Peugeot Hand Mill - The French Press' Best friend

/files/u2252/front_mil2_0.jpg" width="198" height="250" align="right" />One of my favorite ways to enjoy coffee is brewing with a French press.  Who better than the French then to make the perfect French press hand grinder? I found a good deal on this press made by the French company named Peugeot (yes, the same company as the auto/aerospace/etc..). Here is a little bit of information about the company I found on wikipedia:

"The Peugeot family of Valentigney, Montbéliard, Franche-Comté, France, began in the manufacturing business in the 18th century. In 1842, they added production of coffee, pepper, and salt grinders."

The article states the lion trademark dates to 1858 but this mill is much newer that that. This mill is not designed to grind for espresso since the adjustment is stepped but rather is designed to provide superb results grinding for French press. The substantial shaft is supported at the top by a large bushing and also at the bottom close to where the inner burr connects by another strap. This allows the burrs to remain stable even grinding particles as large as 1/8th of a peppercorn (far larger than you want to brew with). The consistency when grinding for press is phenomenal - I sifted the results using a Kitchen screen hand sifter (much larger spacing than my Bodum press filter) and got a very small amount of dust - not enough to even register on my gram scale.

The box is wood covered with a light varnish with dove tail finger joints for added strength and durability.  The bean hopper is metal and the cover is metal as well so these parts match the strength of the wood.  This is a very solid grinder. I am not sure what the model is for this grinder but it doesn't really matter. What matters is the quality of the grind is as good as the construction - this combination is hard to beat.