Welcome to our second review in our series of portable electric coffee grinder reviews!
This week we look at the MILLAB E01, which is a larger, heavier electric grinder than the one we reviewed last week. This grinder is charged with a USB cable and comes with a few extra accessories, notably a stand, a cleaning brush, a spray bottle, an air blower and a cloth bag.
The first thing to note is that this electric grinder has quite some heft and is pretty solid in its build quality. It also has a stand and a magnetic container to catch the coffee grounds. The three pieces sit together and will look magnificent in your kitchen, apartment, office or brew bar. However, together they weigh 1,3kgs, and so we would recommend that they stay there, rather than you take it in a backpack to grind coffee on the go.
The grind size adjustment dial, like most grinders in this category, is situated under the main chamber, so turn the grinder on its side and turn the adjustment dial as far as it will go clockwise to close the burrs fully and to set the dial to zero.
The guidelines say:
Espresso : 0-4 on the dial
Moka : 4-6 on the dial
Pour Over : 9-18 on the dial
A “click” is one adjustment mark anti-clockwise, and you can feel and feel it “click” as you turn it. The steps are almost non-existent, which is a bit disconcerting at first, but actually it amazing! There are 4 “clicks” between each number on the dial. We used the number 15 for an April Brewer pour over using a Brazil Cerrado single origin bean, and it was spot on.
The other unique feature in this set is the water spray bottle. Once you’ve weighed out your beans (we used 20g for a pourover) this is to spray the beans to reduce static and therefore retention in the grinder’s chamber. And in case you’re wondering…don’t ever spray the inside of the grinder!
Once you’ve dosed and sprayed your coffee beans, tip them into the chamber, close the lid, put the grinder on the stand and the magnetic catcher underneath and hit the go button!
Once you’ve ground your coffee into the catcher, turn the grinder horizontal again, give it a brush and a blow with the air blower and sit your parts back, ready for the next use.
The MILLAB E01 has a pretty powerful motor and will stay charged for quite some time, but like any wearable tech, bluetooth speaker or cell phone, just keep it charged until you need it.
We love the classy look and feel of this device, and it will compliment any brewing space that you can think of. It costs around R6000 and is available at most coffee retailers.
