HIKU Hand Coffee Grinder

HIKU Hand Coffee Grinder
client
Kanso Coffee
expertise & services
Concept development
Industrial design
User experience testing
Mechanical engineering
Design for manufacturing
Marketing support
year
2017

Designing and Launching an All-New, No Compromise Premium Hand Coffee Grinder for a Discerning Market

overview

HIKU is a premium hand coffee grinder that features the world's largest 7-fluted conical burr in a hand grinder, and a stepless adjustment ring for perfectly precise brews.

The Challenge

Design a premium piece of coffee hardware for coffee enthusiasts to compete with established brands on performance, aesthetics, and quality.

Various stages of HIKU prototypes on a table, laid out in chronological order.
A photo of HIKU, disassembled and arranged in an aesthetically pleasing way to showcase its internal hardware.
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The Outcome

HIKU, the premium hand coffee grinder, including the world’s largest conical burr in a hand grinder. After a successful Kickstarter campaign, HIKU launched worldwide and produced three patent pending innovations.

The HIKU hand coffee grinder on its side with the bottom cup removed to show the burrset.
A photo of HIKU disassembled, with the measurements prominently displayed at the forefront. The parts are sitting on a black, highly reflective surface.
The HIKU hand coffee grinder burrset in gold, sitting on a light blue-grey marbled countertop.
HIKU's packaging, which showcases a sturdy black box with the "Kanso Coffee" logo in gold foil printing.
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From Beans to Brew

The design of HIKU was well-informed by deep research in not only coffee, but many facets of industries including photography, kitchenware, sound design, and electronics. Insights from these other fields and subjects guided the design team as they developed more than 50 physical iterations of each component of HIKU, from the concentricity of its central shaft, to the accuracy of its finely tuned burr system, and even down to the sound and tactile feel of the beans as they’re being ground.

Key design elements of the iterative process was the focus on efficiency of motion, precision of grind, and user experience, which makes HIKU easy and enjoyable to use with no frustrations. The grinder’s premium feel and unique tactility is achieved through its materials, texture, finish, and internal arrangement of components that gives a desirable weight distribution.

Carefully painting the grind measurements by hand on a prototype of the HIKU hand coffee grinder.
A woman holding the HIKU hand coffee grinder, gripping the handle like she is grinding coffee.
A closeup of HIKU with the "KANSO" logo.
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