I use a mortar and pestle.

A cheap coffee grinder--the type that has a whirling blade inside a clear plastic compartment, like the one at the link--works well. There are lots of these types out there with different brands, but they all function about the same. Don't use a fancy burr coffee grinder.

With one of these, you can grind up a lot of stuff quickly. To clean it between uses, put a couple of saltines or other crackers in the container and grind them, then wipe out with a damp paper towel. The crackers will absorb spice residue so when you use the grinder next time it won't have any carryover flavors.

Here is a link that might be useful: grinder

I've used an electric Bosch Coffee/Spice mill, purchased off a clearance rack, for a lot of years (at least 10 years). I found one just like it recently and purchased it and put it away in storage because it's been such a workhorse in my kitchen and I know it works well. Friends who mill coffee beans complain they can't find one that will work well for coffee anymore, or they don't last long.

If you are using it primarily for small amounts of spices, then I'd choose a small hopper. If you use it for flax seed for milling into flaxmeal, or other small seeds and grains, you may want a larger capacity hopper.

The Bosch will grind spices, small grains and seeds. If you need rice flour in a recipe, it will make quick work of it. In fact, milling rice is a way to clean an electric Coffee/Spice mill, along with the cracker method arley mentioned.

Once you use a mill frequently for something with strong-smelling oils, like coffee beans or flax, it will probably need to be used primarily for that item or your spices will pick up the smell of coffee or flax oil.

I also use a suribachi with a pestle. A suribachi is different from a mortar because it's a larger serrated bowl instead of smooth. Great for small amounts of seedy spices or Gomashio (sesame-salt).

I also have a manual Porkert Seed Mill which I use primarily for milling large amounts of small seeds into flour (amaranth and teff) because they can't be milled in my Nutrimill. The Porkert also does oily seeds (sesame, poppy, flax). It will mill more than you can easily mill in a coffee/spice mill.

-Grainlady

I got a cheap electric coffee bean grinder, that I use for spices, and my flax seed. I always buy the flax seeds and grind it myself.
A single blade that spins real fast, is perfect.

I use a coffee mill, and since I don't grind coffee any more, it is dedicated to spices. If you were going to grind a lot of one spice, I might recommend a Turkish coffee grinder - I use the one I have for black pepper, although I now have a mixture of black and white peppercorns in it from when I ran out of black peppercorns and added white ones in an emergency.

I also have a suribachi with a pestle, as well as a normal mortar and pestle. Generally I use those when I am grinding a mixture that contains garlic. Without the garlic, the spices tend to jump out of the bowl.

Lars

I got an electric Coffee/Spice Grinder with a deep, stainless steel well. AND, I also found a larger, deeper mortar and pestle on sale. Still, guess which cost more. Surprise to me it was the mortar and pestle!

Ditto, I have a Bosch coffee grinder that I use for flax seed mostly, and spices occasionally. I don't even know where it came from. Either my son left it here, or DH picked it up at a garage sale. I have a separate grinder strictly for coffee, but I don't use it much. Coffee beans are not in my budget most of the time. I have a mortar and pestle, too, that I use sometimes, too. It depends on what mood I'm in, or what I'm making. I mostly use the mortar and pestle for garlic based stuff, but will, on occasion, get my frustrations out by smashing spices iwith the M & P. Sometimes it's just fun to do that!

Thanks for the tips about getting the oils and fragrances out of the grinder using crackers or rice. I never would have thought of that. I've used baking soda for that purpose, and it seems to work okay.

Sally

Yes! Thanks for the cleaning tip. I used the grinder for coriander and cumin yesterday and the rice did a good job cleaning.... and then went into the chili.