Grinder wooden Leaf: 35 mm of wood with a carved leaf on the lid
This grinder measures 35 millimetres across and consists of two halves of dark hardwood. The lid is the part that catches the eye: a leaf stands out in relief in the centre, with a small round hole at its heart and rows of carved circles and arcs filling the rest of the surface around it. That carving is done by hand, so the depth and the lines differ from one piece to the next. The foot flares out slightly at the bottom, which sits comfortably between your fingers while you turn.
The wood is Anjan, a dense, hard timber from India known for its durability. You notice it in the weight and in the way the edges hold the carving without crumbling away. Inside, thin metal pins stand in both halves. They pull the material apart rather than slicing it finely the way the teeth of an aluminium grinder do, which gives a looser result. The colour of the wood and the pattern of the grain vary from piece to piece, so the photo shows one example rather than the exact item you will receive.
What 35 millimetres means in practice
At 35 millimetres this is one of the smaller grinders around. It disappears into a trouser pocket, which makes it a good second grinder to keep on you at all times. The trade-off is capacity: it holds less than a model of 50 or 60 millimetres, so a larger amount in one go means more turns. There is no screen and no pollen chamber, as with any two-part model.
Using it
- Lift the lid off and spread your herbs loosely between the pins, without packing them down.
- Put the lid back on and turn the halves back and forth a few times.
- Take the lid off and tap the contents gently into your hand or onto a flat dish.
Upkeep: keep it dry
Do not rinse a wooden grinder and never leave it to soak, because wood swells and can start to warp. A dry brush along the pins and through the carved grooves of the lid clears the residue. Dust settles in that carving in particular, so a soft brush works better there than a cloth. Store it somewhere it will not go damp.
Other wooden grinders at Avalon Magic Plants
If you want the same wood without the carving, Avalon Magic Plants stocks the Grinder wooden classic with a plain lid. The Light wood grinder leaf carries a similar leaf motif in a paler timber. For wood with a screen and a pollen chamber, look at the Black Aluminium/Wood Grinder 4-part from Black Leaf, walnut wrapped around an aluminium mechanism. Everything ships discreetly packaged.
