It is a very good grinder. Its particularly great for my household who loves the extra pep in our dinner. The only minor gripe I have for it is that it's not left handed friendly.
This is truly the best pepper grinder of all time. I cool 99% of my meals at home and this is such a joy to use!
We are still in the age of mass disposal and consumption, yet you still find people who want to create solid, thoughtful, practical, and functional products. It's beautiful to look at, great to hold, and it functions accordingly without grandiosity. A simple problem-solving approach to providing the grinding of peppers, which is essential to all but especially to food lovers. I see the creator as following the true essence of design philosophy. Congratulations and success with your business!
This pepper grinder is...life changing. The price is premium but I am a firm believer in you get what you pay for, and this is well worth the money to have in my kitchen to experience grinding pepper on all the stuff we eat. Thanks for creating such a beautiful, lovely to use, amazing pepper grinder. If you're considering making this purchase, I hands down recommend!
I backed Piper as part of their Kickstarter campaign and have been very pleased with the results so far. We have had a set of Peugeot salt & pepper grinders for over a decade, and I have always been unhappy with the user experience and results from the pepper mills especially (jammed easily, inconsistent grind size, takes forever to get a decent amount out...even at a coarser grind setting, etc.).
For KS campaigns, I tend to do a lot of research about the company, so as not to get scammed. I look for things like community engagement in a variety of channels, communication during the campaign, and more. Besides the nice look and advertising for the Piper, having the Timemore burrs is what really gave me confidence (due to their longstanding reputation in the coffee world).
During the campaign, the Piper team was consistently communicative, and more importantly, this continued after the campaign closed and they received funding. I have spoken to Jeremy on several occasions asking for help with delivery due to traveling. I received immediate, thorough, and helpful assistance. Not only was it easy to reschedule the delivery, but Jeremy followed up with several other proactive messages (it has shipped, did you receive it, how is your experience so far?). This shows another level of dedication to the customer experience, which I truly appreciate. While none of my comments so far speak about the unit itself, this attitude and level of involvement shows the care around the product.
Now...onto the actual Piper. Is it worth it?
Pros:
- It looks beautiful, is smooth, and fits your hand great.
- It feels well built.
- I appreciate the comfort of holding it from above and grinding, making the grinding motion smooth and easy.
- The burrs have a ton of settings (~40) from super fine to cracked that can be adjusted easily.
- The output is consistent (predictable), smooth, and a good amount. I can get what I want from 4-5 back and forth quarter turns (a few seconds) compared to the 12+ much larger turns from the Peugeot (probably 15s).
- The magnetic top is wonderful. It is strong enough to keep it on but easy to remove for refills.
- The magnetic bottom is a nice touch that can likely be useful for customers
- The pepper blend is good and comes in convenient packets for refilling
Cons:
- The price tag is premium. While you definitely get what you pay for, I imagine this price will turn potential customers away.
- While the blends are nice, I wish they came in compostable packaging
- The top handle has a little wiggle/give when not actually grinding. While this does not cause any issues, I wish it stayed firm/locked until actually turning
- The overall capacity is small compared to other grinders. However, this is almost a nonissue due to the ease of removing the top for refilling.
- The magnetic bottom/catch cup is a very firm fit. Because of this, it is hard to get off and makes it likely pepper when come out of the catch cup when trying to remove it. This can probably be fixed by some sanding or other slight adjustments, I just do not see this being useful for me most of the time. In the future, I would love to see a bigger base that could hold more quantity for use with recipes and therefore would also be easier to grab and remove (especially without concerns about spilling). In general, it is a great idea and would not impact my decision on purchasing again or not.
At this point, I have had it for several weeks and have been very pleased. Time will tell if it maintains the same user experience and has durability. The included cleaning brush is a nice touch. I look forward to Piper releasing a grinder for salt as well.
