 Hand Grinder
Timemore’s Chestnut line includes a manual grinder for every aesthetic and budget. The C2 is the most affordable model because of its materials—the lid, pommel, struts, and adjustment wheel are all plastic—, not because of its performance, which is above par thanks to the same 38mm conical steel burrs, steel axle, and dual bearings found in other Timemore grinders. In this video, Steve covers the different finishes, materials, and grind quality.
Transcript
Timemore Chestnut C2 Hand Grinder
Full grind range with stepped adjustment
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Hi. I'm Steve with Prima Coffee, and today we're going to take a look at the Timemore Chestnut C2 manual grinder. The C2 delivers premium quality grinds without that premium price tag. And the question is, how do they do it? They use plastic parts in this, whereas the other models in their lineup they're going to use all-metal for the body, for the grinds catch, for the arm, and then wood for that pommel. So, for this one, the lid here is made of plastic, the pommel is made of plastic, the inside of the grinds catch also plastic, and the structural support, there's one at the top here, and there's one in there at the bottom, those pieces are made of plastic as well. So, that does help cut down the costs. However, the most important parts of this grinder are still made of stainless steel, and that includes the 38-millimeter conical steel burrs that Timemore designed to be really good for brewing coffee. So what that means is from your medium-fine up to your midrange brews, so your AeroPress and V60s, all the way through your Chemex and French Press, now that's going to work really well with this. However, this grinder is not really made for espresso. The reason is, because as you get down toward those fine ranges, it takes a long time to grind. It took me about 10 minutes to grind for espresso. There are other grinders out there that are more appropriate if espresso is your thing. So like the other models in the Timemore lineup, this one comes with a couple of accessories, including this black canvas bag which is great for travel, this brush which is good for clearing that retention that happens beneath the body next to the adjustment wheel, and this instruction manual.
The instruction manual is particularly helpful because near the back, it talks about how to adjust the wheel, and it tells you... it gives you a starting point for the different brewing methods. So it'll say 6 to 12 clicks for espresso, 15 to 24 for pour-over, and 24 and up for your coarser methods. Now, what does that mean? So this uses a stepped adjustment wheel, which means that you turn this wheel all the way down to fine by holding the handle in place and turning this adjustment wheel to the right. And when it stops, you know that the burrs are touching, and you can feel that because this won't move at all. And when they're touching, they call that the zero point. And you count the clicks away counterclockwise from the zero point, to get toward the number of clicks that work for your brewing method. So they're saying six clicks is where you start for espresso, we're actually finding that it's around eight or nine clicks where you can get that fine. Before that, we're not getting anything that come through into the grinds chamber, so it's not really efficient at that point, but the guide is very accurate. When it comes to pour-over, it says 15 to 24. We're finding that 15 to 17 is a really great starting point for V60. So that is the Timemore Chestnut C2 manual grinder. It is an entry-level grinder only because it uses some plastic parts. It is not an entry-level grinder in terms of its grind quality, which is above average. And it competes with grinders well above this price point. You can find it online at primacoffee.com.
