An electric coffee grinder is the quickest, most convenient way to mash whole beans into brew-ready powder on the average work morning, but there are times when only a hand grinder will do. Maybe the power's out at home, maybe you're camping off-grid with no available electricity, or maybe you just prefer the way hand-ground coffee tastes. The new Arco grinder from Goat Story has you covered in all circumstances, packing both auto and hand grinder functions into one package.
There are other home/travel coffee grinders out there, such as portable electric handhelds powered by rechargeable batteries. But with the Arco, Slovenian coffee equipment specialist Goat Story presents a dual-purpose grinder that looks the part of a sleek kitchen appliance while giving owners the option of the unplugged, unwavering grinding capability of a manual hand grinder.
The heart of the Arco is its hand grinder, which finds use whether under electric or wrist power. Its 47/32-mm conical steel burr is secured inside an aluminum unibody with a 10-mm steel shaft and two precision bearings. It weighs in at 1.8 lb (800 g).
The user sets the burr in motion with the attachable hand crank, or by securing the grind cylinder to the electric dock to automate the process. Either way, the grounds fall into a catch that attaches magnetically to the bottom of the grinder and doubles as a bean-measuring scoop. It holds up to 50 grams of coffee at a time. Goat Story promises near-zero grind retention, meaning all the fresh grounds find their way into the current brew they were meant for and not a future brew.
The company includes 120 individual grind settings, breaking it down into 30 levels within four different categories: ibrik (Turkish), espresso, filter and cold brew. That's some serious fine-tuning!
Goat Story is currently winning over backers on Kickstarter, where it's racked up more than 1,200 pledges for its €250 (approx. US$304) super early-bird hand/electric combo and €125 ($152) solo hand grinder. The company is close to raising half a million dollars with roughly a month and a half left to go. Should everything continue as planned, deliveries will start in June 2021.
Source: Kickstarter