It is no secret that in today's world, many household and kitchen gadgets are vastly different the one's that our parents and grandparents used back in the day.

However, there will always be objects from the past that we cherish longer than others because no matter how much time has passed, they still deliver great results or make a statement as a great decorative piece.

Thanks to advances in technology, we have the choice between electric and hands-free gadgets around the house, an option that our forefathers did not have . They had to rely on muscle power to manually operate objects such as drills, mixers and the one in the image below.

Does it look familiar?

It's a coffee grinder!

This manual coffee grinder was invented by Richard Dearmann in 1799 and even today, they continue to be widely used by coffee lovers.

This type of manual grinder uses the burr mill mechanism to grind up the coffee beans. Unlike today's popular blade grinders that are created to simply get the job done, Burr coffee grinders are built to produce lower heat from friction so the aroma and flavor of the beans remains intact.

The grinder holds enough beans to make about one cup of coffee. The beans into the top and after a few rotations, the powder will be deposited into the little drawer at the bottom.  

Grinding coffee with these mills does require a little elbow grease so if you're not willing to put in some effort, it's probably best to stick with a Keurig.

If you'd like kick your coffee experience up a notch, you can find these manual vintage grinders on Ebay and antique coffee shops.

Have you used one of these grinders in the past? Let us know in the comments!

[h/t: Vintage Coffee Grinders]