TIMEMORE Chestnut C3S PRO, Coffee Grinder Manual, Upgrade
TIMEMORE Chestnut C3S PRO, Coffee Grinder Manual, Upgrade Integrated All-Metal Body, Hand Coffee Grinder with Folding Handle, for Espresso to French Press, Gree
From the brand
Enjoy a Better Coffee
| Weight: | 530 g |
| Dimensions: | 19.2 x 14.3 x 6.4 cm; 530 Grams |
| Brand: | TIMEMORE |
| Colour: | C3s Pro Green |
| Dimensions: | 19.2 x 14.3 x 6.4 cm; 530 Grams |
I’ve been using the Timemore C2 for a year now, it’s my first grinder. It it is really efficient and feels like a premium product. It is very reasonably priced.
I got this about 8 months ago and I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived but wondered if it would last. I’ve used it regularly since I got it and I still love it. There’s several settings for coarseness and it’s easy to use. I use it for my moka pot and I’ve been enjoying my morning coffee – it’s become a bit of a ritual.
Honestly, I had a lot of immediate concern when looking for a portable grinder, as my general conception of hand grinders has always been that they’re poor quality, and produce a bad grind. The C3 absolutely changed my opinion on this. The consistency of the grinds that the C3 produces are very high quality, and the range of size that it can produce is brilliant. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed using it when on the go and even use it at home from time to time despite having a Baratza Encore in my flat. Build quality is great and the provided cleaning brush makes it really easy to get any small pieces out of the burrs
An excellent product. Compact but easy to use; choice of many grinding grades, producing even grounds and therefore delicious coffee. The grinder is comfortable to hold and comes with a cleaning brush and a well made carrying pouch so you can take the grinder away with you for your own choice of coffee wherever you go, Bought as a gift but might buy another for me!!
I recently got into coffee and knew I needed a good grinder. After research and viewing the electric grinders that are 100’s I decided that a good quality hand grinder would suffice. I researched and found this to be one of the best value for money hand grinders on the market.
The whole thing has a quality feel to it. The burrs grind quietly and the handle is easy to turn. The little knob on the folding handle does squeak on mine slightly but this is no real issue. The whole grinding process takes probably 1 minute of turning so pretty good really.
I wake up very early so an electric grinder would wake the house up and this is perfect for a quiet grind ready for my morning brew.
Ok , i bought a fancy new breville coffee machine with integrated grinder and the grinder is shockingly bad. It’s not consistent for the most part, clumpy grind and it clogs up so easily that the whole thing needs cleaning out. So I decided to get a new grinder. I looked into electric grinders, but you have to pay 500 plus for something decent. Enter the hand grinder. This thing is brilliant. Yes it takes a bit of effort, but it’s only about a minute and I got it dialed in on the second grind. I found 6 turns for the coffee I use is perfect (I use ueshema Fuji mountain) it will fit 18g of coffee perfectly and it extremely easy to disassemble to clean. Yes you can get a similar item from china. But the sheer quality of this is second to none. Definitely worth the money
Downsides are that it definitely cannot grind for espresso as due to the stepped grind its very tricky to dial it in as you don’t get much adjustment and can go from a 24s shot to a 40s in 2 steps.
If you accept it can’t pull good espresso then its a good grinder at a decent price.
So, as I was drinking the Lavazza, brewed in an orthodox method as I had no coffee equipment, I went about researching and found the guru of coffee, James Hoffman on youtube. I think I then fell in a deep rabbit hole but my rationale kept me from sinking too far, as getting into that world could become very expensive and I didn’t want that.
After watching many videos my first modest investment was an Aeropress. This works very well with the pre-ground coffee and my enjoyment went up a step. The next step was to start grinding beans myself for the truer experience (although only supermarket sourced which could be months old, ideally fresher roasted bean suppliers are the ultimate) another complex path but I stuck to my guns. After some research and advice from forums, I landed on this, the Timemore C2 grinder.
I waited for the prime sale and got this at a good price.
I understand quality engineering, being a graduate in it, and this grinder exudes quality. Even though to coffee connoisseur this is a budget tool, it feels and functions higher end. Granted I have not tried the more expensive versions but for me, this is superb in my modest world. As this is around the 3rd iteration, two non-folding prior, they’ve upgraded the adjustment dial to metal from plastic.
It’s easy to setup, though may require some testing depending on beans but plenty of information available on the internet. The aroma of fresh ground beans, wow. My level of coffee has gone up another step. Comes with a cleaning brush which is very useful, a carrying bag as its designed for travel plus some instructions.
My reason for getting a manual grinder was budget. At this sort of budget you could get a electric grinder but it would be constrained someway, mostly with an inferior motor and possibly fail early. You really have to pay much more for a entry level goof electric grinder. By removing the motor element, more could be spent on the mechanism and structure and so, we have this, especially it having high quality steel grinding burrs than faster wearing ceramic. So, very pleased with this and hopefully it should last several years or more. Perhaps at one point the burrs may need sharpening or replacing, depending what’s possible.
This is a well-made piece of kit with good build quality and nice little touches, how to dial in on the grinder head, how to open the handle and feels great in the hand nice weight and grip, that I think will give me many happy years of use. It is easy to grind 14g of beans weight (all about repeatable consistency weigh your beans) for my AeroPress, it will take as much as 20g max of coffee in one grinding, and takes about 20-30 seconds on 10 clicks from 0 point. This gives good even grounds without any “boulders” seen or felt, and gives a full slightly acidic tasting brew, which of course is also down to the coffee.
There is obviously some “static cling” of light grounds/bean skins on the inside of the grinder as you are generating static as you grind, a quick thump on the top with a flat hand to create a bit of a vacuum seal and will drive the extra bits through the grinder to the collection pot at the bottom. It comes with a nice soft cleaning brush and two compartment bag to protect scratching the body from top/handle section when it is in the bag for travel. It is easy to take apart/put back together all the way to an empty tube for cleaning. When you do take it apart it can only go back in one way due to the design which sort of makes it idiot proof. This is a time to see what you pay for, the Timemore made conical burr inside tearing the beans to sheards, is heavy and well machined with good cuts, that will grind against the static burr of the grind chamber (I have the new SC2 burr in mine which cuts the bean into smaller pieces to go through the grinder chamber for a finer grind size) to give consistently sized grinds.
From the above I think you can determine I am very happy with the product and have already recommended it to other coffee friends who are just getting into coffee so they can save money to get the other bits. But a quick trip to a charity shop for a French press/cafetiere, a nice bag of fresh coffee beans, spend a little on a good quality hand grinder (says will go down to expresso (it does) if that is your way!) is all you need for a great cup of Java to get you started for the day ahead and your journey into good coffee. Once you grind your own good quality fresh (look for roast date if not present or in years look elsewhere or get some of the internet) beans at home you won’t look back good luck.
See below for a quick guide to amount of clicks from 0 (handle does not turn as conical burr is to tight to the outside of the grind chamber wall to what ever you want!)
Timemore C3 Grind Setting (2022) S2C burr
Measurement: Clicks
French Press 16
Pour Over 13-15
AeroPress 11-15
Moka Pot 9-12
Espresso 7-9