Just making a #coffee and thinking about how this particular hand grinder appears to be a widely common model.

I can't do a pic with a poll, so I'll pose my check of the grindo-geist in the following post…

#coffeeGrinder #handGrinder

Meet the Lagom mini 2: Option-O’s Compact Electric Grinder Evolves

There’s a strange chasm in the world of coffee grinders. On one side, you have the hefty, countertop-hogging electric grinders, beasts of burden that can churn out shot after shot. On the other, you have the admittedly excellent but arm-tiring manual grinders, the darlings of the purist set. For years, if you wanted electric convenience in a travel-friendly size, your options were, let’s just say, rather disappointing.

Option-O, after just six years in the grinder game, saw that gap and drove a truck through it with the original Lagom mini in 2022. Now they’re back with its successor, the Lagom mini 2. Externally, it’s a dead ringer for the original, save for a redesigned power button and a modern USB-C port replacing the old one. But while the shell is identical, what’s under the hood is a thoughtful evolution, not a revolution.

Before I dive in, a quick disclosure. My evaluation grinder wasn’t purchased; it was provided by Option-O (not a sponsor) through their Canadian retail partner, Cafuné (welcome to them as a new site sponsor!). I’m grateful to both for getting one to me, especially since high demand has created waiting lists for these unique grinders. This article is my detailed introduction to the mini 2 our full Snapshot Review is coming in the next few months.

The Original Lagom mini: A Quick Look Back

The first Lagom mini was a masterclass in purpose-built design (here’s my original intro article on it). While its size made it an excellent travel companion, its true calling was to be the ultimate minimalist grinder for the discerning coffee lover at home. It was engineered to look beautiful while taking up almost no space, its low 180 RPM motor prioritizing quality and excellent fines management over sheer quantity.

It had its quirks, of course. The proprietary power brick was an awkward, outlet-hogging annoyance on the kitchen counter and a pain for travellers alike. And while the grinder’s design screamed minimalist chic, its un-numbered dial was a famously polarising choice.

Still, the results were undeniable. I have nearly two years of experience with the original mini, and its grind quality is nothing short of phenomenal. In fact, it’s become a benchmark for conical burr grinders here at CoffeeGeek, because of its incredible output, build quality, and unique place in the market. My expectations for this new version, with its refined burrs, are deservedly high.

Familiar Form, Subtle Changes

If you liked the original mini’s look and feel, you’ll be happy to know the exterior is fundamentally unchanged. The mini 2 has the same compact footprint, satisfying 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs) heft, and premium, machined-from-a-single-block-of-aluminum feel. The fit and finish are superb, making many larger plastic grinders feel clumsy by comparison, and the magnetic catch cup still snaps into place with an authoritative click.

While the body is identical, I found a few subtle changes. Aesthetically, the tasteful, minimalist branding etched onto the original mini’s base is gone, leaving the new version completely unadorned. On a more practical note, the base now has a compliance sticker that can make the grinder slide around. My advice? Peel it off at your earliest convenience, and the grippy silicone base will keep the grinder planted.

The adjustment mechanism is almost identical to the original, save for the omission of a single hollowed-out marker dot near the zero point. The entire upper collar remains a stepless grind adjustment, threading smoothly into the main body. If you’ve ever dialled in an espresso shot with this style of infinite adjustment, you know how precise it can be.

Internally, Option-O has again strengthened the gearing system and motor housing to improve torque. The same P-grade angular contact bearings are used to ensure the burrs remain perfectly aligned with minimal wobble. The workflow is still strictly single-dosing only, with a hopper capacity of around 30 to 35 grams for those who meticulously weigh their beans. It also still comes with the removable anti-popcorn device, which, let’s be honest, most of us remove because it can make pouring beans in a bit harder.

The Burrs: An In-House Evolution

This is the upgrade that will likely interest CoffeeGeek readers the most. The original Lagom mini’s burr options evolved over its lifespan: it launched with 38mm Obsidian burrs as standard, with an optional upgrade to a 48mm Moonshine burr set. The Moonshines developed such a strong reputation for clarity that Option-O eventually made them the standard offering. The new mini 2 continues this evolution, simplifying the lineup to a single, new 48mm Mizen burr set.

Option-O has taken a more hands-on role with the Mizen burrs. While they use third parties for manufacturing, the design is now done entirely in-house, with each burr set undergoing individual quality control before shipping. This gives them complete command over geometry and consistency. The Mizen 48MS burrs have a cut pattern that is nearly identical to the Moonshines, but the finish appears more matte. The high sheen on my well-used Moonshine burrs might just be the result of two years of polishing, but it’s a noticeable difference out of the box.

Beyond the burrs themselves, there’s a significant change to the grind chamber. The original mini had stepped clearing vanes and a lipped outer burr housing, which could trap a small amount of coffee grounds over time. The mini 2 now features single-height vanes and a flat burr housing, creating a wider sweep area. In my initial testing, this new design seems to do a much better job of clearing out ground coffee.

As for performance, Option-O describes the Mizen burrs as all-rounders, and my testing confirms this. They produce brews with medium-high clarity and good flavour separation, performing well from fine to coarse.

One critical note for owners of the original: these new Mizen burrs are not backwards compatible. You cannot install them in a first-generation Lagom mini.

Power: USB-C Changes Everything

Let’s have a moment of silence for the junk drawer full of proprietary power bricks we have all accumulated over the years from a wide variety of retired and deceased consumer appliances. The single biggest and most welcome change in the mini 2 is the switch to the universal USB-C standard.

This is not just any USB-C port, however. It requires a power source that supports Power Delivery 3.0 (PD3.0 or later) and can output a full 100 watts at 20V/5A. In simple terms, it needs a powerful, modern charger, like one you would use for a MacBook Pro.

Option-O sells the grinder direct, in two configurations:

• $299 USD / $415 CAD without a power adapter (you supply your own, like the Ugreen Nexode Pro 100W)
• $379 USD / $527 CAD with Option-O’s high end 100W USB-C power adapter.

That power adapter deserves special mention. It is not just a simple brick; it is a proper PD3.0 compliant multi-port GaN charger with two USB-C ports, one USB-A port, and a high-quality braided cable. In Canada, Cafuné offers the grinder for $499 CAD without the adapter and $599 CAD with it, which is a competitive price once you account for duty and shipping.

The move to USB-C also unlocks the grinder’s true potential for portability. It can be run from a 100W+ PD-compliant power bank. This flexibility elevates the mini 2 from just a small grinder to a genuinely portable one. I’m testing it with an INIU Cougar 100W 25,000mAh power bank, and it works fantastically well as a standalone grinding solution.

Workflow: Smarter, Not Harder

The other major quality-of-life improvement is the introduction of an auto-off feature. The grinder’s internal logic now detects when the resistance drops, meaning the beans have all passed through the burrs. It continues to run for about ten seconds to clear the chamber and then shuts itself down.

If you have ever been sidetracked by a ringing phone or a boiling kettle, you might have returned to the sound of the original mini’s motor spinning away uselessly, slowly eating into its 600-hour rated lifespan. The auto-off function means less wear, less heat, and less stress on the motor. It also frees you up to prep your filter or tamp your espresso while the grinder finishes its job.

During that final ten-second spin-down, the mini 2 makes a soft “pffft, pffft” sound as it pulses to push out the last few particles. Retention seems improved, and static is noticeably lower than in the original. These are just my initial impressions, of course; we’ll be doing more rigorous testing on retention and static for the full Snapshot Review.

The Grind Dial: Precision with Visual Cues

And now we come to the dial. While it has no numbers, it does have dots! (this is a point of contention with some owners of the grinder who want numbers on the dial). The collar features a series of large dots interspersed with four smaller dots, giving you a solid visual reference for your grind setting. Option-O’s philosophy is to encourage dialing in by taste and feel, using these markers as waypoints, and they have steadfastly resisted calls to add numbers to the stepless adjustment. For those who want to mark specific settings, they include a sheet of tiny black and white dot stickers for further customization.

I’ve developed my own system with the stickers to keep things straight. I use a single white sticker placed directly on one of the laser etched black dots, to mark the effective zero point. My starting point for espresso is marked with a single black sticker above the seventh large dot. For pour over, which requires a full 360-degree rotation past zero, I use two white stickers over the fourteenth large dot. The two stickers are a quick visual reminder that I have to pass that point one full rotation first before reaching it again.

Honestly, I’m still on the fence about the whole numbers-versus-no-numbers debate. It’s a system that works well once you get used to it, but I understand the appeal of a simpler numerical reference. I’ll have a more definitive take in our full Snapshot Review.

Reliability and Final Thoughts

The Lagom mini 2 inherits the gearbox and motor improvements made in later production runs of the original, and even adds more beefing up and refinements to the system. The auto-off feature adds another layer of protection. The same duty cycle of 1:1 (eg 60 seconds on, 60 seconds off) applies, so this is not a machine for grinding large batches. But for its intended use of delivering a few exceptional doses per day, it should prove to be a reliable companion.

So, who is this grinder for? It’s for the person who values minimalism, counter space, and exceptional grind quality in small amounts. It is for the filter-first coffee drinker who enjoys the occasional espresso. It competes with top-tier manual grinders, and the debate boils down to this: do you prefer the tactile ritual of hand grinding, or would you rather just press a button? After years of daily hand grinding, the appeal of that button gets awfully strong.

And here’s the kicker, the part that seals the deal. In a world where every new version of a gadget seems to come with an automatic price hike, Option-O went the other way. If you bring your own compliant USB-C charger, the mini 2 is actually about a hundred bucks cheaper than its predecessor (excluding any possible Trump Taxes). Even if you opt for the bundle with their excellent new power adapter, it still rings in at about twenty dollars less than the old model with the dedicated power brick.

The Lagom mini 2 is both an incremental and unique-features upgrade. It takes a product we already loved and refines it based on lots of user feedback. The Mizen burrs, improved motor, universal USB-C power, and the smart auto-off function are all excellent improvements that make a great grinder even better.

So, that’s my initial take. We’re now working on the full Snapshot Review for the grinder which should be along in a few months. If you’ve managed to get your hands on a Lagom mini 2, drop a comment below and let us know what you think. If you’ve got questions, fire away. Don’t be shy.

#coffeeGrinder #grinder #lagom #lagomMini2 #optionO #singleDose

MHW-3Bomber F74 Navigator Grinder

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The F74 Navigator Grinder


Unwrapped


Exit Chute Design


Branding


Auger


Hopper Lid


Dosing Cup


Bottom of Dosing Cup


Power Cord


Back Legs


Navigator Box


F74 Navigator Grinder


Testing the Grinder


Closeup of Exit Chute


The Grind Dial


Hopper


Hopper Detail


Lid Instructions


Grinder Brush


Angles and Materials


Inside the Dosing Cup


Back Vent


Machine in the Box


Back of the Box


Out of the Box


Hopper Lid


Grind Dail Sticker


Open the Lid


Control Dial


F74 Navigator Grinder

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Out of the Box

The MHW-3Bomber F74 Navigator doesn’t so much arrive as land.

At 7.5 kilograms, you know you’ve received something substantial. The outer box is neat and I appreciate the eco-friendly limited use of printing and graphics on the brown cardboard, but crack it open and those feels change. You’re greeted with dense, custom‑cut polystyrene, shaped precisely to the grinder’s industrial frame. It’s effective armour for shipping, though a definite loss for the environment. Protective plastic bags cover the grinder and its parts.

For a brand that markets itself as cutting‑edge, a more sustainable choice in packaging would make a stronger impression. I really hope MHW-3Bomber takes this to heart one day, as other manufacturers, like Rancilio and Breville, are doing.

The main box for the Navigator. 3Bomber is going for good eco-branding here with just black ink on the cardboard boax.

Yeah… that logo. Not for everyone.

Opening up, there’s a couple of mini manuals (containing basic info about the grinder) and… polystyrene.

We don’t like this stuff at CoffeeGeek. Coffee already has a massive carbon footprint and high waste costs. We don’t need this

The machine and accessories as you find them in the box, with even more polysterene.

Everything is wrapped in a kind of plastic, I wasn’t able to confirm if it is biodegradable.

The grinder and parts, unwrapped.

Getting to the grinder itself requires removing more polystyrene and the dosing cup.

Lifting the Navigator free, the weight is reassuring. It’s not large, but it feels like a dense block of engineering magic. The dimensions – 10cm wide, 32cm deep, and 28cm tall (4″ wide, 12.6″ deep, and 11″ tall) – make it surprisingly compact. Yet the dense weight keeps it firmly planted on the counter when the motor spins up.

The design is unmistakably MHW‑3Bomber. No soft curves, no attempts at looking like kitchen décor. Instead, sharp lines, exposed bolts, thick structure legs, and an industrial personality. In black or white, it commands attention without pretending to blend in. If you liked the functional, precision‑first look of their Blade R3 or the Sniper grinder, you’ll find the Navigator in the same spirit, only bigger, louder, and meaner.

The angles and materials on the grinder are start and robust, and almost brutalist in design.

The back of the grinder has a big vent cutout, and it is also some of the only plastic on the entire grinder.

The dosing cup is nicely finished in the same textured matt black as the grinder. But it can get stuck inside 58mm filter baskets.

The main lid for the hopper, in its plastic bag for shipping.

There is a pull-off sticker on the lid with some fairly random non-related information about the grinder.

The grinder brush is okay. I prefer softer bristles for this kind of tool.

The hopper lid is very well designed, with a silicone rim for “soft” seating and also a bit of an air tight seal.

The back legs of the grinder are thick aluminum, powder coated with a textured black paint.

The single control point dial; press to start and stop, press 2sec to change modes, rotate to change RPMs

Thankfully, 3Bomber’s branding of this grinder is fairly subtle – this front plate (you could stick some black electrical tape over if you like) and the side dial when it lights up.

Front and centre sits the grind adjustment dial. The dial claims 90 “steps” on its visual indicators, and the manufacturer says each tick represents a 0.01mm burr movement. That’s plenty fine enough for espresso, though we’ll see if real-world use matches that claim in the full review.

But the feel is what’s really impressive. The dial delivers a seriously premium touch-point experience, with dampened resistance and a firm clack at the end stops. It’s a unique hybrid system. Visually, you get indicators from 0 to 9, with ten tick marks between each number (and a larger one at the halfway point between each number). As you rotate it, there’s a very subtle, tactile feel of “clicks”, but the dial doesn’t actually lock into them. You can easily sit it right between those marks.

It’s one of those “you have to try it hands on to know what I’m talking about” kind of things. You end up with the tactile feedback of a stepped grinder but the infinite precision of a stepless one.

This was a highlight for me – the “action” of the dial is very nice, and very repeatable. With a fine touch, you can park it between ticks.

Above the grind dial is a removable sticker with 3Bomber’s recommended settings for various brewing methods

The hopper lid fits very securely; more machine instructions here, kind of a catch all.

The hopper has an anti-popcorn device built in and the lid can be used as a sort-of bellows to blow out any stray grinds.

The hopper is also magnetized and slots into the top of the machine via click channels. The grinder won’t run without it in place.

The third of the three main labels on the grinder, this one details how to use to control dial. Memorize then peel it off.

The burrs themselves, uniquely sized 74mm titanium‑coated flats, hide behind the front dial and mounting plate. If you peek down through the hole where the hopper sits, you see the machine’s auger system, itself attached to the unseen back burr plate. Out of the box, alignment is spot on excellent, at least with our test unit. The Ti coating is there for wear resistance and to keep grinding temperatures down, which should help preserve delicate flavours. On paper, this sits at the top of its class.

We will have further photos of the burrs very soon, but for now, here’s two detail shots.

The auger / prebreaker for the F74 Navigator, visible when you remove the hopper.

There’s no knocker installed on the grinder (IMO, there should be).

Quick aside: every coffee forum has folks obsessing over “burr swapping” like it’s a rite of passage. The F74’s 74 mm burrs? Rare size, wider footprint, not meant to play musical chairs. And honestly, you don’t want to swap them. These burrs were built to sync with the auger, which controls flow and pre‑breaks beans so the grind’s on point. Hold off until 3Bomber makes additional, brewmethod-specific burrs for this grinder; in the meantime the OGs are doing just fine without a $400 order to SSP.

The F74 is equipped with an ionizing coil – two of them in fact – which are supposed to aid in the reduction of static and also lower the grinder’s retention of grinds. They’re located at the exit chute area. We will be testing that a bit in this First Look, but will do our thorough tests in the Full Review coming in the next few months.

The catch cup is just… okay. Honestly, after using the awesome catch cup with the Lagom Casa recently, the F74’s version just isn’t in the same class, even if it’s better than what ships with most DF grinders.

It feels nice enough at first. It’s a 50-gram magnetic container that slides into place with a satisfying snap, and the silicone base is a nifty touch that prevents scratching while still sliding securely. But the workflow is where it falls apart for me. Every time I tried to dose coffee into a 58mm portafilter basket, the cup got wedged, making it a PITA to remove. I quickly learned I can’t use it to dose on its own and have to pair it with a dosing collar, which feels redundant.

This is such a classic MHW-3Bomber move. If there’s something I’ve learned about them over the last few years, it’s that they can come up with some very innovative, unique ideas, but there always seems to be a few areas they just needed to pay more attention to. The dosing cup’s design is a perfect example of that.

Here’s the exit chute, seen with a shot mirror. Note the declumper built in, and the ionizer coils.

The grinder can build up retention (hence needing to clean it out often with a brush). You can just make out the 2 ionizer coils. A knocker would go a long way here.

You still get stray grinds with this grinder; it isn’t a true zero retention design, but its close.

In this closeup, note how close the exit and declumper is to the actual burrs; also note the two ionizing coils. They can be overwhelmed by grinds and chaff if you don’t clean this area often. Again, a knocker could be a possible solution.

The bottom of the dosing cup (the magnet’s inside) has a silicone base that isn’t super grippy (by design) but prevents the cup from scratching the grinder base.

The dosing cup inside also has the textured black paint, but we noticed it does tend to attract chaff on the side walls.

On the right side of the machine is the multi-function control dial, fronted by a bright LED display that shows the current RPMs and grinder mode. This is also how you access the F74’s three modes: just press the dial for two seconds, then rotate to pick your poison.

There’s the A1 mode, which senses when the hopper’s empty and kicks in a quick reverse spin to clear grinds; A2, the full hands-free auto option; and M, old-school manual control. Simple enough once you’ve tried them, even if the naming is a bit clunky. Beeps accompany every mode change, as well as each time you change the RPM by 100, and they cannot be turned off. Consider yourself warned (it’s loud).

The mode and action dial; when the machine is in standby mode, it shows the 3Bomber Logo, the current mode, and current RPMs.

the dial is the grinder’s single control point (other than the front grind dial). It doesn’t have the finesse of the dials on an OXO product, but it’s not bad.

We put the usual 3+ kilos of old, stale coffee through the grinder to season everything up (sidenote – I wish more manufacturers would pre-season their burrs, like Mazzer and Mahkonig do). Once that was done, the true first use started, and here’s what I got.

An 18g espresso dose at 1200 RPM is through in under 7 seconds. At 800 RPM for a 19g pour‑over grind, we got about 8 seconds (both grind speeds measured after we fully seasoned in the burrs). The initial measurements of retention were quite nice: about .2g on the espresso side, and down to .1 on the pourover range. This was with the auto reverse mode enabled. Not bad at all for a fresh-out-of-the-box grinder.

Grinds were very fluffy and consistently placed as they fell into the cup. Combined with the speed, this was particularly impressive. I do have to say, this first use showed a lot of promise for the F74 Navigator.

Using The

It’s a sign of good design and engineering when you open a product and don’t really need to use the manual. I basically skimmed the instructions for the F74 Navigator to learn how the control dial worked, and that was about it.

Operating the grinder quickly became second nature. Start with the grind setting: dial in the luxurious-feeling, dampened dial up front to your preferred fineness level. Next comes your dose of coffee: the 50g hopper is designed for single dosing, keeping your workflow tight and on track. Snap the hopper lid on (this mainly helps reduce grinding noise; the hopper itself has a anti-popcorn device in place), If you like hot starts, run the grinder and drop your beans in. Cold starts? The 400W brushless motor has no issues at all with loading up the beans then running the grinder, if you prefer that way. Even if you used baked ultra light roasts.

I found espresso liked to live in the area between 0.7 and 1.2 on the grind selection dial. That’s actually a really nice dial in range, especially since the selections are effectively stepless. I should note, MHW-3Bomber ships this grinder with the grind dial not truly zero’ed out when you set it to zero. This is because they wanted to give more range in the coarser grinds. You can easily recalibrate the dial by pulling it out (it is held in place with magnets) and setting it to your new zero point. I’d leave it as is, and we did just that on our espresso tests.

AeroPress (we like to grind fine for AeroPress) sits in the 4-5 range, and pour-over grinds for V60, Kalitta Wave, and Melitta cone have their happy zone in the 5.5 to 6.5 range on the grind dial. For our full review, we’ll really get into this, testing grind particle size to find the factory-set zero point grind settings that match our CoffeeGeek standards for various brewing methods.

But let’s cut to the chase: the actual grind quality here is excellent. My espresso shots had a syrupy sweetness, viscous body and flavour note highlights that I’d say is perhaps on par with the Mazzer Philos I recently tested.

It’s not just an espresso one-trick pony, either. For pour-over, the variable RPMs give you fantastic control, delivering grinds with impressive clarity and nuance you can tweak and play with. This firmly places the F74 near the top of the class for any sub-$1,200 grinder in this category.

And that RPM control is not just a gimmick or fad, but a banger of a tool to really take your coffee extractions to the next level. This is where the fun begins. Lower settings like 800 RPM deliver cleaner, more transparent brews, and help with minimizing dust production in coarser grind settings. Higher settings around 1100-1200 RPM yield smoother, sweeter espresso shots with that viscous oomph I personally seek out. You can grind the same beans twice at different speeds and taste two distinct cups: not a bad trick for a single grinder.

Modes are easy to switch. A1 will probably be the most popular for its auto‑reverse, which does a bit of clearing out stray grounds, keeping retention low. A2 offers one‑touch automation, grinding hands‑free and stopping when out of beans. M puts you in full control, useful when experimenting with tricky beans.

The grind itself is fast. An 18 gram espresso dose takes 6 to 7 seconds depending on RPM. For filter coffee at 800 RPM, expect 8 to 9 seconds. Grounds land cleanly in the magnetic catch cup, with very little clinging thanks to the vertical chute, built in dual ionizer coils, and reverse spin.

Noise is the one workflow hazard with the F74 Navigator, and one area where I kind of shook my head at what the folks at 3Bomber were thinking here (remember how I mentioned those “classic MHW-3Bomber moves” in the OTB section? This is another one). At idle, the motor is absolutely whisper quiet. Add beans, and the volume spikes close to 85 decibels. It’s a screechy burst of noise, and you will notice it. But that’s not my main concern.

It’s the beeping. Oh my stars, the beeping. Every setting change comes with an audible and annoying chirp. And you can’t disable it. You’ll either tune it out or grow to resent it. Can you guess where I’m at?

Daily cleaning is easy with a quick brush, although I often forget to do it. The next morning I usually regret that when I see errant chaff sticking here and there.

Here’s the ironic part: the grinder has dual ionizer coils specifically to reduce static and retention, but their design and placement seem to invite buildup anyway. Once that exit chute gets a light coating of grounds, the coils just… stop doing their job. I’ve found that as long as you give the chute a quick brushing each morning, the coils stay clear and work as intended for the rest of the day.

It’s a manageable quirk, but this is definitely another one of those “MHW-3Bomber, please fix this” areas for a future version.

For a full burr chamber clean, you’ll need a screwdriver and hex wrench. Not ideal, but manageable. We’ll get a lot deeper into that for the Full Review.

Overall, the F74 Navigator rewards curiosity and experimentation. Adjusting grind size, changing RPM, and swapping modes all feel intuitive. The output is consistently fantastic and perhaps even class-leading. It’s early days, but so far the Navigator feels like the rare grinder that is both fun to tinker with and consistent enough to trust.

The Navigator enters an extremely competitive space where a handful of grinders have already set the bar.

The Timemore Sculptor 078S ($799 USD) is one. Its design is sleek and modern, the kind you’d happily leave out on a minimalist kitchen counter. It uses 78mm burrs and has a clacker system for static. The F74 Navigator’s burrs, on paper are smaller (74mm vs 78mm) but their extra wide footprint means they provide more cutting surface. Of the two the Navigator is more robust and beefy, and it has the ionizer coil system and the auto reverse feature.

We do not have a Sculptor for testing, though I did borrow one for a few days just to see what it was all about. Between the two, the Timemore is more pretty, but the F74 is way more feature packed, better overall build quality, and IMO, just a better grinder overall. It also feels like it’s built to outlast grinders like the Sculptor.

Then there’s the Option‑O Lagom P64 ($1,650 USD). This grinder is completely loved by the enthusiast world. It kind of started the whole “let’s swap the burrs” trend. Option-O is most definitely a boutique brand, doing small production runs. Their QC is industry leading and the fit and finish of all their grinders is beyond question. The P64 also has variable RPMs (200-1400), and a 300W brushless motor. It really did set the standard for a while on what an enthusiast coffee grinder could be.

The F74 Navigator nearly matches the P64’s RPM flexibility, and perhaps surpasses it on burr geometry and size. The auger pre-feed and cutter system adds weight on the F74’s side of the scale. Consider that it’s half the price of the P64, and that scale starts tipping heavily. It’s not as refined or downright “beautiful” like the P64 is, but it delivers cutting edge (heh) tech and developments that the P64 needs to catch up to.

Speaking of boutique grinders, the Zerno Z1 ($1,250-$2,000 USD) is as close to true boutique and bespoke as we can get these days, with customizable touches, and serious burr capability. The catch, beyond pricing which can climb through the roof depending on how you want yours built, is availability: you may wait months for one. The Navigator, by contrast, is in stock and ready to ship. It may not offer the bespoke appeal, but in day‑to‑day use, the results in the cup might be nearly identical and the quality quotient on taste might even tip the F74’s direction.

(NB, we were in discussions about getting a Z1 for testing and review, and those discussions, while paused, are still ongoing).

Finally, the DF83 V2 ($650 USD) pushes the affordability angle with 83mm burrs (and third party burrs in this size are more readily available if you want to really experiment). It’s solid, straightforward, and a favourite among budget‑minded home baristas. It does feel like last decade’s choice tool (even though it’s only been out for a few years). The DF83 also lacks the Navigator’s variable RPM, which makes the MHW‑3Bomber more versatile for those who want to experiment.

In short, the Navigator threads a needle. It may not match the polish of the Lagom or the bespoke nature of the Zerno, but it delivers performance on par, and perhaps even a bit better, at a fraction of the price. Against Timemore, it trades elegance for rugged intent. And versus the DF83, it offers extra control without jumping into boutique pricing.

Conclusion

The MHW-3Bomber F74 Navigator is a grinder that wants to play in the big leagues without charging big league prices. From the moment you unbox it, the Navigator communicates something, and that something is “I’m not playing kid games any longer”.

The grinder is heavy, solid, and built with an industrial aesthetic that often puts function ahead of curves or polish. The grind dial feels luxuriously solid, the magnetic catch cup is another touch point that makes you smile, and the vertical chute with auto reverse keeps retention surprisingly low.

The 74mm titanium coated burrs, 400 watt brushless motor, and variable RPM system make the F74 Navigator a serious playground for home baristas who like to tinker and taste the results. Espresso shots come out syrupy and sweet. Pour overs show clarity and separation. Brew with a Chemex and Kone filter at low RPMs and you get noticeably fewer fines and a cleaner cup. Retention is nearly negligible, and the magnetic cup plus the chute design keep workflow smooth and consistent.

There are frustrations. The ever‑present beeping is impossible to silence. Grinding volume screeches to the point where your early morning brews need to include an apology to your still-sleeping spouse. The packaging is dense polystyrene, which feels like a missed opportunity for a company that wants to be seen as forward thinking in 2025 by going all eco-friendly in their packaging. And if you are someone obsessed with burr swapping, you will be disappointed, because this grinder was not designed for it.

Still, for $650 to $759 USD (before any Trump Taxes applied extra), the F74 is very difficult to dismiss. You are getting control and consistency that normally require much more expensive grinders. That is why the Navigator earns comparisons to high end machines like the Lagom P64 and Zerno Z1. It may not carry boutique branding or furniture grade looks, but in terms of results it belongs in the same conversation.

We will keep running coffee through the Navigator in the coming months, because it is too fun not to. If you already own one, or if you are considering adding it to your home coffee arsenal, let us know what you think in the comments. We are curious to hear if you are grinning at it or cursing at the beeps, and your comments will help shape our upcoming deep dive.

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Aha! The missing piece!

My grinder's chassis is cracked in multiple places and the temporary fixes I applied over time won't be enough soon, so I bought a new chassis - thankfully parts from Baratza are reasonably priced so repairs make a lot more sense than paying far more to buy a new coffee grinder.

#coffee #coffeeGrinder #Baratza

Does anyone have experience with the 1zpresso ZP6 grinder? I got it as an upgrade from my Timemore C3s because it was particularly recommended for pour over, but I’ve been very unhappy with the results. The recommended setting gives me way too short brew times (like sub 2.5 mins for a 30/480 ratio with a Chemex), which leads to under extraction, with harsh flavors and a cloudy resulting coffee.

#Coffee #CoffeeGrinder

Because I love you Fediverse, here's a sneak peak at the intro for our forthcoming First Look for the 1Zpresso X-Ultra manual coffee grinder. And a couple of the beaut shots.

#coffee #espresso #coffeegrinder