HouHou Electric Grinder review - description of technical characteristics, advantages and disadvantages

Coarse salt or ground black pepper can add a spicy touch to your favorite dish.

Most hostesses use manual mills for this purpose, but the brand Xiaomi decided to make life easier for users and created a unique electric mill HouHou Electric Grinder.

What kind of device is this? Is it worth buying? We will try to answer these questions in a detailed review of the model.

General description

To decide whether to buy the HouHou Electric Grinder, it is necessary to read the general description and technical specifications.

Technical characteristics

To begin with, let's dwell on the basic technical characteristics, because that is what most users pay attention to:

• body material: ABS-plastic;
• adjustment of grinding intensity: yes;
• power type: 6 AAA batteries;
• dimensions: 51,5x157 mm;
• weight: 244 g
• manufacturer's warranty: 1 year;
• operating life: 6000 cycles;
• noise level: 68 dB.

Case and design

The model is available in two colors: black and white. The case is made of high-strength ABS plastic, so the device is not afraid of accidental falls. In addition, this material can be easily cleaned from any dirt, is not afraid of moisture and does not get rusted.

The mill is compact enough, so it will find a place in any kitchen, and you can store the device even in a small drawer. Operation of the device is also very simple: to start grinding you just need to load the seasonings inside and press the button located on the front of the body. There is only one button, so it is impossible to mix up and press something wrong.

Pay attention! The button is not rubberized, so it is not recommended to wash the mill under running water. To clean it from dirt, it is enough to wipe its body with a damp sponge. Also, many users recommend buying a white rather than black model, as any dirt, including fingerprints, is very noticeable on the dark body.

The lower part of the case has a container for the seasoning. It is made of transparent tritanium glass. This is a very durable material that, unlike conventional glass, does not break or crack when dropped. In addition, tritanium glass is chemically neutral, does not react with food and does not absorb odors.

The container for loading spices has a special lid, which prevents crushed seasonings from falling into the engine compartment. Thanks to this, the user can be sure that the electric motor will not be clogged and will not fail. Another feature of the device is that the case has all the basic inscriptions, which will help to correctly disassemble the case to replace the batteries or load seasonings into the container.

Power Type

Despite the fact that the mill's millstones are also made of plastic, you won't have any problems grinding your spices. The fact is that inside the compact gadget is located quite a powerful motor, which quickly rotates the millstones and promotes grinding at high speeds.

The usual AAA batteries are used as a power source. You will need 6 batteries altogether. The device itself, even with frequent use, slowly uses up the batteries, so it is enough to replace them once every 6 months.

There are no problems with replacing the batteries, because the construction of the mill is completely demountable. The batteries are located in the upper part of the device. To remove it, it is enough to turn the housing counterclockwise. On the side there are marks that will help open the lock that closes the power supply.

Inside are the batteries. If you encounter any difficulties while replacing the batteries, it is better not to use unnecessary physical force when trying to open the case. The manufacturer recommends that you read the manual in detail: it describes how to open the case and change the batteries.

It can be done as follows:

1. Open the housing of the mill by turning the upper part of its body counterclockwise. To avoid accidentally spilling the seasonings, which are in the container, it is desirable to put the gadget on a flat horizontal surface.
2. With any sharp object slide the 2 plastic grips in the direction of each other to open access to the battery compartment.
3. Remove the old batteries and replace them with new ones, observing the polarity.
4. Use a sharp object to slide the grips back in to close the battery compartment.

If you follow these simple recommendations, the mill will last a long time and successfully perform its basic functions.

Basic Functions

The instruction to the device states that it is designed for 6 thousand working cycles. That's quite a lot, considering that most dishes don't require a lot of seasoning.

The device has only one function - chopping black and white pepper, salt, cumin, and other seasonings, but it has several features:

• Due to the powerful electric motor, hard spices are ground quite quickly. The speed of the motor is 38-52 revolutions per minute and is regulated by turning a special part in the bottom of the case. This allows the user to adjust the degree of grinding of spices on their own.
• Despite the fact that the torque of the electric motor is quite high, during operation the device is not very noisy (the maximum noise level is 68 dB).
• With this mill, the user will be able to grind 10 grams of spices in just 8 minutes. If you use the device in this mode every day, it will last 20 years. This is more than enough for most users.

The gadget has an important feature: there is a small LED indicator on the bottom of the body. It turns on automatically during the grinding of spices. This is very convenient if you need to light the dish and pour spices on specific products.

Also, the user will be able to adjust the degree of grinding independently. To do this, it is necessary to turn the mount for the millstones to change the distance between them. There are a total of four degrees of grinding of spices. The lower part of the compartment has a special protective cover, which prevents the finished spices from crumbling and prevents moisture from getting inside the container.

Features of usage

Before you start using the mill, you should not only study the instructions, but also take into account a few recommendations from the manufacturer.

• The device should not be immersed in water or other liquids. This can cause damage to the device or injury to the user.
• It is not necessary to apply serious physical force when opening or closing the mill. This will not affect the function of the device and, moreover, can lead to a breakdown of the device.
• Never touch the millstones during operation to avoid injury.
• The device is held tightly in the hands while grinding spices. It is very easy to do this, because the body of the device is not slippery, and its shape is specially adapted for convenient operation.

Advantages and disadvantages of the device

As with any electric device, the Xiaomi HouHou Electric Grinder has pros and cons. It is advisable to study them before buying, in order to determine the need to purchase the device.

In order to be as objective as possible, we have analyzed user reviews about this mill on Yandex.Market and highlighted the following advantages and disadvantages.

Pros of the electric mill:

• The very high quality of the case materials and the excellent construction extend the life of the device, even if it occasionally falls down;
• minimalistic design makes the device practical and stylish acquisition for the kitchen;
• Non-slip plastic housing allows you to easily and comfortably hold the device in your hand while working;
• the compact size of the device facilitates storage;
• grind intensity can be adjusted;
• powerful motor allows you to grind even very hard spices (eg, allspice) into a powder;
• there is a sufficiently bright LED backlight on the bottom of the housing;
• It takes only 8 minutes to grind 20 grams of spices;
• battery compartment lid is well fixed and no backlash;
• The container for spices is made of durable and shock-resistant transparent material;
• the control button is very responsive to the user.

The device also has disadvantages:

• For full operation, you need 6 batteries at once;
• the dark version has too dark tinting of the spice compartment, so you can't see how much seasoning is left in the container;
• some users find the price unreasonably high;
• fingerprints are very noticeable on the matte black plastic;
• some users find the volume of the spice compartment too small;
• The batteries are not provided;
• in some products, the LED backlight fails over time;
• it is difficult to open the compartment to replace the batteries.

Conclusion

The Xiaomi HouHou Electric Grinder is a great alternative to hand-grinding spices. The device grinds salt, pepper, and other spices quickly enough, but most users don't like that the device runs on 6 batteries rather than the built-in battery. The degree of grinding can be adjusted and a small LED light will help illuminate the desired area of the dish.

At the same time, users like the stylish design of the device and its durable plastic housing, which is easily cleaned from dirt. But it should be borne in mind that the black version of the device can leave fingerprints.

Useful Video

In this video you can learn in detail about the Xiaomi HouHou Electric Grinder: