C40 MK4 Nitro Blade | Coffee Grinder

 Advantages

• 100% handmade in Europe
• Quiet and fast transmission
• No dead volume due to empty grinding
• Very easy maintenance or cleaning without tools
• Space-saving therefore suitable for travel
• Homogeneous, loose, lump-free grinding result
• Can grind very fine
• Steel grinding cone with double bearings (centered)
• Easy reproduction of the grinding degree thanks to click system
• Suitable for light 3rd-Wave espresso
• Very accommodating customer service at Comandante

Disadvantages

• For espresso, the grind gradation is not continuously adjustable, may have to be compensated by adjusting the grind quantity
• Not the cheapest among the current market of manual grinders

Made in Germany, but extremely popular around the world in the coffee scene: the Comandante MK4... And with good reason! It is by far the best manual grinder on the market in many respects and sets completely new standards. All in all, it can be said that the Comandante's grinding results are clearly of higher quality than the market standard.

Grinder Design

The grinder works with a cone grinder made of richly nitrogenous stainless steel, which is manufactured in a patented process. This stainless steel is not only extremely durable but also very sharp. In fact, the edges are even individually re-sharpened. Therefore, the Comandante is capable of achieving an even more homogeneous grinding result than most electric coffee grinders.

In addition, the hand grinder has two axes that stabilize the central elongated rod (the shaft). This fixation ensures that the innermost section of the grinder does not move, and most of all that no coarser coffee particles get into the grind container.

Grind Settings

The 35 different grind settings can be easily adjusted via a small wheel (with "clicks") on the bottom of the grinder. This gives the manual ginder a lot of room to maneuver. Of course, it can't keep up with the multitude of degrees on infinitely variable espresso grinders, but that's not what a manual grinder is made for. However, even if you are somewhat limited in the skill of fine-tuning extraction, we still heartily recommend it, thanks to its otherwise excellent properties; even for espresso!

The difference in quality of the Comandante compared to other market standards is also noticeable when operating the grinder. A double ball bearing supports the power transmission and reduces its own effort. With all of these small perfections to the design, even the otherwise rather annoying grinding process starts to be fun. In fact, the beans are ground almost two times faster than the market standard. The turning motion is much easier and more rounded. This is also due to the shape of the crank, which is curved to the center of the mill, unlike the other hand mills. As a result, the lid of the bean container sits particularly tight during the grinding process, the power transmission is supported and the mill fits better in the hand.

Finish

The appearance of the Comandante is rounded off not only by a beautiful design, but also by exclusively high-quality materials. From the first touch, it is immediately clear that you have a professional grinder in your hand. There is not even a single trace of plastic.

The mill looks very "well thought out" from front to back. The filling quantity of 40g coffee is sufficient for each preparation, nevertheless, a second sealable glass is supplied, if you want to grind in stock. 

Cleaning

To clean the grinder, you can very easily remove the burrs completely. Only the detailed cleaning of the bean hopper can prove to be a bit more elaborate, as there are two axes and not all places are exceptionally accessible.

Conlcusion

Due to the price, the Comandante is certainly a good purchase to consider. However, you get a very high quality mill produced in Europe, and the company Comandante offers wonderful customer service. This is a manual grinder for life.

Differences Between the MK3 and MK4

• Desing elemetns that did not change: Crank, Burrs, Grind-design.
• MK4 comes with one polymere container and 1 brown glass container in its delivery contents (thus overall lighter), MK3 hat 2x Glas-Auffangbehälter in transparent und braun (comes accrross mroe elegant in use)
• MK3 has the problem that a bean can get stuck in the space of the crank when filling the hopper. This, in fact, does occur often. MK4 no longer has this problem.