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Electric coffee grinders are often the biggest purchase facing people who are just getting into manual coffee brewing. The rest of the equipment can usually be purchased fairly inexpensively, but once you start shopping for electric grinders, prices climb quickly and it becomes difficult to know what to choose.

When Wirsh reached out to me to send me the Geimori GU38 Stepless Electric Coffee Grinder to test and review, I thought it would be a good opportunity to check out a less known entry level grinder that is on the market. I do not have another entry level grinder at this moment to test it against so I simply evaluated it on its own merit. I asked: Would I be happy to own this grinder and manually brew with it? Instead of: Is this the best grinder for the price available right now?

The Quick Verdict: The Geimori GU38 has impressed me overall. It is the quietest electric coffee grinder I have ever owned. For entry level manual brewing, I found the grind quality to be sufficient. I appreciate how it looks and think it can probably stand up well next to similarly priced entry level coffee grinders.

The overly large power cord and limited grinder runtime are two downsides. It is also not repairable and Wirsh does not offer replacement burrs. It may struggle with lighter roasts at very fine espresso settings but I did not test the grinder at these super fine levels. I cannot speak to the longevity of the grinder as I have only been using it for a few months.

Overall, if you like the look of this grinder and are comfortable paying a little more for entry level grinding, this is a good starter grinder. If you are doing more than 35 gram dosages, you might find this grinder a little underpowered for your uses.

It can be purchased directly from Wirsh here (Use code: BCMblog for additional 15% off) or through Amazon here.

Geimori GU38 First Impressions

When I opened up the box, I found a thoughtfully packaged grinder with an assortment of small extras. The grinder itself appears to be well made. The exterior is all metal, save for a wooden cap and the start button. It is heavy and feels well built.

The compact size is a plus, as it does not seem gargantuan. I like the design overall and think it will look quite fetching on my counter. Something that immediately stood out was the power cord. The grinder itself is compact and sleek, but the included power cord is pretty bulky. It seems to be larger than necessary or at least larger than my preference.

I appreciate the inclusion of a spray bottle, a brush and the bellows. These items should help keep my brew station tidy. The included manual has quite a bit of information about the grinder and its use.

What’s in the box?

• The GU38 Coffee Grinder
• A bellows attachment
• Ground coffee collection cup
• Power Cord
• Small brush for cleaning
• Small spray bottle
• Instruction manual

About the Grinder

The Geimori GU38 Stepless Electric Coffee Grinder is a single dose coffee grinder in the entry level price range for specialty electric grinders.

Single dose coffee grinders are growing in popularity with coffee enthusiasts. The term simply means that there is not a big hopper on top to store coffee beans. It is designed to be loaded each time you grind coffee rather than storing beans in a hopper for extended periods.

I have always used my grinders this way but it is nice to see some grinders without large plastic hoppers on the top.

The parent company, Wirsh, is not one I am familiar with, but they have a few models of grinders for sale, including one that runs on a rechargeable battery (something that I find interesting). They also sell an entry level espresso machine and an iced tea maker.

GU38 Specifications:

Dimensions: 3.5″L x 6″W x 12″H
Weight: 5.5 pounds
Hopper Capacity: 35 grams
Burr Type: Conical
Burr Size: 38 mm
Adjustment: Stepless

Getting Started

Before grinding your first dose of beans, there are a few things you should know about the GU38.

The manual states this grinder may find “Omni/light roast challenging at the espresso setting (depending on the roast degree and type of bean), please ensure to take the upmost [utmost] care while grinding light roasted coffees and ensure that you feed the beans in slowly or adjust your dose to suit a slightly coarser grind.”

I am not an espresso guy, so I don’t plan on using this grinder in that capacity but it seems it could have some troubles at a fine setting with lighter roasts.

There is also some pretty standard boilerplate safety advice i.e.: Don’t put your fingers in the hopper, watch long hair near the hopper, look out for foreign objects in your coffee beans and do not grind pre ground coffee.

The manual also instructs to not grind for more than 60 seconds and take a 90 second rest between cycles (this is not a commercial grinder). This could be a potential annoyance if you are using the grinder daily for larger doses (like for an automatic brewer).

There is a warning to not change out the power adapter (something I already considered).

There is also a section that shows you how to calibrate the grinder. It is fairly simple to establish the zero point with this grinder and it is explained well. Make sure you do this step before use.

There is an included chart with recommended grind settings: Espresso 0-20, Moka Pot 21-35, V60 25-50, Aeropress 30-60 and French Press/Cold Brew 50-65.

The rest of the manual gives care and maintenance instructions. Overall, my only real question would be if the burrs are replaceable and what sort of difficulty can I expect with light roasted beans. For the first question, I was able to reach out to Wirsh and confirm that they do not offer replacement burrs. The grinder does come with a one year warranty though.

How Does it Grind?

With all the preliminary and cautionary information out of the way, it is time to answer the important question: How does the Geimori GU38 grind coffee?

I used the Geimori GU38 daily for a few months to see how I liked it and what I would notice from consistent use.

I found that it was up to the task for pour-overs and other manual brewing methods and I quite liked the simple operation and quiet grinding. I did not have any problems with my lighter roasted coffees but I did not grind anything below a 20 as that is quite fine enough for my uses.

Grinding 80 to 100 grams at a time is a bit of a hassle but not anything too off-putting. Making a full pot of coffee on the Melitta Vision Luxe requires grinding in two or three batches with a pause between batches (as noted by the manual).

I found that even with spritzing the grounds and using the bellows, there was still some coffee chaff circulating but it is manageable and certainly an expected amount. It is not a “mess free” coffee grinder. I have never owned a coffee grinder that didn’t make a mess of some sort though.

I also noticed that the grinder could be a little tippy, I did not knock it over but a few times I accidentally gave it a wobble. It is narrow and tall so this is a slight risk. It would not normally be an issue if it is tucked up under some cabinets against a backsplash.

As for grind consistency, the sizing looks fairly consistent across the manual brewing grind levels. I did not measure microns distribution or anything scientific, but visually the ground coffee looks acceptable with some fines showing up more obviously as the grind size got coarser. In my field tests, I felt that it performed well with the v60, Aeropress and filter coffee.

After a few months, my overall impression was that it was a nice grinder with some minor quirks. The grinder does not sound particularly powerful while running, but I had no issues grinding the lighter roasted coffees I typically brew. It does not have an auto shut off when the grinding is done, which is something I am used to with the Fellow Ode.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I feel the Geimori GU38 is a compelling entry level grinder. It has some interesting features like the quieter operation and the low RPMs. The low RPMs is something that has been said to keep less heat out of the grinding process, preserving flavor in the ground coffee. This is something you will often hear from hand coffee mill enthusiasts as well.

I think the real place to pause is the fact that this grinder is not repairable. This is something you will run into with most of the grinders in this entry level tier. I don’t have any reason to question the longevity of the GU38 but in general, I am a fan of items that can be repaired instead of replaced.

That being said, it is not at a price where you would typically expect a repairable machine. It is at a price where you could experiment with a single dose grinder, explore what you like and don’t like about it and apply what you find out about your preferences for your next purchase when you are ready to upgrade or replace.

If you like the smaller footprint and look of this machine, can deal with the large power cord and don’t mind items that are not repairable, this quiet little single dose grinder might be a good fit for your coffee station.

You can get a 15% discount at checkout from the Wirsh store with code BCMblog here or check the price on Amazon here.

What about you? Are you curious about some of the lesser known entry level brands or do you prefer to stick to larger more proven companies? Is there anything else you would like to see added to the evaluation? Let me know in the comments below or you can contact me here.