The BEST Coffee Hand Grinder UNDER $100: Timemore C2 vs. Normcore

[@stoehr]

I’d appreciate a Normcore V.2 standard burr vs. titanium burr side by side test. I would presume the titanium being an upgrade would still be consistent. But I don’t know.

[@lancemoore3867]

I have a C2 that my brother bought me to replace the Hario Slim that he borrowed and broke. Huge upgrade. I love the C2. I use it more than 50% of the time compared to my Baratza Encore. I love the textured feel and sound. The plastic bits have never bothered me, however I’ve never used a “high end grinder” to know the difference. I use it at home and travel and wouldn’t consider replacing it until I break it or run it into the ground.

[@BrianRenshaw]

Awesome! It is a great grinder!

[@bergmul]

Hi! I’m looking what to buy in the price bracket. How come you use the C2 more than the encore?

[@lancemoore3867]

@@bergmul better grind consistency is the biggest key. I also live in a house where I make coffee before my family gets up so the lack of motor is nice in that case, but honestly the adjustability and grind consistency is the largest reason. Also, this is only when I’m doing one cup pourover as it can only fit about 25g of coffee. Hope this helps

[@chetetv5262]

Best Grinder is Kingrinder K2 much less than 100$ and will eat both of these for breakfast.

[@97Rueda]

The C2 is now at 58 usd at Amazon. At this price point I think could be a better option on a budget

[@MarkRobertsBlog]

Really really well done. I have the C2 as my travel grinder because it’s so light. Love the surface texture - easy to hold. It is not, however, in the same quality category as the JX. But good enough on the road and a full pound lighter.

[@BrianRenshaw]

Good to hear you like it. Definitely could use some quality improvements but it’s still great for the price and you can throw it around.

[@MarkRobertsBlog]

@@BrianRenshaw Travel - particularly by plane - can be iffy. What if your luggage gets lost permanently? Or (more likely) crushed? Having an expensive grinder in there is kind of scary. If disaster happens to the C2 it won't be the end of the world (just close!)

[@BrianRenshaw]

Yep, for sure! Carry that c40 onto the plane for your in flight AeroPress 😉

[@ashleyhouse9690]

I recently bought the Timemore C2 and it has been upgraded with no plastic in the construction at all. Looks and feels a much higher quality grinder than its price and very good value for money.

[@ytskt]

The rotation knob is still plastic right? I thought only suze knob at the bottom was changed to metal. Didn't know that they changed the shaft holder inside to metal as well! You bought C2 and not a C3, right?

[@fivestar2227]

I am hunting for a $150ish hand grinder for dialing in espresso and the JX-PRO seems like the one to get as it has 200 clicks of 12.5 microns. Is there anything else out there I should consider?

[@jcbsmth78]

I've got to admit, the guys at Comandante really thought it through when adding the plastic "thread" inside the body of the grinder. The metal-on-metal thread sound on 99% of the grinders out there is just like nails on a chalkboard for me.. Great video though!

[@BrianRenshaw]

Haha, yeah I could see that being bothersome for some people! It doesn’t bother me but I’m sure, like you said, awful for some!

[@MattJones87]

Thanks for this…was between the C2 and 1zpresso Q2, but now the Normcore is in the mix. Overall fantastic job on hitting all the questions I had, but wish you had mentioned/tested capacity of beans.

[@atticustay1]

The sound of the catch up being screwed back on is included in the review? Lol

[@Joshuasham]

Can you compare the normcore v2 vs the timemore C3 Pro

[@clashwithkeen]

Would you ever be willing to make a video on attempting an espresso grind and pull with the Normcore V2 or other sub ~$150 manual grinders? I can't find any videos where people show the process and struggles of using manual grinders for espresso and showing the complete process. I only found one and it was of the C2 and at the end it was established that it would not work. I'd love to see the same process done with the normcore v2 because it was between these 2 that I was debating on buying.

[@bazzen6992]

I've currently got the timemore nano and it grinds for espresso at 8 clicks, but adjustment wise that's about it. Funnily enough I've just bought the normcore V2 with titanium burrs to replace the nano as it has finer dial adjustment. Using the nano with a wacaco picopresso and getting decent shots from it

[@BadgerCrafter]

I’ve got the Normcore shipping! I’m incredibly excited to get a not crappy hand grinder for my daily aeropresses

[@BrianRenshaw]

Awesome! You’re going to love it!

[@ceramicsky14]

Great video but the name popping up constantly drove me nuts. One introduction is enough!

[@realruudy8297]

Just ordered a C2 after lots of research via KZbin. Love this review and helped me with my choice. Thanks again!

[@KristoKorps]

I was super surprised to see the subcount wasn't higher, this is really good production quality¡

[@groworchids]

I am still thinking the same a year later!

[@tomgreen2058]

The real problem with the c2 is alignment... Some of them are great but others, like mine, are just awful. I have to give it 12 clicks before it stops rubbing

[@BrianRenshaw]

Were you able to get it replaced?

[@tomgreen2058]

@@BrianRenshaw Honestly I'm not even going to try, I got it off AliExpress and the sellers on that site are notoriously terrible with customer service. Unfortunately it's been over a year since I bought it anyway, it was my first grinder and I didn't know any better! I've got my eye on a couple of kickstarters so hopefully I'll end up with something great

[@BrianRenshaw]

Sorry to hear that!

[@bazzen6992]

There is a known alignment/design flaw with some timemore grinders. I have a nano. The outer burr needs to be taken out, if you spin it with the inner burr taken out there will be a slight wobble. The 2 flat parts of the outer burr are creating this as one side sits pretty much spot on with the inner casing but the opposite side doesn't and that's the cause. There is a hack for this on youtube, did it with mine and it works: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZCWdWqPoLZ3hcU

[@tomgreen2058]

@@bazzen6992 it's ever so slightly different on the c2 but I'm really happy to report this has made a huge difference, thank you so much!

[@rickhoupt6933]

I have the C2 and I am a novice in the hobby of great coffee. I use both the AP with Prismo and V/60. When I do PO I’ve been using 25 clicks and 15 with AP. Always freshly roasted beans. I now can’t wait to try it at your recommended clicks for the PO. Do you have a preference of clicks for the AP? Thanks for video new sub here.

[@androidgameplays4every13]

Most hand grinder reviews skip the hand grinding part and even REMOVE the sound from the footage, I usually immediately thumbs down those videos, is nice to see you are doing exactly the opposite, congratulations!

[@AlexTapisevic]

You could show us images of the actual grinder while you are describing it, but you choose to show us your face which is a little awkward apart from useless... PS. you have an awesome beard tho.

[@groworchids]

I really enjoyed your approach of comparing the two, esp the grind sound comparison which I don't see others do. I somehow think that's an important factor to some

[@Matpermad]

if you get the timemore c2 from aliexpress it is significantly cheaper tho. As cheap or almost as a hario grinder. That's a steal. Like, 50 dollars for my first hand grinder was a no brainer to me. Tho, i can see where those extra 30 go on the normcore. In my case tho, i think c2 then premium hand grinder is the way to go

[@wellcan1]

Just seeing your face and why you dont show parts when you explain them

[@aldopalacios3357]

Great video, thanks a lot I'm just waiting for the C2 I ordered to arrive. How many clicks would you recommend for espresso? Thanks again!

[@ductrung3993]

A very, very high quality review. Straight to the point and its so useful you included the tactile experience. Liked and subbed!

[@EifDan]

Nice video. I'd prefere to see a little more action of the product than your face though.

[@dontgetgrabbed]

I liked the inclusion of all the different sounds in this review, that’s not something I’ve seen in other reviews!

[@paulakehurstdevisme9692]

Nice review and helped me make up my mind. The occasional bit of Levitt might help your delivery.

[@michaelrapino4175]

Have you ever heard of the Heihox grinder? I'd love to see how it stacks up.

[@wanaboed]

I wonder the result of C2 if using the new upgrade E&B Burr

[@thepatternforms859]

Which is best to use with a Moka pot?

[@lesleycity3497]

I understand in this pricepoint you cant ask for a grinder that is consistent in the whole range from Turkish/Espresso all the way to Pour Over. As you say in the beginning of the video that both grinders not good enough for espresso, though Normcore puts the V2 on their website on the range of Espresso.

[@BrianRenshaw]

I said that they grind find enough for espresso but the adjustment dials are not fine tuned enough for espresso. So you can get into one or two settings for an espresso grind just fine but you need something more consistent and something that you have more control of on the different sizes and this just has too big of steps to do so. So they both technically you can grind fine enough but that is misleading to say that it is good for espresso

[@lesleycity3497]

@@BrianRenshaw ok thanks for explaining. Timemore also had a new grinder called the Slim Plus, also stated as an espresso grinder because of use of different burrs. But the adjustment dials are the same as these models. So is it fair to conclude you do not recommend the Slim Plus for espresso either?

[@BrianRenshaw]

@@lesleycity3497 That is correct. While a bit more you may want to take a look at the 1ZPresso JX-Pro or JX-Max for a hand grinder solution

[@Gramercy_Stiffs]

Coming from a ceramic burr'd Hario, either of these is going to feel like sports car. I've taken to doing squats whilst grinding, might as well be getting fit while I'm waiting for the Hario to do its thing.

[@todanator]

Watched this video and the last but I don't think it was answered if this will fit inside the plunger of the Aeropress - so does it?

[@BrianRenshaw]

Nope, I probably should have mentioned that. For quality hand grinders *around* this price range that fit are the Timemore Chestnut Slim and and 1ZPresso Q2

[@todanator]

@@BrianRenshaw thank you for the info! Keep up the good work!

[@Seleslav]

@@todanator Normcore claims the V2 version will fit inside aeropress aswell...

[@davem.5492]

@@SeleslavI have the Normcore V2 version and it does not fit in the AeroPress which is my daily driver. I have the 1Zpresso Q2 also, a great grinder, that does and is in my Git Kit for camping. I did see a review that had a photo of the Normcore in the plunger of an AeroPress Go.