Shardor 64mm Flat Burr Grinder Review

Introducing the Shardor 64mm Grinder

The Shardor 64mm flat burr grinder is quickly gaining a lot of buzz on the internet, and even replacing the DF54 as the most affordable, espresso-capable grinder. The Shardor offers large 64mm espresso focused burrs, two different timers (single and double espresso), anti-static technology, and very little retention.

And it offers all of this for just $150-170 (depending when you look).

So, how can it offer all that, and be so cheap? Well, the build materials must keep the costs down. While the burrs are stainless steel, and the chamber and exit chute are made of milled metal, the housing of the Shardor is made of plastic. The whole thing weighs only about 6 pounds. Nonetheless, it’s a performer.

The Looks and Features

If you like the look of the Mazzer Mini, you’ll probably like how the Shardor looks. It’s tall and has a small footprint. It’s tapered towards the front, where it employs a dual color touch display. The Shardor has a really large bean hopper on top, that seals well, and with its included bellows, can bang out remaining grinds quite well.

The display is easy enough to read, and quite intuitive. Press the plus button to increase the grinding time, and the minus to decrease the time. Press the one bean icon for a single dose, or the 2 bean for the double dose. The only thing that bothers me about the display, is that it goes into sleep mode within a few minutes, and you have to tap it to wake up. That saves an iota of energy, but I’d just prefer it stayed on.

Looking towards the bottom of the grinder, you’ll see a portafilter rest, for holding your porafilter under the exit chute while it’s grinding. Alternatively, you can remove the portafilter rest, and just use the included catch cup for receiving the fresh grounds.

On the side of the grinder is a red illuminated button, that turns power on and off.

The grind adjustment collar is made out of aluminum, and has marks for espresso, mokka and other brew methods. A nice touch. Keep in mind that these tick marks are only visual. This is a stepless grinder. The grinder adjustment collar includes a knurled adjustment pin, which makes adjusting the collar easier.

Something I appreciate is that the Shardor conforms to UL standards, as well as CSA standards, which means it’s been designed and tested for the North American market. On the bottom, you will also note 5 padded feet, to help alleviate dancing on your countertop. Finally, you see the fan exit of the 260 watt motor.

How are the 64mm flat burrs?

Looking at the burrs, these are a conventional 3 holed design, for attaching to the burr carriers. Their geometry shows looks like standard espresso burrs, with the pre-breaker crevices on the inside diameter, and the finer cutting blades on the perimeter of the burr. The burrs did well for me, to make nice, full-bodied and chocolatey espresso. They also did just fine munching through lighter roast beans.

Probably what gets people the most excited is the ability to switch these burrs out for SSP burrs. So, you could put in ‘Lab Sweet’ burrs, or ‘High Uniformity’ burrs, or ‘All-Purpose’ burrs. Great success!

64mm Burr Compatibility

What makes the Shardor even more crazy, is that the burr holes line up, so that you can plop in some aftermarket burrs, like those from SSP. Just keep in mind, these SSP burrs may cost more than the grinder itself!

How is the retention?

Retention on the Shardor after using the bellows is very low – usually around 0.1 grams. The grinding chamber and exit chute remain quite devoid of grounds – so much so, that I was quite astounded how well the bellows works to keep the chamber clean.

In my tests, the Shardor did even better than the much more expensive Eureka Zero 65, an Italian made grinder, aimed at zero retention.

De-ionizer

The Shardor claims to have a deionizer, in order to get the static charge off the grounds. In principle, this should make the grounds cling less to the catch cup, and also not scatter out of the exit chute. While I couldn’t find where the deionizing pins were hidden, static was manageable on the Shardor – no major issues with static charge, which is a nice thing.

So how does the Shardor 64 perform for Espresso?

Performance is very impressive with the Shardor. Dialing in is quite easy with the stepless grind adjustment collar. Grinding is also super fast. I can grind 16 grams of beans in about 8 seconds for espresso. Awesome!

The grinding results are also very good. Out of the box, the Shardor grinds finely and consistently enough to provide good and balanced espresso shots. As they are espresso focused, the burrs provide a good grind distribution to make nicely textured shots with good body. I would compare them to the shots provided by the DF54 or the Eureka Specialita.

What Alternatives are there to the Shardor?

At this price range of under $200, everything offered will be made in China.

If you want a conical burr grinder under $200, you could consider the Fellow Opus, or the Baratza ESP. I actually like the ESP better than the Opus, because it doesn’t have such issues with static as the Opus does, and it’s also much faster. the Opus is quite slow, although it provides very nicely balanced shots.

The DF54 I would say is the closest competitor to the Shardor. They are both made in China, but the DF54 feels like it was built like a tank, and has very obviously a better build quality. I’d say drink quality is similar though.

You really can’t go wrong with any of these grinders, but I’d give the Shardor the win for its awesome price point. After that, I’d go for the ESP if you want to quicken your workflow, or the DF54 if you want something built like a tank.

Pros and Cons of the Shardor?

Well I mean, this grinder’s a no brainer. For the price, you’re getting a flat burr grinder with a stepless adjustment dial, and blazing fast 2 grams per second grinding speed. You can even switch out to SSP burrs! That being said, Shardor is a pretty new company, and reliability is an unknown.

Specifications of the Shardor:

– Dimensions: 8.15″L x 5.2″W x 15.28″H

– Weight: 6 pounds

– 260 watt machine

– Build Materials: plastic and metal

– 1 year warranty

– Country of Origin: China

Find your Shardor here: