Premium Java G25 Manual Coffee Grinder - 25g Capacity, Stainless Steel Conical Burr for Espresso & French Press - Perfect for Home, Office & Travel Use - Black

Update: so after much research, I discovered the Vssl uses a very similar burr set as the timemore C2, if not exactly the same. This gave me the idea of swapping burrs. So I couldn't find anything at all online about anyone doing this with the Vssl but there was plenty of info about people swapping the C2 burrs. I couldn't foresee any reason why i couldn't do this with the Vssl, so I took a chance, ordered the 38mm S2C660 burrs directly from Timemore's AliExpress store. Thankfully, it turns out that the burrs fit the Vssl to exacting specification. As far as I know, I am now the only person with a vssl capable of doing an espresso grind. The performance is excellent; since I ordered the genuine timemore burrs, they came really sharp and appear equal if not superior to the stock burrs. Also, I noticed the grind is a bit faster now with the S2C660 burrs.If you have this grinder or are thinking about picking it up but you're put off by it's inability to grind for espresso, i can confirm that a burr swap works just fine. As for price, the Vssl at $160 plus $40 for the S2C660s puts me at $200. Would i say this upgraded grinder is worth it? Absolutely! I have not tried this mod yet but there are replacement clickplates that make the adjustments far more precise. With that mod plus the upgraded burrs, I honestly couldn't see why it'd be better to have a commandante red clix.Original Review: Full disclosure, when i was looking to purchase a handgrinder, "cool-factor" was pretty high on my list of consideration. I'd say it was maybe #3 after cost (considering a $200 budget) and grind versatility. My brew methods are Espresso and Aeropress, so i wanted something that could handle both these tasks pretty well. The Kinu was on my dream list but obviously costs too much, The M47 was top of my list but nearly double my budget. The commandante was second but also too expensing and nearly impossible to get in South Africa at the moment.Turning to the Chinese offerings, I found Timemore somewhat attractive but i was put off my the plastic parts in the C2. The C3 looked sleek but i think the Vssl looked better. When i discovered the Vssl was a Canadian design, i decided to go with it over the C3. Despite apparently great reviews, the 1Zpresso offerings didn't much appeal to me.After unboxing the Vssl, the premium feel was immediately noticeable. Coming from a relatively inexpensive Caffelano ceramic grinder, the buttery smoothness of the ball bearings and the burr alignment, and the durability of the crank mechanism immediately caught my notice.On my very first grind, using about 4.5 clicks in the first rotation, I ground to a medium coarse and brewed a nearly perfect aeropress, perhaps the best I had ever made up to that point. However, the limitations of the Vssl began to show when I attempted to use the lowest setting, .5 on the first rotation, to brew an espresso.Looking at the burrs, they seemed to have the tiniest micron-widthed gap but it was nonetheless visible. Proceeding to grind, I could tell that while the grind size was very nicely uniformed, it was very slightly too coarse for my typical 18g espresso pull..I proceeded with my attempt anyway, and sure enough the shot ran straight though like taco truck tuesdays. I will say, increasing the dose to 19g did improve the shot quality slightly but it is still coarser than i typically like. I did a bit of research and discovered the Vssl uses the same burrset as the timemore C2, with the latter apparently having the same problems for espresso brewing. This gives me a bit of hope because the C2 has a good community behind it and much reference on how to swap burrs to improve the grinder's overall espresso grinding capability.My hope is if the Vssl and C2 burrs are indeed the exact same size and shape, then I should be able to swap the Vssl burrs out for the Timemore E&Bs or Esp burrs. If I am successful in this, i will update this post; being able to easily grind for expresso with the Vssl will change my coffee game. But for now, I will stick to giving it ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5.If you don't care about grinding for espresso; if you're more of an aeropress or pour-over person in the market for a handgrinder, the Vssl definitely hits the sweet spot between quality and cost, being more premium than most of Timemore and 1Zpresso's offerings but less expensive than the Commandante or Kinu offerings. I would highly recommend it. If espresso is more your thing, this is still an ok option but just note that using the Vssl unmodified, you will have to make some adjustments to my brew methods.