Timemore C3

Equipment notes

The Timemore (China) C3 is a manual hand grinder and the next-generation standard of the value Chestnut series. It uses 38mm conical stainless burrs, but the key change is adopting the S2C (Spike-to-Cut) burr in place of the C2 generation's standard burr. S2C geometry uses vertical spikes at the top to break beans into larger pieces before feeding them to the lower cutting edges, designed to reduce both boulders and fines. Adjustment remains internal and stepped. Thanks to this burr, particle uniformity improves over the C2 generation and the fine-end floor drops slightly, widening the usable range. It is an all-round tool centered on filter and reaching into immersion, while true espresso is marginal with very few usable settings. The internal stepped clicks keep settings repeatable. It suits pour-over and all-round filter users who want a step up in uniformity within an entry budget.