SILBERTHAL Manual Coffee Grinder

Silberthal coffee grinder on a table with coffee beans

Pros

  • High quality
  • Includes replacement glass with lid
  • Easy to use
  • Six grinder settings
  • Well-illustrated manual

Cons

  • Heavy
  • Pricey

Rating

9.3 / 10

FinalCheck verdict

With a price of over £40, the manual coffee grinder from SILBERTHAL is one of the more expensive models, but its quality and easy operation are impressive. With this grinder, you get a durable, robust product in an elegant design that comes with six different grinder settings.

Quality

Use and grinding process

Cleaning

The product presented here was provided to us free of charge by Amazon. The provider had no influence on the test criteria or our rating.

Quality

Packaged coffee powder usually cannot compete with freshly ground coffee beans. The valuable aromas that ideally end up in the coffee vanish too quickly in the ground state. Many coffee connoisseurs therefore like to grind their beans fresh directly before preparing their coffee. Electric coffee grinders are particularly convenient. For smaller quantities, however, the more compact, low-maintenance, and usually much cheaper manual models are quite sufficient. The manufacturer SILBERTHAL says it offers elegant and well thought-out products for people who enjoy a really good coffee. Among other things, their range includes a hand coffee grinder in an elegant design.

Silberthal manual coffee grinder taken apart.
In addition to the coffee grinder parts and a replacement glass, a cleaning brush is included too.

Compact, yet not lightweight

The manual coffee grinder by SILBERTHAL has a stainless steel housing that encases the grinder. Right above is the bean hopper that has a capacity of 17 grams. In one pass, you can grind powder for about two cups of espresso.

Not only the bean hopper, but the entire coffee grinder is quite compact: it is 5.5cm long and wide and 15.5cm tall without the crank. This allows it to be easily stowed away and also transported without any problems. Considering the compact size, the weight of the manual coffee grinder is rather high. It weighs just under 450g.

High-quality grinder and glass container

The SILBERTHAL product uses a conical burr grinder made of stainless steel. The crank is attached to the lid and also made of stainless steel. Below the grinder, you can attach a glass container to collect the ground coffee. There is also a replacement glass with a lid, which is great for storing your ground coffee or taking it with you.

Silberthal manual coffee grinder with replacement glass and a cup on a table
The spare glass included is ideal for storing your coffee powder.

Six grinder settings for different coffee drinks

The manual coffee grinder has six grinder settings that are selected using the control dial. Setting 1 and 2 are for fine powder and preparation with an espresso machine. For an Italian coffee maker, powder ground on setting 2 or setting 3 is best. For filter coffee, the manufacturer recommends settings 3 and 4, for a French press 4 or 5. The coarsest grind is ideal for cold brew coffee. There are no other settings available, but a manual coffee grinder really doesn’t need any more.

Use and grinding process

The operation of the SILBERTHAL coffee grinder is so simple and intuitive that it doesn’t actually need a manual. Thus, the instructions included are brief. On two pages, you’ll find the advantages, four-step operating instructions, and information on the right grind. The whole thing is available in German, English, French, Spanish, and Italian. All steps are comprehensively and clearly illustrated.

Assembly and grinder setting

The manual coffee grinder can be assembled in just a few steps. The collecting glass is simply screwed under the grinder. The coffee beans are placed in the hollow above the grinder before it is closed with the lid. Since both the bean hopper and the filling opening are quite small, it might happen that beans are spilled when filling the grinder. Before you start grinding, all you have to do is set the desired grind. To do so, turn the control dial to the desired position. It can be adjusted smoothly without slipping. The labelling is also easy to read.

Ready the crank, set the grind, go

When the white arrow on the control dial is above the right grind, nothing stands in the way of cranking. The wooden handle of the crank is easy to grip and feels comfortable to hold. The long lever makes grinding efficient. The only thing missing from the coffee grinder is a rubber lining on the stainless steel housing, which would make it safer and more comfortable to hold and operate.

Woman cranking Silberthal manual coffee grinder
Due to its rather high weight, it is recommended to place the grinder on a table while cranking.

Although the grinder works efficiently and is pleasant to operate, the cranking becomes quite exhausting after a short time. For one pass with a full bean hopper on setting 3, we needed around 150 revolutions in our test. Finer powder requires some more revolutions, coarse powder correspondingly fewer.

Coarse to fine: the grinding result

The differences between the various grinder settings are clearly visible. With setting 1, you get fine powder that gives off a strong aroma. In setting 6, on the other hand, the coffee grinder produces very coarse coffee grounds which quickly fill the powder container.

A coarse and a fine grind of coffee beans next to one another.
The difference between setting 6 (left) and setting 1 (right) is clearly visible.

Cleaning

Cleaning the manual coffee grinder is just as easy as operating it. Admittedly, the stainless steel housing is quite susceptible to fingerprints. But these are easily removed with a damp cloth. Another upside: the glass container and the lid are dishwasher-safe and therefore particularly easy to clean. Only cleaning the grinder takes a little more time. But even this is done in a few minutes with the cleaning brush that is included. The long bristles reach all corners so that the accumulated coffee powder can be reliably removed. For more stubborn residues, a gentle tap against the housing of the coffee grinder will help.

To thoroughly clean its interior, you can also disassemble the coffee grinder further. In our test, however, we limited ourselves to cleaning the grinder with the brush.

Silberthal manual coffee grinder being cleaned with a brush.
Coffee powder accumulates above the grinder, but can easily be removed with the brush.

Summary

The manual coffee grinder by SILBERTHAL won us over with its high-quality and easy operation. You can assemble it in no time and grind efficiently thanks to the long lever. Nevertheless, cranking larger quantities quickly becomes exhausting. But with its compact design and small bean hopper, it is not designed for this. For coffee lovers who occasionally want to grind powder for one or two cups, however, it is a great solution. With its six grind settings, the grinder can produce powder for espresso machines, Italian coffee makers, and French presses, as well as for filter and cold-brew coffee.

Images 1-6: © FinalCheck