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  Show and Tell: Vintage Braun Coffee Grinder

  Posted by Alex, industrial design - August 05, 2011

  At Speck Design we revel in the process of transforming a concept into a physical product that makes its way into the marketplace.  We also appreciate the design features of products we use on a daily basis.  As part of our weekly show-and-tell blog series, we talk about some of our favorite everyday products, sharing insight into likeable features, how the product stands out compared to similar products, and which improvements could be made to the product from a design, engineering, and user experience stand point.

  Read on to learn about my bright orange vintage coffee grinder.  Warning: reading this blog post may cause you to crave a cup of freshly brewed coffee - vintage-style.

  PRODUCT: Vintage Braun coffee grinder

  DESCRIPTION: The Braun coffee grinder is from 1962 and was designed by Reinhold Weiss.  The grinder is part a series and is also available in white and black.  

  

  LIKEABLE FEATURES: I like the simplicity of the coffee grinder – It has one button, a small logo, and a cord.  The plastic top of the coffee grinder containing the coffee beans is quite thick and sturdy.  I don’t think it would crack if you dropped it on the ground.  I also like the fact that you can’t see any of the fasteners. The designer did a good job of using a rubber ring to hide all of the fasteners.  Not to mention, I love the color – the orange goes well with the rest of my orange-themed kitchen.

  DESIGN IMPROVEMENTS: For being 50 years old, there’s not much I would change about the coffee grinder.  However, I would prefer if the motor was a little quieter and would be able to grind for longer than the one minute capacity of the Braun coffee grinder.  Unfortunately, if you grind coffee beans for over a minute, the motor tends to heat up pretty quickly.

  Speck tip: To clean your coffee grinder, try using uncooked rice.  (Courtesy of Stephen Senatore, consumer engineering.  Read Stephen's latest blog post here in which he talks about whether it is truly the end of original design for consumer electronics.)