The £150 price point is a competitive one in home coffee grinders. The Baratza Encore ESP sits here. The Fellow Opus sits close. There are dozens of options from lesser-known brands, ranging from genuinely good to deeply disappointing.
The NadoNado ND-CGH2 is new to the UK market — and new to our range at Coffee Hit — but it comes from a brand that's already earned a strong reputation among specialty coffee enthusiasts in South Korea and across Asia. We stocked it because we thought it offered something genuinely different at this price. Here's an honest account of what makes it stand out, and where its real strengths lie.
What Is the NadoNado ND-CGH2?
The ND-CGH2 is the second-generation NadoNado grinder — refined based on feedback from the original model. It's a single-dose electric burr grinder, built around 40mm STS420 titanium-coated conical burrs and offering 51 micro-adjustable grind settings covering the full range from fine espresso through to coarse French press and cold brew.
At £149 it sits at the accessible end of the serious home grinder market — more capable than true entry-level options, but well below the £200–£400 range where most enthusiast grinders live. The titanium burrs, included shims, and optional filter burr upgrade give it a specification that would be unusual at twice the price.
Single-Dose Design: Why It Matters
Most home grinders are hopper-fed — you fill a bean hopper that sits on top of the grinder and feeds beans through continuously. It's convenient, but it has a significant drawback: the beans in the hopper are exposed to air, light, and moisture every time you open the lid, gradually going stale between uses.
The NadoNado is designed specifically for single-dose use. You weigh out exactly the amount of coffee you need for your brew — typically 15–20g for espresso, 15–25g for filter depending on your recipe — load it directly into the grinder, and grind it fresh. Every cup is made from beans ground to order, with no stale buildup sitting in a hopper.
For specialty coffee drinkers — particularly those rotating through different single-origin beans — this is a meaningful advantage. You can switch from an Ethiopian natural for your morning V60 to a Colombian washed espresso without any cross-contamination from leftover grounds. Grind retention is minimal, so what you put in is essentially what you get out.
It's a different workflow from a hopper-fed grinder, and it suits people who already weigh their doses. If you're the type who fills a hopper on Monday and grinds as needed through the week, a single-dose grinder requires a small habit change — but one that most people find produces a noticeable improvement in cup quality.
The Burrs: What Titanium Coating Actually Means
The ND-CGH2 uses 40mm STS420 stainless steel conical burrs with a titanium coating. This isn't purely a marketing specification — titanium coating meaningfully increases the hardness of the burr surface compared to standard stainless steel, which has two practical effects.
First, the burrs stay sharper for longer. Harder surfaces resist wear better, meaning grind consistency holds up over time rather than gradually degrading as the burrs dull. Second, harder burrs produce less heat during grinding — they cut more cleanly rather than generating friction — which matters because heat during grinding can affect the volatile aromatic compounds responsible for coffee's flavour.
At this price point, titanium-coated burrs are unusual. Most grinders under £150 use standard hardened steel — fine, but not in the same category. It's one of the reasons the ND-CGH2 represents genuine value rather than just competitive pricing.
51 Settings and the Shim System
51 grind settings is a generous range. Spread across the full spectrum from espresso-fine to cold brew coarse, it gives you meaningful precision at every point — including within the espresso range, where small adjustments have the most impact on extraction.
The four included shims are where the ND-CGH2 gets particularly interesting for espresso users. Shims are thin metal washers that sit between the burrs, adjusting the minimum gap between them. Adding or removing a shim shifts the entire grind range up or down, effectively extending the adjustment range beyond the 51 standard steps. In practice this means you can micro-tune your espresso grind with a level of precision that most grinders at this price simply don't offer. It's a feature you'd expect to find on grinders at significantly higher price points.
For filter brewing — V60, AeroPress, Clever Dripper — the upper range of the 51 settings covers everything comfortably. The adjustment between brewing methods is smooth and repeatable.
The Optional Filter Burr Upgrade
One of the most distinctive features of the NadoNado ecosystem is the ability to swap burrs. The standard titanium burrs perform well across all methods, but optional dedicated filter burrs are available as an upgrade, designed specifically for pour-over and filter brewing.
Filter burrs produce a grind profile optimised for clarity and clean extraction — more uniform particle distribution with fewer fines, which translates into brighter, more transparent cups from a V60 or Chemex. If you primarily brew filter and want to get the most from light roast specialty coffees, the filter burr upgrade is genuinely worth considering. It effectively turns the ND-CGH2 into a dedicated filter grinder when swapped in, then back to an all-rounder when you swap back.
The ability to swap burrs for different brewing purposes — at this price, with this ease — is rare. It means the grinder can grow with you as your brewing evolves, rather than becoming a bottleneck if your focus shifts.
Build Quality and Daily Use
The ND-CGH2 has a compact, modern footprint that sits comfortably on a home counter without dominating the space. The build quality is solid — this is not a lightweight, hollow-feeling grinder. It stays put during grinding without needing to be held down, and the adjustment mechanism has a satisfying precision to it.
The single-dose workflow is smooth in practice: weigh your beans, load, grind, brush out the grounds. The grind retention is low enough that you're not losing meaningful amounts of coffee inside the machine between doses. The optional NadoNado Dosing Cup is a useful accessory for espresso users, making transfer to a portafilter tidy and mess-free.
A note on noise: it's an electric grinder, so it makes noise — but it's not unusually loud for its class.
Who Is the NadoNado ND-CGH2 For?
The ND-CGH2 suits home brewers who are ready to take their coffee seriously without spending into the enthusiast price tier. It performs particularly well for:
Filter-first brewers who want genuine single-dose precision for V60, AeroPress, or Clever Dripper — especially those using specialty single-origin beans where freshness matters most. The optional filter burr upgrade takes this further.
Home espresso brewers who want fine adjustment control and the ability to micro-tune with shims. It's honest value for espresso at £149, without the constraints of true entry-level grinders.
Bean switchers — people who regularly rotate through different single-origin coffees or switch between brewing methods. The single-dose design and low retention make this genuinely convenient rather than just theoretically preferable.
Anyone upgrading from a blade grinder or basic burr grinder who wants a step change in cup quality without a step change in price.
If you primarily brew filter and never touch espresso, the Baratza Encore is a worthy alternative at a similar price. If you're seriously into espresso and need the maximum precision available under £200, the Baratza Encore ESP is the comparison worth making. Both are excellent grinders. What the NadoNado offers that neither does is the single-dose design, the titanium burr specification, and the burr-swap flexibility — a different set of strengths that suit a particular kind of home brewer very well.
Browse the full Coffee Hit grinder range to compare options, or go straight to the NadoNado ND-CGH2 product page for full specifications and to order.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a single-dose grinder and why does it matter?
A single-dose grinder is designed to grind only as much coffee as you need for one brew, rather than storing beans in a hopper between uses. You weigh your dose, load it directly into the grinder, and grind it fresh each time. This keeps beans at peak freshness — they're only exposed to air immediately before grinding, not sitting in a hopper degrading over days or weeks. It also means minimal grind retention (very little coffee left inside the machine between uses), more accurate dosing, and the freedom to switch between different beans from one brew to the next without cross-contamination.
What are the shims included with the NadoNado ND-CGH2 for?
Shims are thin metal washers that sit between the burrs, adjusting the minimum gap between them. Adding or removing a shim from the ND-CGH2 shifts the entire grind range finer or coarser, giving you micro-adjustment capability beyond the 51 standard settings. In practice this is most useful for espresso dialling — it lets you fine-tune the grind to a precision that most grinders at this price point simply don't offer. Four shims are included in the box.
Can the NadoNado ND-CGH2 grind for espresso?
Yes. The 51-step grind range includes fine settings suitable for espresso, and the included shims allow further micro-adjustment for precise dialling. The titanium-coated burrs produce consistent particle sizes at fine settings, which is important for even espresso extraction. For dedicated espresso use at home, the ND-CGH2 performs strongly at its price point. For very high-demand espresso use — frequent fine-tuning with multiple different coffees — a dedicated espresso grinder with a wider fine range may offer more headroom, but for most home setups the ND-CGH2 handles espresso well.
What is the difference between the standard burrs and the optional filter burrs?
The standard titanium-coated burrs are versatile across all brew methods — espresso, filter, AeroPress, French press, cold brew. The optional filter burrs are designed specifically to optimise the grind profile for pour-over and filter brewing, producing a more uniform particle distribution with fewer fine particles. The result in the cup is greater clarity and a cleaner flavour profile — particularly noticeable with light roast single-origin coffees brewed on a V60, Chemex, or Kalita Wave. If you primarily brew filter and want the best possible performance for that method, the filter burr upgrade is worth considering. Both burr sets are swappable, so you can switch between them as your brewing changes.
How does the NadoNado ND-CGH2 compare to the Baratza Encore ESP?
Both are capable grinders at a similar price point, but they have different strengths. The Baratza Encore ESP uses a dual-resolution adjustment system with 40mm M2 conical burrs and is an excellent all-rounder with a strong track record, well-established UK support infrastructure, and Baratza's repairability ethos. The NadoNado ND-CGH2 offers titanium-coated burrs, a single-dose design with lower grind retention, 51 settings with shim micro-adjustment, and the option to swap to dedicated filter burrs — a more flexible specification for brewers who prioritise freshness and method-specific performance. The Encore ESP suits those who want a reliable everyday grinder with a proven reputation; the NadoNado suits those who want single-dose precision and burr flexibility. Both are worth considering at this price.
