GSI Lexan JavaGrind

by GSI

Product Features

• Material: Polycarbonate
• Adjustable, conical burr, ceramic coffee grinder unlocks all of the flavor of your favorite beans better than blade-style grinders
• Sturdy alloy handle nests and locks in place for easy packing
• Stepped design allows grinder to seat directly on top of GSI Outdoors JavaPresses and most round containers
• Locking cover and protective dust cap keeps everything clean

Product Description

Designed in the best FDA approved polycarbonate out there, the GSI Outdoors Lexan JavaGrind is ultra bomber proof. Lightweight and cut resistant, this GSI Lexan resin won't stain or hold flavors. So you can use and reuse it for years to come. This hand-crank grinder features a locking cover and protective dust cap that keeps everything clean.

Product Details

• Item Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B000E0GA1Y
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #131,170 in Sports & Outdoors (See Top 100 in Sports & Outdoors)
  • #64 in Sports & Outdoors > Outdoor Recreation > Camping & Hiking > Camp Kitchen > Coffee & Tea Pots

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good grinder; hard to use, March 27, 2007

By 

J. Near (IN, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: GSI Lexan JavaGrind (Misc.)

I bought this grinder for use with a small french press when camping and visiting friends. The ceramic burrs are adjustable and seem to produce a consistent grind: there is not too much sediment in the bottom of the cup. When using freshly-roasted coffee, the results are not too acidic and have a very smooth finish. Even my friends that do drink coffee tend to be impressed (I always share!).

The handle is easy to use and the fact that beans can be stored in the grinder during transport is handy. The idea behind the grinder is that it should be set on top of your french press for use, but I have found this to be the largest problem with the grinder. There is no handle to hold with your other hand as you grind, and nothing to keep the grinder itself from moving! I usually end up holding onto the top of the grinder with my free hand, but this is difficult as that hand gets in the way of the rotating grinding handle. Furthermore, keeping the grinder stationary requires a lot of downwards pressure; I have already broken one french press by pushing down too hard, and so I no longer grind directly into the press. I recommend the cups that come free when you order pizza -- they seem to be just the right size, and they're impossible to break. Using a cup that's just the right size (and plastic!) to grind into makes this grinder a whole lot easier to use.

This grinder is supposedly designed to work with the french press from the same company. The body does have an indentation for where the press's handle would sit, and the fact that they fit together has the potential to keep the grinder from slipping around and requiring so much downwards pressure to use. Additionally, the press from this company is made of lexan, and so should be very difficult to break. I don't know, as I don't own that press; I use a Bodum press instead. If you don't already own a press, you may want to consider buying both simultaneously from the same company.

If you're careful, though, you can use this grinder with any press and minimize difficulties and maximise taste. Highly recommended if you love great coffee but don't want to bring an electric grinder along -- just be aware of problems mentioned above before you buy.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Wobbly Grinder, January 14, 2008

By 

Park E. Hays - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: GSI Lexan JavaGrind (Misc.)

The grinding mechanism consists of two unglazed ceramic cones that fit together. The casting of the ceramic is fairly course--so edges aren't very sharp.
The domed top is made from plastic and provides very little support to the shaft. Since the shaft is not centered or supported on the bottom the inner cone can move--up and down when the dome flexes, side-to-side when the shaft "swings". Of course, the shaft always swings because the crank is offset (as it must be). The upshot: inconsistent grind.

Credit where it's due: the mechanism for adjusting the grind is the best I've seen on any grinder, even Zassenhaus. The wing nut is keyed to the crank, and the crank slides onto the shaft, locking the wing nut in position--the grind won't change at all. Too bad the setting is pretty much meaningless because of the shaft wander.

The fact that it folds up compactly is nice, though not valuable to me. I also agree with other users who found this mill hard to hold. I found it so frustrating that I made a pine "pillow block" so that I could clamp the grinder in place, and then clamp the grinder to the table--which makes it much more pleasant to use.

One final design flaw is that the cup which holds the coffee does not slope enough toward the burrs. When I'm grinding the last 10 or so beans I have to stick my finger in and push the beans into the mill.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Easiest Maintenance Camping Grinder, March 4, 2010

By 

T. Smith (Petaluma, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: GSI Lexan JavaGrind (Misc.)

Bought this a few years ago for backpacking with coffee. I'm one of those snobs who avoids coffee ground more than fifteen minutes in advance and not roasted within the same 10 day period and needs fresh coffee and tea wherever I go. This grinder is surprisingly consistent in grind - much more so than the peppermill style Turkish grinders that are, in turn, far more consistent than a blade grinder. I recommend grinding a reference sample of coffee with a shop burr grinder and adjusting the wing nut to match the grind and mark the tines with a permanent pen in case it is loosened for some reason in travel.

Other reviewers have mentioned some difficulty with this, and it really would be nice to have a handle on one side but as it stands it is still very functional and easy to pack. I actually load this with the first day's worth of beans and seal the whole apparatus in a large Ziploc freezer bag. The grinding arm easily slides off and back on upside down for compact storage. I highly recommend practicing with it (and washing & drying thoroughly) before going out in the world with it. If you have not used manual coffee mills before, you may be surprised by the amount of time and effort is required to grind a single pot's worth of coffee. I find the physical upper-body light and repetitive exertion a refreshing beginning to a day of hiking but am grateful for my electric burr grinder when I get home.
Here are some suggestions:

- You should NOT use pressure to hold this in place! You will rapidly fatigue your wrist and forearm in a position that could cause later pain throughout the day and possibly even break the grinder or what you are grinding into. Instead, grip the vessel you are grinding into (metal press pot or dry metal mug is best) between your thighs, firmly grip the edge of the grinder with your hand along the line of your middle finder and thumb, and rotate the arm in a sweeping motion of your other arm in order to maintain a slow, steady rotation using your back and upper arm muscles. This will help avoid flinging the grinder against the ground, shattering a glass vessel you may grind into, and actually provides a more consistent grind than jerky movements or starting and stopping repeatedly.
- While you should never store coffee in any grinder for prolonged periods, with manual grinders it is a matter of ease to only fill the hopper with the amount of coffee you intend to brew. Packing out pre-weighed tins of beans and grinding one at a time is far better than guessing how much you have ground up for use in a certain pot/cup.
- Do not re-grind coffee! With electric burr grinders this can mean the death of the grinder but in this case you may break the mechanism or hurt your wrist. Filling the hopper with grounds will jam the grooves of the burr set and plug the grinder. At least this thing is easier to take apart and clean than most electric grinders if plugging does occur.

As a side note - coffee selection matters more with manual grinders. Lighter roasted or very high grown coffee will be very dense and will be harder to grind. Darker roast coffees will leave more residue behind that must be cleaned out to avoid going rancid and will stay fresh for a much shorter time. Natural processed coffees will result in far more chaff than washed coffees (won't impact flavor much, but more cleaning involved and grinding chaff under your nose can cause you to sneeze). Island grown coffees tend to be far less dense to a degree where they will shred easier and create more fine sediment (translated as more body to those who like rich coffee).