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

HARIO's Spice Mill for Sesame Seeds has markings on the side to measure the amount of ground sesame seeds. In terms of ease of use, it is lighter than it appears, and the handle is smooth and easy to hold. Although it cannot grind a large amount of sesame seeds at once, the grinding mechanism is smooth and comfortable to use, making it feel effortless. 

Although you can't adjust the coarseness of the grind, we didn't mind, because the seeds come out uniformly finely-ground. This was the only hand-operated product we tested that scored a perfect 5.0 for the finish. 

Among all of the options we tested, this sesame grinder was the top performing product that we highly recommend you try out!

Yamazen's Electric Sesame Grinder's performance far exceeds what you would expect given its price! No matter the coarseness setting, the sesame seeds are beautifully-ground and never come out in chunks. The finer grind setting produces a very fine powder, while the rough coarse setting makes sesame seeds with enough crunchy texture to enjoy. 

Our only point of caution is that if you apply too much force when adjusting the grinder, the lid can pop open unexpectedly. It's not too noisy, so if you're looking for an electric grinder, this definitely would be our choice.

This is the smallest one we tested by far, and in fact we were worried it would be too small to use comfortably. But its shape snugly fits in your hand. Its size also belies its power! It can produce a large quantity of sesame powder in one light and easy twist of the grinder. 

It's a shame that you can't adjust the coarseness, but it does its job very well, creating a consistently coarse powder. If you're looking for a compact grinder that won't take up kitchen space, this is a great option.

Zojirushi's Sesame Grinder has a separate opening to pour out whole seeds, allowing it to be used as an all-around dispenser and grinder for your sesame seeds.

The ground sesame will come out of a dispenser on its side, letting you direct the sesame powder precisely to where you want! Just be careful not to tilt it too much while grinding. The coarseness settings are easy to operate and adjust.

However, we found that some of the sesame seeds were not ground finely enough. Further, it does produce a high-pitched noise when operating, so if you have sensitive ears it may not be the best product for you.

Panasonic's Electric Sesame Grinder is the most compact among the electric models we tested, making it good for easy storage. This grinder is very powerful and works fast, making it a great option if you need a lot of ground sesame.

One thing to note that its dispenser button is not very responsive, taking about a second until ground seeds stopped dispensing. Perhaps due to it being too powerful, it grinds sesame into a fine powder even on the coarse setting, so there is no point in adjusting the setting.

This grinder is useful when you want to grind a large amount of sesame seeds to a consistent fine coarseness. However, it makes a high-pitched squeaking sound, so this may be a pass if you are sensitive to sound.

The oval shape of the ASVEL’s Bell One Sesame Grinder makes it easy to hold, and it fits nicely in the hand. Compared to other products, this grinder can be twisted with minimal force, and it produces a consistent, even grind.

You can't adjust the coarseness, but this affordable basic tool is super easy to use, so it can be manipulated by all regardless of age. We think it's a great choice to have in any household.

Pearl Metals’ Ceramic Sesame Mill is quite heavy and feels stable due to the non-slip material it's made of, which means all your power is transmitted to the device. It feels very satisfying to use. This one provides great results for a fine grind, similar to if you were using a mortar and pestle.

Although it does have a coarseness adjustment function, unfortunately we found that function lacking. The results seemed the same no matter which setting we used, and there's little indication to tell you which way to turn it to even change the setting.

That being said, if you don't care about having adjustable coarseness and only need finely-ground sesame seeds, we would still recommend this product.

Iwaki Sesame Mill from AGC Technologies is the only product we tested that has a coarseness adjustment dial on the exterior of the mill. It 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 effort. The trick is to use the dial with light force, since too much power will cause friction and actually make it harder to grind.

Although the adjustable grind function works well enough, it's not capable of producing a really fine powder even on the finest setting. So if you want a grinder that can produce a very fine powder, maybe avoid this one.

Yoshikawa's 'Sesamin' Sesame Grinder is a manual grinder type with a handle, and we found that it requires a significant amount of force to grind. Despite the great finished results, we rated this product lower on our ranking due to it being difficult to use.

Another negative point was that the ground sesame was dispensed in a circular fashion, making it difficult to direct where you wanted the powder to go. Further, it was difficult to tell which coarseness setting you were grinding on.

If you are somebody that uses a lot of ground sesame seeds in your cooking, this product may not be the best for you; at least not in the beginning, since it takes some time getting use to. 

Kyocera's Ceramic Mill for Sesame Seeds feels lightweight, despite it being larger than many of the products we reviewed. Its size makes it suitable for grinding large batches of sesame seeds at once.

It is incredibly easy to use, with a wavy groove shape that fits to your hand, allowing for stable and smooth twisting. However, while the adjustment function did change the coarseness of the ground powder, there was some noticeable inconsistency to it, so you might get larger pieces in your fine grind.