Inspired by some recent posts, I decided it was finally time to do some side-by-side comparison of my grinder collection. I just received some beans that I don't mind burning through for this experiment, so I pulled everything out and got to it. Be prepared for a fairly long post.

Methodology:

My method was pretty simple:

• 10g doses
• Try to get fairly consistent drawdown times
• Rao-Perger water, 14:1 ratio, 95°C at the start of each brew
• Colum brewer (base only), used as a small conical brewer
• Pouring structure: 2:1 bloom for 45s, spiral pour to 6:1, spiral pour to 10:1, center pour to 14:1, gentle swirl during final drawdown
• Attempt to have fairly consistent temperatures when tasting.

The coffee I'm using for this is an Ethiopian Guji from Lima Coffee Roasters in Fort Collins, Colorado. I got these beans from them intending to use them for seasoning. But noticing the roast date was just under a month ago, I gave them a try for this experiment (Notes on that to come at the end).

My scoring system was whipped up via ChatGPT. In hindsight, I should have just pulled the standard SCA scoring sheet. No idea why I didn't think of that. But I think this still gives a fairly reasonable way to score each coffee and do relative comparison.

• Aroma (0-5)
• Sweetness (0-10)
• Clarity / Definition (0-10)
• Acidity Quality (0-10)
• Balance / Bitterness (0-10)
• Body (0-10) (I increased this from the initial 0-5 scale, as I personally value more body in my coffee)
• Finish / Aftertaste (0-5)
• Total possible score: 60 points

Tasting:

So, how did it go..? I'm so glad you asked! Let's take a look.

The 1Zpresso J-Ultra was one I was really curious about. I've only used it for espresso up until now. I was a bit surprised that I ended up with a fairly high level of clarity and thinner body. Acidity was relatively mild, lacking that juicy quality I love. Balance was quite good, but overall, this cup just felt a bit hollow to me. It was, however, one of the only cups that actually let me taste any berries, albeit faintly. Score: 36 points

Timemore's C3 Pro has been my go-to travel grinder for a while. I've gotten some very nice, juicy cups from it in the past. And I consider it a really solid grinder for its price point. This cup tended to bring out a bit more of the toasty notes, mild to moderate acidity, a medium to medium-full body, and light berry on the finish. I noted a lot more grassy notes in the aroma, which brought the score down a bit. (Notes on this at the end.) Score: 37 points

Fellow Ode Gen 2 w/ stock burrs has been my go-to daily driver for pourover and Aeropress for a while now. It was my second grinder after the C3 Pro, and it's been a great piece of gear in my repertoire. Aroma was really clean and reminiscent of tea with virtually zero berries. Flavor was clean, with toasty notes and slight citrus on the back end. Acidity was present with slight juiciness that lingers a bit on the finish. There was very noticeable contrast and balance between bitterness and sweetness, which caught me by surprise. Score: 42 points

A recent acquisition, the 1Zpresso ZP6 Special has been the focus of my attention as of late. In this comparison, it delivered mild cocoa and honey on the aroma (still no berries), a very smooth and balanced acidity, gentle bitterness, and a much more rounded finish than the other cups. Sweetness was more present here, with brighter acidity and higher clarity at the expense of a medium body. Score: 44 points

Lastly, the Craig Lyn HG-1 Prime. I just received this grinder and have been testing it for espresso and pourover. This grinder, by far, had the most complex flavor of the group, delivering a more blended flavor profiles, more punchy acidity, a clean finish, but a bit less balance. I may have ground just a touch too find on this one, which reflects the highest total brew time in the group by a few seconds. Overall, really interesting cup that stood out to me for its warmer notes, complexity, and heavier body. Score: 39 points

Notes on the experiment:

This coffee seems to have made it known why I got it for free to season my HG-1 Prime. The grassy notes were pretty noticeable in most of the cups and I suspect the roaster realized it was under-developed. (Then again, maybe it's just my lack of skill?) Still, I think it presented an interesting challenge and still allowed for an okay comparison of these grinders. Now that I know the rough comparison of grind sizes, I can pick something better to compare next time.

Temperature is also tough to maintain with so many cups to brew. By the time you get through all of them, the first few are already fairly cold. I did do a couple slurps of each just after brewing, though, and I felt I captured those thoughts sufficiently in my notes.

I ran out of coffee water, so I couldn't make more cups than I did. And even though I didn't do any major dialing in of each grinder, they were surprisingly similar in total brew time. Would they change in ranking if I were to go for optimal grind rather than consistent brew time? Quite possibly! But that requires more water. And, honestly, they were all fairly close to being balanced right away. I did end up brewing the ZP6 a second time, as its TBT was initially 2:30. The shorter brew was lighter and more tea-like. Whereas the second brew in the final results was more balanced and a better, more-similar overall result for the comparison. I might coarsen the HG-1 Prime by a notch next time to eliminate the slight bitterness, as well.

Results:

https://preview.redd.it/a23xtz5dq91g1.jpg?width=954&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=be79babaac62f96adcc9598924b2fecea12360f2

It's no surprise that the ZP6 rose to the top of the heap with a light roast Ethiopian coffee. Its reputation for clarity, grind consistency, and minimal fines was pretty clear in the results. The better acidity, balance, and flavor stood out a bit from the rest in this experiment.

The HG-1 Prime, with its large 83mm Mazzer conical burrs, was a pleasant surprise. And, while it may not have scored as high as the others, I suspect it would really shine with a medium or dark roast. It may also produce some amazing coffee with more funky processing. I'm excited to run another side-by-side experiment with a coffee that's a bit more unique, punchy, or just more into that medium and darker range. Still, it managed to hold its own pretty well.

The Ode 2 holds up to its reputation as an excellent choice for specialty coffee, producing a cup with more body, good acidity, and yet some clarity. Is it better or worse than the ZP6? I would say it's just different. What you drink will likely define which one is better for your usual coffee experience.

The C3 Pro punches hard for its price point, and I still think it's a solid grinder for what it is. It didn't shine as well in this comparison, though. And the fact that it brought out more of the toasty notes in the coffee tells me it would do better with medium roast coffees or darker, or more developed coffees like a funky natural or co-ferment.

Lastly, the J-Ultra. I'm still surprised at how clean and clear the coffee was from an espresso-focused grinder that likely creates a fair amount of fines to handle traditional espresso shots. It teased the berry notes on the aroma, but just didn't quite deliver for me in the cup. It brought a lighter body, mild acidity, and seemed fairly balanced. But it just felt hollow to me. I almost wonder if it feels balanced, but really I just didn't over-extract the fines and under-extracted the rest, leaving a weaker, tea-like brew that underwhelmed. Still, I'll probably play with this in the pourover realm a little more, as I've seen some positive comments that pique my curiosity.

I could re-rank all of these by various qualities like the best acidity, highest sweetness, most complexity, heaviest body, etc. So my advice is: don't just look at the scores. Consider which qualities mean most to you overall, and how those might affect the specific coffee you're brewing.