Battery Grinder Battle: Millab E01 vs Femobook A5 🔋🪫

Do battery operated grinders even make sense? Today I'm testing Millab E01 and Femobook A5 to find out.
Please note that I received both grinders free of charge from the brands. The companies have had no influence on the review process.
If you sign up to Millab's crowdfunding program via this link, I might receive a small commission:
millab-wireless-portable.kckb...
Our Coffee Shelter video: • Battery Operated Coffe...
0:00 Intro
4:05 Femobook Design
6:09 Millab Design
8:05 Testing
15:29 Flavor profile
18:33 The Verdict
CURRENTLY ON MY BREW BAR
☕️ FILTER
Manual grinder: 1zpresso.coffee/store/ref/312...
Filter grinder: amzn.to/3LTSyVY
Burrs (for filter grinder) amzn.to/3FVgMeB
Scale: amzn.to/3K9FdY1
Kettle: amzn.to/3z986gN
AeroPress Go: amzn.to/3Zyze3L
Water dispersion: amzn.to/42G45Op
Drip coffee maker: amzn.to/3U11OcV
Cone Filters: amzn.to/3Zr8Toc
Aeropress Filters: amzn.to/3LO5dcS
Beans: www.kaffebox.no/?apply_coupon...
🚀 ESPRESSO
Espresso grinder: miicoffee.shop/products/miico...
Trad. espresso grinder: amzn.to/3Kb9EgI
Machine: www.breville.com/us/en/produc...
Mini scale: amzn.to/3lBKcri
Tamper: amzn.to/3Kc5t3W
Travel espresso: amzn.to/3z9MEYV
Beans: coffeebros.com/products/espre...
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[@brentroman]

Thanks for the transparency at the beginning of the video. It’s appreciated. I guess I’m rooting for Coffee Man- I guess cause I like his hat. Haha.

[@coffeechronicler]

Thanks, Brent! Yes, Coffee Man does seem like he has a great sense of style 😄

[@BrucePappas]

I think the big market for these grinders is recreational vehicles and boats. I'd consider one, probably the Millab, if I didn't already have a solution: an old modded Hario Skerton on a cordless drill with grinder adapter. I don't do espresso on our sailboat, just AeroPress. Stowage under way is always an issue. But I will keep the Millab in mind, if I have a little money burning a hole in my pocket. Keep up the good work!

[@RobertFHarrison]

I can imagine uses for these products...travel trailer folks perhaps. They don't appeal to me at this time, but who knows in the future.

[@chiu2003MOBILE]

Hey~ I am from Hong Kong. I really can see the purpose for these grinder. Ｗe dont have a lot of space for grinder, I can store it after use. But it is quite disappointed A68 must plug in to the socket and the A5 is very similar to K ultra. Then I wont consider both until I move to a new home and able to place my grinder

[@nutdazzler]

I travel with aeropress and electric grinder as a nomad. I'd love the comandante burrset in the millab form or smaller like my current one. But I'll try the timemore burrs as they will be an improvement on generic smaller electric handheld grinders. and KOPI DEVA was the first real cordless grinder I believe. haha

[@alaskavaper966]

How about the pricing? I use the JMax driven by the pricy ITop electric aux power source. I would be interested to see the Femobook and ITop setup compared for work flow and comparable outputs, etc.

[@mccrispy]

The Femobrook is not just louder, but the quality of the sound is unpleasant to my ears. I like the idea of a battery-operated hand grinder. For travel/camping and for older folks, or people with arthritis, they make some sense. I also like the idea of using a battery-operated grinder for providing a hand grinder result, but with a very consistent grind speed and the ability to try grinding with the grinder in various non-vertical alignments in a more controllable manner than is possible with a manual hand grinder.

[@coffeechronicler]

Grinding at an angle is interesting idea. Perhaps it's possible to unlock even more clarity that way.

[@mccrispy]

@@coffeechronicler well, the idea is to reduce the production of fines that are caused by beans getting forced against each other as they gravity feed. I find that it also leaves the chaff in larger "flakes" that are easier to blow away. Does this make better coffee? TBH I'm not sure, but I do it anyway 😀

[@cristobalmunoz5756]

Can the user change the battery on their own on either grinder? What type of battery? Are the steps on the new Femobook the same measuremenlike micron-wise as the old one?

[@coffeechronicler]

Femobook is 8 microns per click like J Ultra, so in practice stepless. You can change battery on Femobook. The Millab is a bit more uncertain - here's what Timemore says: "Battery life is 5 years, you can purchase the battery circuit board with us, but we do not recommend replacing it yourself."

[@coreycannon4511]

@@coffeechroniclerAnd therein lies the problem. I have a beard trimmer doomed to landfill because its battery is permanently dead, not replaceable and won’t run at high enough speed if I try to use it while plugged in. I’ll bet my J-MAX runs forever.

[@cristobalmunoz5756]

@@coffeechronicler Thank you for this. Let me ask, would the Femobook then for practical purposes be like a J-Max/J-Ultra, but with a motor? I already have the J-Max. I was considering the Mazzer Philos that’ll be coming out later this year as the steps are very small and nice and clicky. I’m blind so finding a quality electric stepped espresso capable grinder has been a rather arduous task. Stepless just wouldn’t work for my circumstances. Less than $400 for the Femobook is incredibly appealing. I’d have to imagine that the Philos would be a better quality grinder, but $800 better? I live in Southern California where blackouts and proactive power line shut offs before Santa Ana events is becoming more common, so while the battery thing feels a bit gimmicky, something like that would be a nice plus to have.

[@pfnkim1991]

How does A5 compare to the A68 or K-Max? I think comparing the siblings would be interesting.

[@coffeechronicler]

I compared it against the K Ultra, and it was very similar, maybe just a touch less clear. Maybe I'll do so more comparisons against A68.

[@pfnkim1991]

@@coffeechronicler Considering that electric grinders generally produce more fines, it makes sense. It's quite exceptional that there's an electric grinder out there that's structurally closest to a hand mill and still retains the flavor profile of the K-Series. It seems to be a product that sits right between traditional electric grinders and hand mills, which really catches my interest.

[@kreasu]

How does it compare to the lagom mini?

[@coffeechronicler]

I don't have first hand experience with Lagom Mini. But assuming that it performs exactly like the MHW-3Bomber Sniper.... then they are in the same league and especially Femobook tastes very similar.

[@timmarshall4881]

I also don’t understand why one would have one of these. Travel for me-no, home use- I use either a hand grinder or a plugged in machine.

[@coffeechronicler]

Perhaps RV'ers are the ideal candidates? Apparently, that's big in the US.

[@needmorebeans]

May not make sense to you but might be a good option for camping or short weekend trips where you might be making coffee for a lot of people and need your hands free to do other prep.

[@needmorebeans]

Also makes it more accessible for people with arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome and other injuries.

[@veganpotterthevegan]

I camp about 50 days a year in a small overlander. If I ever get a bigger camper, I'd definitely like something like this. But for now, it's too big.

[@veganpotterthevegan]

Maybe the power button is right side up and you're using the grinder upside-down?😂

[@superpogs]

The thing about battery powered, its easier to sell globally without changing the voltages of the machines as they are charged by USB.

[@coffeechronicler]

Good point!

[@S2580ss]

Dr G cos he sounds cooler

[@anhtrang-yz1bs]

I would never buy either one if the battery is not replaceable. These batteries all have limited charge cycles. If the batteries are not replaceable these are basically disposable products.

[@fgmenth]

The name Femobook sounds like a feminist version of Facebook

[@ashc3385]

Femobook sounds similar to “you got to grind” in Chinese (Taiwan’s official language), hence the name, it has nothing to do with feminist. 😂