[hattmall]

$10 Blade Grinder < $25 high torque blade grinder < $150 burr grinder < $400 coated micro abrasive burr grinder < $6 mortar and pestle

[matrix87]

> $6 mortar and pestle

maybe for granularity but the mess is probably god awful to deal with

[yumraj]

> $6 mortar and pestle

Really? How does one get consistency?

[hattmall]

Elbow grease mostly, but when you feel you've done enough, screening.

[terribleperson]

If you need consistent particle size with a mortar and pestle, you regularly screen whatever you're grinding with a tamis.

[jbverschoor]

Eye hand coordination

[Kirby64]

Presumably you're joking, but even assuming perfect articulation of a mortar and pestle, the inherent uncertainty with how coffee breaks when cracked is going to lead to inconsistent particle size. The reason burrs actually work for precision is due to the fact that they cut the coffee until it is small enough to exit the burr gap. There's no such restriction on when coffee is finished cutting on a mortar/pestle.