Timemore · Conical burrChestnut S3
A gorgeous full-metal hand grinder with Timemore's first external adjustment ring, built to be the best pour-over and AeroPress grinder in its price class. Do not buy it if espresso is the point.
The short version
This is a filter-and-French-press grinder wearing an espresso grinder's marketing copy.
Buy it for V60 and AeroPress clarity and a genuinely premium hand-feel, but if espresso is your main event, look elsewhere in Timemore's own line (the S3 ESP) or a dedicated espresso hand grinder.
Why people buy it
- Full-metal unibody with three bearings feels and grinds like something twice the price
- First Timemore hand grinder with an external, camera-lens-style adjustment ring, so you never disassemble the grinder to change grind size
Why they don’t
- Cannot reliably grind fine enough for espresso out of the box, and it cannot be recalibrated to close the gap
The full tally
- Full-metal unibody with three bearings feels and grinds like something twice the price
- First Timemore hand grinder with an external, camera-lens-style adjustment ring, so you never disassemble the grinder to change grind size
- Genuinely fast for a hand grinder, a big improvement over the notoriously slow Chestnut X and X Lite
- Excellent, clean, sweet cup for pour-over, AeroPress and French press across roast levels
- Cannot reliably grind fine enough for espresso out of the box, and it cannot be recalibrated to close the gap
- External adjustment ring does not click firmly into its detents, so it is easy to bump the setting by accident while gripping the body
- Bigger and heavier than most hand grinders in its class, with a wide circumference that is harder on smaller hands
What the community knows
Years of owner threads, distilled — well regarded.
Excellent value hand grinder with proven conical burr quality and build that punches above its $169 price point for filter and pour-over; espresso suitability is its ceiling — loose adjustment ring and retention friction make it a gateway grinder for learners, not an endgame…
Value
price-to-performance the community respects
Reliability
shows up every morning, year after year
Built to last
years before you outgrow or replace it
All 8 community measures
price-to-performance the community respects
shows up every morning, year after year
parts and repairs — you are never stranded
mods, guides, and community know-how around it
kind to first-timers
years before you outgrow or replace it
how far the cup can go, per dollar
Worth knowing before you buy — Most owners who shift to espresso regret not buying a flat-burr grinder from the start; filter enthusiasts keep it for a decade.
Known weak points — Adjustment ring looseness during grinding (cosmetic, functional workaround via tightening); retention variability common to conical designs in this price bracket.
The measurements
Scored 0–5 on the same rubric as everything on file — the words matter more than the numbers.
The measurements
0–5, one rubric- Espresso
- brew-only1.5
- Versatility
- flexible4
- Built to last
- heirloom4.5
Position in the market
Every dot is a rival, measured the same way. The gold one is this.
- Lower half for espresso suitability
- a higher ceiling than 9 of the 154 grinders we’ve measured
- A value pick at this level
- 87% of grinders this capable cost more
- Upper half for build
- sturdier than 69% of the field, by the community’s own record
Every dot is a grinder measured on the same rubric. See the whole market
Living with it
The part spec sheets skip: counter space, upkeep, and what owners learn later.
The honest note — Owners who discover they actually want espresso from a hand grinder typically move to Timemore's own S3 ESP or a 1Zpresso J-Ultra/K-Ultra or Kingrinder K6 that are purpose-tuned for fine espresso ranges. Filter-only owners rarely feel a need to upgrade beyond this, since it already sits near the top of the mid-range pour-over hand grinder tier.
The full spec sheet
- Class
- Hand grinder
- Burrs
- 42mm conical
- Drive
- Hand-cranked
- Adjustment
- Stepped (micro)
- Clarity lean
- Balanced
- Espresso suitability
- 1.5/5
- Brew versatility
- 4/5
- Single dosing
- Yes
- Hopper
- 30 g
- Workflow demand
- 4/5
- Maintenance
- 1.5/5
- Noise
- 0.5/5
- Build longevity
- 4.5/5
Before it arrives
What completes this grinder — the faded pieces can wait.
Coffee scale with timer — Espresso is a ratio. A 0.1g scale with a built-in timer is the single biggest consistency upgrade for any manual machine.
- Coffee scale with timer — Espresso is a ratio. A 0.1g scale with a built-in timer is the single biggest consistency upgrade for any manual machine.
- Dosing cup — Pairs with single-dose grinding — grind into the cup, swirl, and transfer to the portafilter cleanly.
- Grinder cleaning kit — Brushes and grinder tablets keep retention and stale grounds in check.
Feed it right
Week one is dial-in — and stale beans will lose it.
Coffee more than a few weeks past roast won’t extract predictably, and a new grinder gets blamed for it. A balanced burr set: rotate origins freely — it will keep up.
Pick your coffee — any of these dials in beautifully here:
Wild Ember - Ethiopian Buno Dambi UddoSCA 92Medium roast · Odo Shakiso, Guji Zone, Oromia · NaturalBlueberry · MarmaladeSteady and repeatable — right for this setup’s lane.CA$26.83 · roasted to order
Etherea - Ethiopian YirgacheffeSCA 88Medium roast · NaturalJasmine · BergamotSteady and repeatable — right for this setup’s lane.CA$24.16 · roasted to order
Sergio - Brazillian Fazenda Joia Rara Aerobic FermentedSCA 88Medium-light · Cerrado Mineiro · Aerobic FermentedHoney · OrangeSteady and repeatable — right for this setup’s lane.CA$29.18 · roasted to orderWhole bean, dated, ready for your burrs the week it lands.
Roasted to order, daily, in Ajax, Ontario · ships Canada-wide. We’re the roastery behind this database — measuring the machines is how we make sure the coffee gets a fair shot.
Common questions
Can the Timemore Chestnut S3 grind fine enough for espresso?
Multiple independent reviewers found that even at the finest setting the S3 grinds too coarse and too fast to properly choke an espresso machine, producing quick, under-extracted shots. Timemore markets it for espresso, but reviewers consistently recommend the dedicated S3 ESP variant instead.
How does the S3 compare to the Chestnut X and X Lite?
The S3 is noticeably faster to grind with than the older Chestnut X and X Lite, which were known for being slow, and it replaces their manual disassembly-based adjustment with an external ring.
What is included in the box?
The S3 ships with a fabric carrying bag, cleaning brush, printed grind-setting guide, and the grinder with its foldable handle attached.
Worth comparing
Baratza
Encore
The Encore is the archetypal entry-level burr grinder — cheap, repairable, and genuinely wide-ranging for filter brewing. Espresso dialing is its known soft spot; the stepped adjustment gives 90-micron jumps at fine settings, which is more guesswork than craft.
US$119–175 · CA$195–200
OXO
Brew Conical Burr Coffee Grinder
A budget stainless-steel conical burr grinder built for drip, French press, and cold brew, with espresso settings that exist mostly on paper.
CA$130–170 · US$90–130
KitchenAid
Burr Coffee Grinder (KCG8433)
A stylish, all-metal home conical burr grinder that covers French press through espresso with 70 settings and auto-dosing, but the fine end gets noisy and grind consistency has been flagged as inconsistent by independent lab testing.
CA$180–230 · US$150–230
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