If you’re not usually one to travel with your brew gear due to lack of portability or brew quality, the Varia Hand Grinder might very well help you change your mind. After launching onto the scene a few years ago with their 6-in-1 multi-brewer, Varia continues to give the coffee community something to talk about with their latest addition to the range; a super portable, precision-engineered coffee hand grinder.
The Varia Hand Grinder is a continuation of the company’s love of a great cup of coffee, but also of their passion for quality craftsmanship and functional design. Its matte black aluminium construction matches the Varia range beautifully and is complemented by an ergonomic timber handle knob, which is easily removeable (and interchangeable with existing knobs from Comandante hand grinders if you’d like the option to mix and match). You’ll also notice on the bottom edge of the grinder body, a corrugated collar which offers some extra grip while grinding and unscrews to allow access to the axle for cleaning. But more on that later.
The grinder comes in a hard carry case that unzips to reveal the grinder body, the handle, the handle knob, a small burr brush for cleaning, and a mesh pocket for extra storage. Everything fits nice and snug within the moulded inner casing for safe and easy storage, so you don’t need to worry about your gear getting damaged. However, if you’d like more space in the case for accessories or coffee beans, you can simply remove the foam pieces and place the grinder and handle neatly in the mesh pocket and fill the case up with all the goodies you’ll need for a brew. Weighing in at only 490 grams and standing at only 155mm tall (with a diameter of 49mm), the Varia is compact and light enough to take with you anywhere as a travel grinder, but it’s what is included within the grinder body that also makes the Varia a perfect daily driver for serious coffee-lovers.
Unscrew the grind catch and the collar from the base of the grinder and you’ll find precision-engineered 38mm stainless steel conical burrs. These burrs are seated within a 5-point axis which is supported by dual steel ball bearings at each end of the axle. This construction ensures a smooth and effortless grinding motion, from a coarse grind all the way through to an espresso grind. This range of grind size is due to the Varia’s huge 96 stepped grind settings to cater for your preferred brew method. To ensure smooth and easy adjustments between the settings, two ball bearings sit underneath the adjustment plate on the dial which give a solid ‘click’ at each step to lock the setting in place. To lock in your grind setting, firstly rotate the adjustment mechanism all the way clockwise to find your ‘zero point’, where the burrs are touching each other. From there, you’ll rotate the dial anti-clockwise to loosen the burrs and find your grind setting. Roughly around 20 clicks will get you a consistent espresso grind, while a coarser grind for cold brew will need around 65+ clicks.
Once you’ve locked in your desired grind settings, remove the crank handle from the top of the grinder, add in your favourite beans and before you know it, you’ll be enjoying your brew. When it comes to cleaning, undo the nut at the bottom of the grinder and remove the middle burr, the axle, the ball bearings and the spring. Then remove the outer burr carrier by unscrewing the corrugated collar on the bottom of the grinder body. Use the included burr brush to thoroughly clean all of the parts before putting them back together, ready for your next brew.
And whether that next brew is a French Press on a hiking trip, or a delicate pour over in your kitchen, the Varia Hand Grinder will make the grinding process fast, easy, and smooth. So, if you’re in the market for a new grinding solution for your favourite brew, be sure to check out Varia.
Got a question about the Varia range? Please feel free to give our team a call on 1-307-274-4466, or you can reach out via email at [email protected]. Alternatively, you can send our team a message using the Contact Us form on our website, which you can find on this page.
