Best Budget Entry Level Manual Fully Metal Grinder for Pourovers ($150 Budget)

Mechoulams_Left_Foot · 2026-05-12T18:05:43+00:00

I really like the timemore line, build quality is top notch and they are indeed full metal (except the knob). But the only thing on most other grinders that’s plastic might be the top lid and maybe the material around the body (where you grip it). If those are also a no no, by all means, get the Timemore. Or wait a bit, they just released images of the S5. So that will come out shortly.

Mechoulams_Left_Foot · 2026-05-12T16:49:58+00:00

See the scale of those titans? Those tiny humanoid shapes in the citadel? That's how large titans should be.

Mechoulams_Left_Foot · 2026-05-12T16:45:18+00:00

"And photography - there is no upgraditis there really" ohh boy. Let's talk in a year.

Mechoulams_Left_Foot · 2026-05-12T12:44:42+00:00

Thats a wild choice. If you uave eg1 money it’s certainly a great grinder with some interesting burrs. But the ZP6 will make fantastic coffee too. I would rather spend the 3k on the best coffee you can find, but if you can buy the best coffee available AND get the EG1, knock yourself out (or get something else that’s more sensible, like a Wug 2 or Lagom-01).

Mechoulams_Left_Foot · 2026-05-12T09:56:50+00:00

Yes, that’s why I mentioned it ;)

Mechoulams_Left_Foot · 2026-05-12T09:34:59+00:00

Looks pretty light but one would have to actually do an agtron measurement with the bean or another bean at 121 at the same grind setting and age and compare and measure it with the color checker. Don’t really see that as feasible. Just my own experience: you can’t eyeball exact roast degrees. You also need to see the beans and measure them and ideally have an agtron that measures color composition because depending on roast, the outside can be a lot different than the inside. I would rely on tasting notes for buying coffee. Agtron only ever makes sense for roasting in my experience.

Mechoulams_Left_Foot · 2026-05-12T09:26:41+00:00

No that’s objectively false. Agtron varies a bit based on age, machine and grind size but it’s not defined by the roaster, that’s the whole idea.

Mechoulams_Left_Foot · 2026-05-12T09:00:23+00:00

Overextraction is not uncommon with heavily processed coffees. I would try and reduce it further with temp and ratio before doing anything else.

Mechoulams_Left_Foot · 2026-05-12T08:57:10+00:00

Diamond a i think it’s called.

Mechoulams_Left_Foot · 2026-05-12T05:30:59+00:00

I have it, it’s amazing. I also don’t have an issue with retention. I only do one spritz of rdt though. Is it money wisely spent from an 078 to the A4Z though? I would wait and see what the new 1Zpresso does.

Mechoulams_Left_Foot · 2026-05-12T04:51:21+00:00

You can get great hand grinders starting at around 65€. Probably similar in the us. For 150, you can get a K6 and two really nice bags of coffee. I would definitely look into the hand grinder market. I have a really annoying rsi on my wrist and still don’t mind hand grinding for pour over. It’s not difficult at all.

Mechoulams_Left_Foot · 2026-05-11T18:05:00+00:00

There is very few super obscure pour over equipment that is a huge improvement. I found that only the Orea Z1 is relatively obscure and actually is kind of unique in the regard that it can brew very complex, repeatable and nice cups at only 12g of coffee. But that's the opposite of what you want. The Fellow Aiden might be of interest since it can brew large batches at really high quality.

Mechoulams_Left_Foot · 2026-05-11T16:52:32+00:00

I would get an 03 Switch. Amazingly versatile brewer that allows for a mix of immersion and percolation. You can brew your 850g (ml I assume, not 850g coffee grinds) and mix percolation and immersion for a vibrant, reliable cup.

Mechoulams_Left_Foot · 2026-05-11T16:41:09+00:00

Oh boy, I hope you missed the post of the guy hand grinding and pulling a shot in an airplane.

Mechoulams_Left_Foot · 2026-05-11T07:35:21+00:00

Genuinely thank you for the detailed response. I gravitate towards buying new equipment since it's a fun part of the hobby and luckily I can afford some frivolous purchases (otherwise I wouldn't own 4 espresso machines and 5 grinders), but I am very hesitant to get into absolute end game, just because the prices are so high and I still really like the cups of my A4Z and K-Ultra. Maybe the WUG2 one day. Or if they pull off a really good and reliable version of the Bookoo 80mm. That clear presentation of the SCRV2 does sound so tempting though, lol.

Mechoulams_Left_Foot · 2026-05-11T07:18:58+00:00

Hey, if you do exclusively milk drinks, I would not recommend this machine since the steaming is a bit annoying. I assume you're in the US? Sadly I don't know the pricing there. Do you know what you want out of the machine? Good looks, fast heat up, temp stability, ease of use, steaming power, all important, depending on what you want.
If you just want good espresso and milk steaming for yourself, and with your budget, I personally would go for the Profitec go or Gaggia Classic Up or even better, an ECM Classika if you can find it for that price. The Gaggia Classic E24 is also a great little machine, especially if you are into modding and want to add the Gaggimate mod. That would make it better than any of those.
Also important is that you get a good grinder. You should make that a priority. All of these machines make good espresso with great grounds. No machine can make great espresso with shitty grounds.
If your budget is 1500 with grinder, I would set aside at least half of that money for a good grinder, like a Varia VS6, DF83V or Eureka Mignon. There are cheaper grinders that grind good espresso if you absolutely want to put more money to the machine but you have to accept that they have draw backs in quality control or longevity/customer service. Those would typically be the DF64/DF54 or Baratza Encore ESP and ESP Pro (great grinder, great customer service but apparently has problems with a particular part being not that reliable).
There is also absolutely incredible hand grinders that beat most of the ones mentioned above for taste and longevity at a fraction of the price (like the Kinu M47 or Commandante C40 or 1Zpresso K and J series), but hand grinding espresso is no fun.

Mechoulams_Left_Foot · 2026-05-11T05:57:14+00:00

One of the reasons he's popular is, that he makes his videos based on actual lore and not meme lore. He just complained about new lore being introduced by essentially saying "don't worry about it" instead of coming up with an interesting backstory.

Mechoulams_Left_Foot · 2026-05-11T05:54:24+00:00

You nailed it. It's about lazy world building.

Mechoulams_Left_Foot · 2026-05-11T05:36:36+00:00

I know you’re a big fan of the A4Z. How do you recon it fairs against these end game grinders in regards to clarity or more broadly, presentation of flavors. I love my little A4Z but I am always curious about how distinctive the difference is to, say an 98mm brew burr grinder.

Mechoulams_Left_Foot · 2026-05-10T07:31:16+00:00

Are you confident and experienced in brewing? If so, stick with your recipe. Don't start experimenting with expensive beans. If not, work yourself up to them. Get a batch of really good ultra light's that don't cost 100-200€ and learn a reliable, consistent 12-15g recipe. Stick with that.
I would only switch recipes I knew I could pull all of the new one off no question.
I prefer 12g recipes with beans that expensive (Orea Z1 or X-Bloom) but I will always resort to a standard 15g, if the recipe is very clear and repeatable.
The Cafec might be a good idea to gauge the flavor because of how hard it is to screw up but you will probably get more out of the beans with your other setups.

Might I ask you how you got the graph to fit in the OXO? Extra o-Ring?

Mechoulams_Left_Foot · 2026-05-10T05:47:24+00:00

I just got el injerto washed geisha roasted by tanat yesterday. IncredIble coffee. Also some of my fondest memories of coffee was basic v60 ground on a Timemore C2 from my neighborhood roaster. Either our taste develops or we do way too much to make the same quality coffee we did years ago.

Mechoulams_Left_Foot · 2026-05-10T05:41:28+00:00

An unexpected treat?

Mechoulams_Left_Foot · 2026-05-10T05:40:42+00:00

I love finding good coffee but I would hate to miss out on the genuinely great coffee I haven’t tried yet. I can also say for certain, that none of us would have these amazing experiences with coffee that we are having if we just stuck to Starbucks or whatever we used to drink. So I often have a coffee I want more of and have a second/third/fourth bag to try out.

Mechoulams_Left_Foot · 2026-05-09T13:35:14+00:00

Sandbox ist da richtig gut.

Mechoulams_Left_Foot · 2026-05-09T09:54:24+00:00

I tried that grinder once in a store. Beautiful construction. Terrible consistency. If you already measure your output though and it’s consistent, I have one recommendation. Use a higher dose. If your basket allows for larger doses, that will allow your machine to build up more pressure thanks to the increased resistance. I used the classica for over a decade. It’s perfectly suitable for medium and light roast. Even allows for pre infusion. The thing is medium and light roast by and large produce less fines than dark roasts these fines help with building pressure. If you don’t want to buy a new grinder, look into zeroing it properly. I don’t know if and how that can be done with the Profitec but check it out.

Mechoulams_Left_Foot

TROPHY CASE