VictoriaManual Grain Grinder with Low Hopper, Grain Mill for Kitchen Use, Made in Colombia

This hand mill WILL grind nixtamal finely enough for tortillas that puff on the griddle like they're supposed to. You'll get much better results than from a food processor. But here are a few cautionary tips:1). When assembling the mill, screw the grinding plates as tightly together as possible. Otherwise the dough will not be fine or smooth enough. If too much play still remains between the plates, use a half-inch-diameter steel O-ring (not included) as a brace to keep the plates pressed tightly together.2). Although the mill comes with a fairly large attachable hopper, I actually believe it best not to use it for tortilla dough. Feed only a few tablespoons of rinsed nixtamalized corn into the mill at a time, dribbling in just a bit of water as you grind. You want to keep an eye on the process, and the mill's main assembly includes a feeding area that's the right size for this. Watch and monitor the corn as it moves down and along the large screw-shaped auger that guides the corn to the grinding plates.3). For masa that's fine enough, you'll probably need to grind it twice and possibly three times-- again, keeping the plates tightly together, and again, feeding in just a couple spoonfuls at a time. On the second grind you'll probably have to use a wooden spoon handle to occasionally coax the dough to the auger. A few drops of water will help, but not too much! Masa that's wet and sticky won't work.The process obviously requires some labor, and the final consistency will almost certainly be somewhat coarser than the silky-smooth texture you can achieve with the best masa harina. When pressed, the tortillas will have a more rustic, pebbly texture, but they will puff up on the griddle, and they will be tender. And if you're wondering if freshly ground masa is dramatically superior to dough made from reconstituted masa harina, the answer is YES.

This mill is awesome. I can't believe it for the price. If this thing were made in the USA, it would be 3X the price at least. I've ground black beans and wheat berries through it so far. The picture is wheat berries (left) and the flour made from it using this grain mill (right). Will it make super fine flour like you buy at the store? No...But I think it can make it fine enough to make a coarser bread with, which is my goal here. The trick is to run whatever you're grinding through it successively to get it finer and finer each time. Time consuming? Yeah, a little. But it's fun work, and the kids love it. Also, super easy to assemble/disassemble to clean. After several time of use, no wear and tear is visible anywhere on the mill. I think this thing will last a long time as it's built very solidly (all the tough parts are cast iron, the handle is real wood, the hopper seems like it's aluminum, the bottom guard on the vice is rubber to keep from scratching any surfaces, and the only plastic piece is the little red cover). Very impressed and will probably buy another as back-up, for non-kitchen uses (like crushing up feed for young chickens).

Our grinder arrived with the box bursting open, holes on one end and a dent in the hopper because of poor packaging. At least it was part of a larger order so nothing got lost. It is very heavy for the tiny box it comes in.This grinder is super sturdy and seems to grind well though I could not get a super fine textured flour even after adjusting the grind and regrinding twice. Cleaning after use is straightforward, but the main body is quite heavy so someone with weak hand strength would find this difficult. Plus, flour and grain pieces get stuck in the screw divets and at the base of the grinder. Very hard to get all the flour sludge out. I will start brushing off the flour before washing which should help.Does a decent job grinding and not too hard to push. Good, inexpensive hand powered grinder.

I use this to grind fresh grains for my chickens, corn, sorghum, mesquite pods, and other seeds, I have it set for a finer chunk which the birds like.It will make some flour while grinding, and I'm sure I'd could keep processing it down to a finer and finer flour, yet at that point I would take the flour I had made, and use a food processer for a even finer flour.Yet it does what I need it for just fine, it's well made, and is Made in Mexico, the wooden handle is a nice touch, and as long as it's inside should last for years. The finish has a bright galvanized look, and it would appear that it will last generations of heavy use.It's not a lightweight unit, and the hardware could use a locking washer near the grinding plates, however I'm sure if you used them they would mar the finish, and it would take a wrench to loosed the nuts off. I just use my big strong hands to tighten the butterfly nuts, and I almost never have to readjust the settings.Well worth the money on this unit, some of the other ones on Amazon look like toy's, this is a unit that could be found at a local Taco Street Vendor in South America who is making fresh food with whole corn/maize.

It works very well, for both wet corn and dry grains.You need to grind and discard about 2 cups of rice to start.

Maybe it's the table I have it attached to, but I feel like it will break the edge of the table off if I use it too much. Have to use the table bc the clamp doesn't open enough to attach it to any of my kitchen counters. I don't like how the hopper attaches to the grinder. It seems a little flimsy and its attachment has holes around the bottom where grains can leak through. It seems to work ok for coffee. Grains are very coarse though, even at the lowest setting.