AICOK
Bean & Nut Mill
Duronic
Nut & Spice Blender
Cuisinart
Steel Mill
1. Electric Spice Mixer by Duronic
This is a really well-priced, efficient and reliable electric version that is available on the market in our opinion. It is a no-nonsense, no frills electronic product that does exactly what it’s supposed to.
Originally designed for grinding down coffee, it has become a popular gadget for Indian food enthusiasts. It’s also good for herbs, nuts, pulses and whatever else you want to grind down.
- Measures: 10 x 10 x 21 cm
- Weight: 1140 grams
- Power: 250 Watts
Having to take out the bowl from the machine can be a bit fiddly, but you get used to it. It doesn’t come with additional bowls, but that isn’t a deal-breaker.
In summary, this is lightweight yet durable: this is ideal for light users. It won’t do huge amounts of at any one go, but is suitable for the home kitchen.
2. Stainless Steel Blender by Cuisinart
I struggled with this one initially as I found it to overheat of I filled it to capacity. OK, maybe I shouldn’t have filled it to the top with the peppers I was trying to grind, but why have the limit if it can’t cope? Nevertheless, I have reduced capacity to about 90% and it is coping a lot better.
This one is dishwasher safe, has a large capacity, comes with very sharp blades – specially designed to grind toughest nuts.
However, it has one downfall: it’s high price point.
- Measures: 9.8 x 9.8 x 20 cm
- Weight: 1.54 Kg
- Power: 200 Watts
It doesn’t grind down to the finest of powders – this was the case when I used poppy seeds. However, it is really good overall.
Another positive is that it is one of the easiest to clean blenders that we’ve used. The removable cup can be taken and rinsed out. While you’re waiting for it to dry, there is another cup that comes with it that can be used.
Despite the high price point, it does come with a 3-year warranty, so this should instil some confidence if you experience the overheating issues that we did.
3. Grinder for Beans by AICOK
This is a bean crusher which comes with a removable steel bowl, making it easy to fill with your beans, grains, nuts or seeds. This also means the bowl can be removed and put into the dishwasher
You can do a fairly large amount with this, with space for upto 1 cup worth
- Measures: 25.2 x 15.2 x 14.4 cm
- Weight: 1.22 KG
- Power: 200 Watts
It comes with a standard 2 year warranty, so you should feel confidence with this purchase
4. Dual Mill Mixer by Lloytron
The Lloytron Dual version is the ideal blender for grinding coffee beans, legumes and nuts. It has an easy one touch pulse operation and an 150W power.
Crush those peppercorns, chilli pods and cinnamon sticks! It copes well with dry spices such as cumin, cardamon etc and also with wet herbs, such as fresh rosemary
- Measures: 10 x 37.5 x 10 cm
- Weight: 200 grams
- Power: 150 Watts
We actually found this brand to be the most effective to grind linseeds, but I have to say that it is a bit difficult to clean. I’m worried that I couldn’t remove the flavour and essence from the linseed and I don’t want to alter the taste of whatever I might blend next.
Some others have also complained that it isn’t the easiest to clean, so it loses some points in this regard.
5. Shardor Electric Spice Mill
This one is a regular “Amazon’s Choice”. It is a good one, very popular and well priced, we can’t see why it gets that coveted position on a regular position though. In any case, thanks to the 200 watt motor, this is one of the quieter electric mills that we’ve seen. It can also crush those spices with ease and in seconds.
It also has a safe lock system, meaning the blades won’t start spinning until the lid is fully closed.
This one is also so small, that we can happily call it portable and travel safe.
- Measures: 9.4 x 9.4 x 15.6 cm
- Weight: 798 grams
- Power: 200 Watts
It’s also ideal for a variety of foods including nuts, coffee beans, pulses, seeds and any other dry items.
Buying Guide
We've come up with a quick guide on the things you need to look out for before parting with your cash. if you think there's anything we've missed, please send us a message.
If the blending takes too long as there's not enough power, it does get a bit frustrating sometimes!
Frequently Asked Questions
We do not currently use any of the ones above as we need a larger one for commercial use to make our seasoning mix. We use the Waring Spice Grinder as it has a much larger capacity and is much more durable than the ones listed above. However, we still feel we’re able to provide valuable input in asking what is the best one for smaller kitchens and domestic use.
Are some of the spice mills also coffee grinders?
Yes, some of these are originally pure coffee bean crushers, but they’ve become adopted by homeowners to crush up other things including your favourite indian mix that we’re discussing on this page.
We discussed the Waring brand at the top of this article and it’s recognised to be the most used electric grinder in commercial kitchens. However, some of these coffee blenders listed above are now also used in smaller commercial kitchens and domestically too.
We hope you got some value on this article about why you should use an electric version instead of a manual spice grinder. As a last point, you should note that on this page, our focus is solely on spice grinding, not coffee.