Porlex tall vs Hario skerton hand grider: which is the best?

When it comes to coffee hand grinders, two models stood out for me, especially for smaller or mini versions: Porlex JP-30 (nicknamed Porlex tall) and the Hario skerton. In this article, we are doing a do a side by side feature comparison to see what their differences are.

Porlex tall vs Hario skerton comparison chart

The easiest way to tell the difference between 2 models is through a comparison chart so I have created one below for your convenience.

	Speed	Built	Consistency	Where to buy
Porlex Tall	1-2 minutes	Metallic	Yes	Buy from Amazon
Hario Skerton	8 minutes	Plastic	Old model no New model yes	Buy from Amazon

#1: Speed difference

Speed is one of the more important consideration when buying a hand grider. Who has time to manually grid the beans for 10 minutes for just a cup of expresso? In this aspect, the Porlex Tall wins hands down as it is fast. While the Hario will take around 8 to 9 minutes to grid enough for a cup of espresso, the Porlex needs only a minute or so. That is a lot of difference and is the reason why so many people have chosen the Porlex JP-30 rather than the Hario.

#2: Built quality difference

I am rather sensitive to built quality as I like all my coffee equipment to be sturdy, sleek and reliable. The Hario skerton, on the whole, feels more cheaply made and gives me a sense of being too much plastic. In contrast, the Porley tall is sleek and metallic. It is definitely built to last so I will give my vote to the Porlex for built quality.

#3: Taste consistency

Given that griders are a manual process, the taste can be inconsistent if the grinding process is inconsistent. The old Haria model has a bit of a problem in this area due to the way burrs were mounted such that they have too much room to move during grinding. The newer model seems to have corrected this problem and is now as consistent as the Porlext Tall.

#4: Types of coffee drinks

Hario skerton and Porlex tall are both great for grinding beans into very fine forms for making espresso. However, if you are thinking about making a cup of French Press coffee, then you need coarser grinds. In this case, the Hario can’t really achieve that so you will end with very fine grinds.

#5: Portability

The Hario is a bit too bulky to bring along your travels unless you have a really big luggage bag. In contrast, the Porlex JP-30 has a slim design and can easily into your bag. For portability, the Porlex wins hands down.

#6: Capacity

In terms of capacity, I would say the Hario comes out on top. The Porlex is probably best for 1-3 cups as it can’t handle large quantities well. Unless you prefer to exercise your hand muscles, than doing more than 3 cups might be something of a strain. On the other hand, the Hario can handle larger quantities of beans with a single grind so you can definitely get more cups of Hario.

Conclusion

Overall, I would say Porlex tall is a better hand grinder due to its speed, quality built and taste consistency. However, if you are making more than 2-3 cups of coffee, it might be better to choose the Hario Skerton instead.