Try to buy freshly ground Sichuan chilli flakes in Britain and you cannot. What sits on the shelf was ground in a factory months ago, and ground chilli begins losing the volatile oils that make it smell of anything from the moment it is broken open. The same is true of Sichuan pepper, where the numbing tingle, ma, is the first thing to fade.
The dry-grinding cup is what fixes that. Whole chillies in, and you have flakes for a batch of chilli oil that actually smell like chilli. Whole Sichuan pepper in, and the ma is still there by the time it reaches the wok. Star anise, white pepper, five-spice, toasted rice powder for steamed pork: all of it in seconds, in the quantity you need this week rather than a jar going flat in the cupboard.
The wet jug runs hot and cold. Hot means it grinds and cooks together, so dry beans become doujiang (fresh soy milk) without a soak or a straining bag, and the same cycle handles congee (rice porridge) and blended soups. Cold means smoothies and fruit ice, so it does not sit idle through the summer the way a heat-only machine does.
The nano non-stick inner pot is worth noting: heated blending catches and burns onto bare steel, and this rinses rather than needing a scrub.
Specifications
| Capacity | 1.2L, serves 2-3 |
| Blades | 14-blade steel cutter |
| Modes | Hot and cold blending, plus a separate dry-grinding cup |
| Inner pot | Nano non-stick, will not catch on the base |
| Model | DMJ3 |
| Plug | UK plug, straight into a British socket, no adapter |
| Shipping & warranty | Ships from our UK warehouse | 1-year warranty |
About the control panel
The labels on this machine are in Chinese. That is normal for an appliance built for the Chinese market, and it is why it will dry-grind spices and cook a hot soy milk when the blenders sold here will do neither. An English guide to the controls is below.
