10 Best Tried and True Japanese Sesame Grinders in 2022 (Panasonic, Zojirushi, and More)

We picked out some of the most popular products and tested them for how easy they were to use and how well the sesame turned out.

Then, based on our tests, we ranked the top 16 Japanese sesame grinders available online. Japanese prices for some of the products are given, but they've been converted into US dollars to make it easy for you.

And why they didn't.

Iwaki Sesame Mill from AGC Technologies is very easy to adjust- in fact, it's so easy that you might accidentally do it while grinding, so be careful. It has a large opening and grinds a lot of sesame seeds fast without much force. Although the adjustable grind function works, it's not capable of producing a really fine powder.

Kyocera's Ceramic Mill for Sesame Seeds is incredibly easy to use, with a wavy groove that fits to hold your finger, providing a stable twisting motion. It's large, and grinds many seeds at once. You can get a lot done with minimal effort. 

However, while the adjustment function did change the resulting powder size, there was some inconsistency to it. So you might get larger pieces in your fine grind and vice versa.

This Sesame Mill from IP Systems is available at Can-Do 100 Yen shops, so it does have cheapness going for it. The resulting powder was fine, but with some variation in the particle size. It's nice that you can put it down in either direction and it won't tip over. It could be better, but it's a good budget option.

Slicky-N Sesame Grinder from Kakudai Industries is well-known and easy to purchase at stores and online. Unfortunately we found it didn't live up to its reputation. It was hard to turn the knob, and sesame seeds get stuck in the mechanism. It's even hard to get them out, and the finish was too rough on top of all that.

Kai House Select Ceramic Sesame Mill from Kaijirushi is compact and easy to hold, with a glass body. You have to push the grinding mechanism against the body to get any effect, though. It really only produces a very coarse grain at best, and it's just not versatile enough for us to recommend.

Risu's Stavia Luxe Sesame Grinder is stylish and stable with a slender shape. We found the adjustment dial to be hard to use because it's so small, and the finish is rather uneven. We'd rather have a consistent grain size with no ability to change it than this one with such variability.

This Sesame Grinder available at Daiso 100-yen shops isn't even worth 100 yen, to be honest. Although its oval shape makes it easy to grip, and the spherical knob turns well, it hardly grinds the seeds at all! So really, what's the point?

Yamada Chemicals' Sesame Grinder doesn't grind particularly well, leaving coarse grains. The small knob is hard to turn smoothly. Sesame seeds accumulate and clog the mouth of the container. 

The only plus may be that it's made 100% of plastic, including the blade, so maybe it's the best choice for passing through a metal detector at the airport.

We put each product through a series of tests to check for the following:

1. How easy is it to use?
2. How well does it grind sesame seeds?
3. How noisy is it? (for electric models only)
   

For the ease of use test, we actually were looking for several things:

• Is it easy to hold?
• Does it work quickly?
• Is it easy to adjust if it has that function?
• Is there anything that makes it hard to use?
• Can it be cleaned easily?
  

If we only focused on the grinding, basically all the products passed. But those which had a bit of weight to them were easier to use. We also liked being able to see the setting for the coarseness of the grind.

While lightweight ones were easy to use, heavier ones were more stable, and therefore could more accurately deliver the ground sesame to its intended destination. So, we recommend glass ones.

And while many manual grinders allowed you to change the coarseness, they didn't show you where it was set. It was hard to figure out if we were on fine, coarse, or somewhere in the middle. In this sense, the electric ones were better, because they usually let you see which setting you were on.

There's little point in an easy-to-use product that doesn't make delicious ground sesame. First, we looked for how well the ground sesame turned out and was distributed by grinding it on the middle setting over a piece of black paper.

For the adjustable products, we then tested the finest and coarsest settings and compared them to see if there was a difference, and how much.

Perhaps not surprisingly, because electric types use a uniform force, they also produce uniform results. They are also capable of grinding very fine all the way to very coarse, with clearly visible differences. We noticed a better aroma of sesame using the electric ones, too.

The manual types are more susceptible to user error, and sometimes the seeds will be unevenly ground because of uneven force applied by the person using it. Their coarseness functions also aren't as effective.

If you really care about the quality of your ground sesame, we recommend an electric one, even though the initial investment will be higher (and you'll need batteries!)

We didn't include this as part of our scoring, but we wanted to consider how noisy the electric types were. As anyone who's used a coffee grinder or other similar item knows, they can be really annoying! We used a decibel meter and also our own ears to judge the sound.

All of the electric ones we tested came in at over 70 decibels or more! That's about as loud or louder than a vacuum cleaner.

However, the most annoying ones were Zojirushi's and Panasonic's. They had a high-pitched whine that really rang in our ears. It reminded us of a dental drill (shudder.)

If you, or your pets, or your sleeping baby in the next room, are sensitive to noise, please check our rankings and choose accordingly.

We recommend considering the following points when choosing a sesame grinder.

There are two manual types of sesame grinders: ones that you twist and ones that you turn a handle on. And of course, there are battery-operated ones where you just push a button. Let's compare them all!

This common kind of sesame grinder is versatile and simple to use. You can easily adjust the coarseness and amount of sesame. This mechanism is common for pepper mills too, so you may have used something similar. 

However, when you put these on the finer settings, it's more difficult to grind with, because the blades get closer and more force may be required.

These are often found at ramen shops in Japan, so you may think they must be the most traditional and best. But they are not all equal. 

As you rotate the handle, the centrifugal force will cause it to shake, so it can be tough to control, even though it doesn't take much force to grind. If you like this kind, get one with a protruding handle and container that's easy to grasp.

If you use a lot of ground sesame in recipes or you have a big family, these will be the best for you. At the mere push of a button, you'll have consistent, large quantities of pulverized sesame seeds. Of course, they need batteries, and they cost more than manual ones. And as we mentioned, they are noisy.

Store-bought sesame will be uniform, and you'll have little choice as to the fineness. If you want variety, choose a grinder that allows you to adjust the grind to your taste and dishes.

Most of the ones on the market, electric or manual, can be adjusted. Some only have fine and coarse settings, but others have a sliding scale. Obviously the most versatile is one with many choices, but make sure it's easy to set and that there is actually a difference in the results.

The best kitchen gadgets are usually made of the best materials. In the case of a sesame grinder, it's better to avoid metal blades. They can impart a metallic odor that overpowers the delicate nuttiness of the sesame.

It's better to choose a grinder with a ceramic grinding mechanism. If you want something lightweight, look for a product with a body made of resin plastic.

Not only for reasons of kitchen hygiene, but also to ensure the life of the product, it's important to keep your sesame mill clean and free of sesame gunk. We recommend those that come with a brush, can be fully disassembled, and have parts that can all be washed.

This is one category where manual ones are better, since electric types can't be thrown in the dishwasher or soaked in the sink. Check the instructions before you buy one (manual or electric) so you don't regret your choice!

In addition to ingredients, sometimes you need special tools to really create the dishes you want! We can help you find just the right things to make your next Asian-inspired meal your best.

Author: Rio Sasaki/Translator: Susan Lucier-Ogawa/Photos: Kazuya Ota

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