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port tool-less disassembly for easy cleaning, as deep
Back to coffee itself, I believe cleaning can be done in a few minutes, even for inex-
perienced users. In addition, the burrs are coated to
that if a coffee is of high reduce wear and heat generated during grinding, thus
allowing the burrs to last longer, up to 5,000kg, or
quality, people all over the 25,000 days at an average of 20 grams per day.
Looking beyond the superficial experience of using
world, no matter where they are, the product, OPTION-O also aimed to convey an inter-
esting philosophy to its customers: a “perfect-simple”
will find it tasty too, just like attitude to life. This “perfect-simple” concept has a

Geisha Coffee. Similarly, a well- special word in Swedish: LAGOM, which aligns well with
the goal and values OPTION-O wanted to create, and
built coffee grinder will perform hence was chosen as the name for their electric coffee
grinder series. Currently, there are 3 models in the
a good job irrespective of the LAGOM series, LAGOM Mini for entry-level users or
for home use, and LAGOM P64 and P100 for coffee
country of the origin. enthusiasts and cafe barista/owners.

The higher the precision, the more accurate the
flavor: technical language of engineers

In recent years, coffee brewing has become more
of an informed science, rather than an art, in order to
find the best taste experience. This is evidenced by the
wide-spread use of coffee refractometers to measure
extraction yield, the application of laser particle size
analyzer to characterize coffee ground’s particle size
distribution, the development of water chemistry to
identify the best brewing water, and so on.
Unsurprisingly, this was how OPTION-O brand of coffee experience – hence using a coffee grinder should Similarly, in coffee grinding, it was found that the
grinders were developed too. OPTION-O was first not be complicated, uncomfortable nor difficult. In more evenly ground the coffee beans are, the better the
founded in Melbourne in 2016, with a vision to create addition to the wonderful delicious flavor that comes flavor and the extraction quality appear to be. To
aesthetically-pleasing coffee grinders that not only with coffee, there are many other important factors too achieve highly-uniform grind, a high precision and well-
make delicious coffee, but also to provide years of re- such as values, habits, emotions, preferences, etc., that aligned grinder is required — the higher the precision
liable service. The logo of OPTION-O brand represents can make or break a great coffee experience. of a grinder, the closer it can get to the full potential
the engineering symbol of diameter of burr, which, As OPTION-O started out as home enthusiasts of a particular burr set. To create a high-precision home
interestingly as a fun fact, can also be typed out on an themselves, they appeared to have understood well the anodized aluminum and 304 stainless steel. The choice grinder, all critical parts on LAGOM grinders are ma-
Apple keyboard using the option key + o. “The burr is need of consumers and what they look for in a coffee of material was to ensure high surface hardness and chined to a tolerance of <0.01mm (or 10 micron), which
the most important part of a grinder, and we also ap- grinder — it is precisely the concepts of “single dose”, wear resistance, as well as to provide a stunning aes- is almost 10 times smaller than the thickness of a human
preciate Apple’s philosophy towards their products.” “high precision”, “low (practically zero) retention” and thetic finish. In terms of retention performance, OP- hair. In addition, some OPTION-O products adopted a
said Brook Liu, the brand’s co-founder. With OPTION-O “easy to use” that have gained them a loyal following TION-O’s grinders are stated to have within 0.1 grams unique decoupled-shaft design with high-precision
currently being one of the favored choices among 9 of customers. Generally speaking, there are four criti- of retention, which is significantly less than most con- bearings, which can minimize the wobbling of inner
major markets globally, how did it get approved by cal elements when it comes to a great coffee grinder ventional grinders, typically retaining upwards of 10 burr and to further improve the uniformity of grinding.
consumers? user experience: form factor, low retention, workflow, grams. In the actual workflow, users only need to put These features allow a near-perfect alignment on each
and maintenance and cleaning. in the desired dose of coffee, turn on the switch and grinder that allows its users to easily achieve high cof-
Exploring form and function with hu- In terms of form factor, OPTION-O’s grinders are wait for a few moments for grinding to be completed. fee-extraction quality and thereby a faithful flavor
man-centered logic mostly all-in-one design with a compact footprint. This The resulting coffee ground is often highly-uniform, representation of the coffee terroir and roast.
is important for home users and is what distinguishes fluffy and clump-free. The most attractive feature OP- When asked, OPTION-O aims to strike a balance
Easy to use and focus on user experience: human OPTION-O’s grinders from commercial grinders which TION-O’s grinders are that the alignment is designed between practicality and good looks, “We know the
language of consumers are often large and bulky, as the small footprint allows to be permanent and there is no need to realign the aesthetic of a grinder is important, but we also want to
the grinder to easily fit in most home coffee bars. The grinder even after a complete disassembly. In terms of get the ‘easy to use’ aspect sorted out first before we
Grinding coffee is a key process to attaining a great main construction material of OPTION-O’s grinder are maintenance and cleaning, OPTION-O’s grinders sup- go on to fulfill our goal of ‘looking good’.” Brook said.

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