Best Quiet Coffee Grinders
Manual Grinders
Manual grinders are the quietest because they have no motor and operate only as fast as you choose to grind. Manual coffee grinders are a little more work than an electric coffee grinder, but the added effort is arguably worth it! Manual coffee grinders are great for camping and power outages, since they require no electricity. They’re also much smaller and take up less space in the kitchen.
More importantly, the taste of the coffee can be much better because there’s no heat-generating motor to overheat the grounds and destroy the volatile oils that contain all the flavor. A manual grinder is essential for full appreciation of the flavor of exotic coffee– and your ears will thank you. Here’s the cream of the crop of manual grinders:
Best Quiet Coffee Grinders 2020 for Morning Peace Reviews
1. Khaw-Fee HG1B Manual Grinder
- FRESH GROUND COFFEE TASTES THE BEST – Roasted coffee beans are little flavor vaults, protecting the tasty oils and solubles that provide all the great flavor and richness we coffee lovers crave. Our grinder lets you grind just the right amount, immediately before you brew, ensuring that you get the freshest, tastiest cup of coffee possible.
- DURABLE AND MADE TO LAST – Other manual coffee grinders use plastic or nylon parts. We use Stainless Steel and Ceramic instead so you’ll enjoy your Khaw-Fee Grinder for years to come. We stand behind all of our products completely and we’re here to help if you need us.
The Khaw-Fee is a burr grinder, which means it uses conical burrs that gently crush the coffee beans rather than a cutting blade. Manual burr grinders are the quietest out there, and this one has well-balanced burrs and bushings that reduce the sound of grinding significantly. It sounds like a gentle crunching that isn’t audible through a closed door in a quiet home. Soft, non-skid silicone pads the bottom and the handle so neither the grinder nor your hand slips around while grinding.
Importantly, there are no plastic components, so your coffee never absorbs any weird flavors. It’s relatively small, which is great for grinding exactly enough coffee for one person without waste. However, the grind size is adjustable, so it’s possible grind drip coffee, espresso, French press, or Turkish coffee with just a turn of the gears.
The least you need to know about the quiet, adjustable Khaw-Fee HG1B Manual Grinder:
Pros
- Quiet: well-balanced manual burr grinder that reduces sound significantly.
- Reduces waste: grinds a small amount at a time.
- Preserve taste: no plastic parts means you taste nothing but coffee.
- Budget option: inexpensive relative to other manual burr grinders.
Cons
- Too small for a crowd: best for a single person, not a whole pot.
- Fragile: the glass base is fine for home use, but not for camping or travel.
- Manual: easy to use, but still more work than electric.
2. Handground Precision
- NEW & IMPROVED Updated version of the original Handground grinder designed by thousands of coffee enthusiasts around the world to achieve a consistent grind using the hand crank mill for any bean
- ADJUSTABLE GRIND SELECTOR with 15 settings giving precision to the coarseness of grind for your Pour Over, Drip, Chemex, Cold Brew, French Press, AeroPress or your specific brewing method.
The Handground Precision is another manual burr grinder, so it’s among the quietest grinders available. The rolling of the gears, handle, burrs, and coffee beans is actually a meditative, pleasant sound that heralds the arrival of some of the best-tasting fresh coffee you’ll ever have. That’s because the manufacturer consulted baristas and coffee experts about their experiences with home grinders. Their years of experience and knowledge combined with a thoughtful design process resulted in this quiet, durable, high-quality grinder that won’t break the bank.
The triple-mounted axle absolutely doesn’t wobble, so grinding is fast, efficient, and consistent. There are 15 grind size selections, so it’s compatible with any style of coffee, and its large capacity means you can easily grind an entire pot of coffee in one go. One really cool feature is that the hopper is transparent, so you can watch the beans roll around and, eventually, disappear into the burrs while you’re grinding. While the hopper is plastic to reduce weight, the bottom where the grinds rest is nonporous glass. It’s definitely something to look forward to during your morning routine.
The bottom line on the Handground Precision:
Pros
- Super quiet: well-balanced for a pleasant sound.
- Triple axle design: zero wobble, perfectly consistent grounds for the best taste.
- Lightweight and durable: plastic components make it easy to carry with you. Glass base is durable and thick.
- Easy to clean: every part can go in the dishwasher.
Cons
- Effort: easy to use, but still manual.
- Plastic parts: lightweight, but porous plastic does touch the coffee and absorb odors.
- No padding: must be used with a non-skid pad while grinding to avoid slipping.
3. Mueller Austria Ultra-Grind Manual Grinder
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The Mueller Austria Ultra-Grind is also a manual burr grinder, which means you won’t find a quieter operation. In this case, the quiet burrs are further muffled by solid metal construction, so the general sound of grinding is satisfying and productive– not irritating! It’s also a dream to use, by far the smoothest operation requiring the least hand power of all the manual grinders on the list.
That same solid metal construction means this grinder can go on the road– it’s great for camping, travel…or just withstanding heavy use and hard drops (whoops.) Again, every part can be dissembled and washed easily, though some reviewers report that the small parts were hard to handle. That said, the coffee produced is of the utmost quality because of the precision machining of each and every piece.
Check out the Mueller Austria Ultra-Grind:
Pros
- Super quiet: manual burr grinder muffled by solid metal casing.
- Very low effort: the easiest handle to turn, bar none.
- High quality: precision is reflected in its operation, its durability, and its perfect results.
Cons
- Plastic: while it’s minimal, and very easy to clean, the grinds receiver does have a plastic window.
- Complicated: you have to take the whole thing apart to clean it.
- Effort: while very easy to use, it’s still more effort than an electric.
Electric Coffee Grinders
While manual grinders are the gold standard for quiet operation, there are a handful of quieter electric grinders on the market. They’re also much faster than a manual coffee grinder, and require much less effort to grind much more coffee. This is essential if you’d rather not grind your coffee by hand, or if you need to save time in the morning.
A relatively quiet electric coffee grinder is also an electric grinder with cooler operation– the gentle action of the burrs is less likely to overheat the delicate flavor components of the coffee beans. One person’s “quiet” is another person’s “deafening,” however, so do your homework– check reviews on the specific model you’re considering to make sure that it will meet your personal preferences. The following are two great models available now that meet the standards for quality build, quiet operation, and excellent coffee.
4. The Capresso 560.01 Infinity Conical Burr Grinder
- PRECISION GRINDING: Commercial-grade, solid steel conical burrs with advanced cutting design
- WIDE GRINDING RANGE: From ultrafine Turkish to French Press coarse and everything in between
The Khaw-Fee is a burr grinder, which means it uses conical burrs that gently crush the coffee beans rather than a cutting blade. Manual burr grinders are the quietest out there, and this one has well-balanced burrs and bushings that reduce the sound of grinding significantly. It sounds like a gentle crunching that isn’t audible through a closed door in a quiet home. Soft, non-skid silicone pads the bottom and the handle so neither the grinder nor your hand slips around while grinding.
Importantly, there are no plastic components, so your coffee never absorbs any weird flavors. It’s relatively small, which is great for grinding exactly enough coffee for one person without waste. However, the grind size is adjustable, so it’s possible grind drip coffee, espresso, French press, or Turkish coffee with just a turn of the gears.
The least you need to know about the quiet, adjustable Khaw-Fee HG1B Manual Grinder:
Pros
- Quiet: well-balanced manual burr grinder that reduces sound significantly.
- Reduces waste: grinds a small amount at a time.
- Preserve taste: no plastic parts means you taste nothing but coffee.
- Budget option: inexpensive relative to other manual burr grinders.
Cons
- Too small for a crowd: best for a single person, not a whole pot.
- Fragile: the glass base is fine for home use, but not for camping or travel.
- Manual: easy to use, but still more work than electric.
5. Breville BCG820BSSXL Smart Grinder Pro
- Stainless steel conical burrs designed to minimize grinding heat and protect the essential oils in the coffee bean
- 60 precise grind settings from the finest Espresso to the coarsest French Press Grind. Voltage: 110 120 Volts. Power: 165 Watts
Breville has done it again with a precise small appliance– this time, a best-in-class electric coffee grinder! The Breville BCG820BSSXL Smart Grinder Pro is fully loaded with features, but still simple enough to use without reading the manual. The powerful motor works efficiently to grind enough coffee for a whole pot– but the noise is barely-there, because it uses stainless steel burrs within a well-balanced housing. The stainless steel parts also minimize heat and friction, preserving the flavor of the coffee from start to finish.
Unlike most coffee grinders, the Breville features an LCD control panel with the option to grind in 0.2-second increments– not only can you set it and forget it, but you can adjust both the timing and consistency of the grind for your own definition of perfection. It also has a really surprising feature: you can grind directly into your coffee maker’s filter or into its own grounds receiving cup that seals in all the flavor with an airtight cap. That seems like it should be a standard feature among the many coffee grinders on the market, but it’s not! And that’s why the Breville BCG820BSSXL Smart Grinder Pro is the choice for people who really love their coffee!
What you need to know about the Breville BCG820BSSXL Smart Grinder Pro:
Pros
- Stainless steel throughout: designed to minimize noise, friction, and heat.
- Smart LCD controls: easy to adjust grinds and timing; let the grinder do the work for you.
- Time-saver: grind directly into your filter, or into its own airtight cup.
Cons
- Quieter, but…: still an electric grinder.
- Relatively complicated: easy to learn, but still a lot of buttons to press to change the settings.
- Takes up more space: uses valuable kitchen real estate and an electrical outlet.
I want a peaceful, quiet morning to start my day off right, but what I get is alarm clocks, birds, neighbors, traffic… noise, noise, noise! Fortunately, there are many strategies to reduce the noise inherent in daily living, many of which focus on muffling the sounds coming from outside, but indoor sounds can be just as annoying. The kitchen is one potential source of bothersome sounds, as many small appliances are not designed with any thought to how they sound.
For example, grinding your own coffee offers the full flavor of the bean at a lower cost than a coffee shop– but coffee grinders are notorious for making a hideous, rumbling, grinding whine while they work. Most grinders will wake everyone up while putting the user in a foul mood, even if nobody in your household is especially sensitive to sounds. Exposure to loud sounds is also a cumulative hazard– using an extra-loud appliance every morning can harm your hearing!
You don’t have to live with that– choose your coffee grinder wisely, and you can still enjoy a peaceful morning and the delicious flavor of your favorite, freshly ground coffee. Everyone has different priorities and needs, so we tried to find a diverse variety of great grinders that meet the basic standard of having a quieter, more pleasant sound while operating. The coffee grinders below are the best of the best, chosen for durability, ease of use, quality of coffee grinds, visual appeal, and especially for sound.
Final thoughts on coffee grinders
Coffee is an important start to your day, and you deserve the best. Fresh-ground, fresh-brewed coffee is a universe away from packaged or instant coffee– they’re practically different beverages! Whether you choose a manual or electric coffee grinder, you’re choosing to treat yourself with the best coffee possible.
You owe it to yourself to make this self-care ritual a part of your everyday life, even if you’re sensitive to sound. Fortunately, some manufacturers have risen to the challenge and produced coffee grinders that preserve your peaceful morning– all you have to do is choose one!