A new hand grinder is poised to change the way you brew coffee. Handground is the world’s first crowdsourced coffee grinder. Company founders Daniel Vitielo, Brandon Warman, and Joaquin Herlein explain, “We were attempting to apply a Japanese principle called Kaizen to our coffee routine… Since Kaizen means continuous improvement we started to look for better options. Yet after searching the market and seeing the same ancient designs being repeated over and over we finally thought, we can do better.” Handground enlisted the input of over 1,000 coffee professionals and home enthusiasts worldwide during each step of the design process. Everything from the overall aesthetic, the ergonomic crank, and even the name of the company was voted on by the panel of contributors.  The collaborative effort has clearly touched on a perceived need in the coffee community. Their Kickstarter project was fully funded on its first day and show no signs of slowing down. 

When it comes to hand grinders, there’s a huge gap between entry level models, such as the Hario Mini-mill ($30) and Porlex JP-30 ($45)  and heavy duty models like the OE Lido 2 ($175) or HG-1 ($965). Handground is well positioned to fill the gap. If the particle size distribution is good enough, it might even challenge electric grinders like the Baratza Encore, which is our favorite entry level grinder.

Right now you can snag one for $70 on Kickstarter, which in our humble estimation is a pretty good bet. (Though admittedly our faith in coffee crowd funding was recently shaken.) We’ve yet to find the perfect grinder for our coffee travel kit, but we’ve got high hopes Handground might be it.