Soulhand Electric Vacuum Coffee Canister

*** Update ***I just bought a fifth cannister. This one will be for storing ground coffee. We have guests coming to visit, and my grinder can be pretty loud in the morning. I had the bright idea to grind the coffee the night before, so it would be ready to go first thing in the morning. Using one of these cannisters, it will stay almost as fresh overnight as whole beans. BTW, because these are black, there is no place on the can or lid to ID the contents with a normal pen or pencil. My wife made a couple of labels for me, black letters on white background, that I applied to the lids, so I don't mix up my coffees. Don't need them for the clear glass ones. Still really love these things.*** Original review 01 May 24 ***The title of this review sums it up. After buying an expensive expresso rig, I wanted a container that would REALLY keep my whole beans fresh. After a lot of research, I decided to give the Soul Hand a try. This was shortly after they came out, and the cannister was glass. Heavy duty, but still glass. I liked it so much that I bought a second one to store a second type of coffee bean (I blend Ethiopian and Sumatran). These two units have worked flawlessly. The only negatives I had were that 1) they were made of glass, so light could get to the beans, if they were not stored in a dark place, like a cabinet, and 2) they were not large enough to store an entire 1 kg (2.2 lb.) bag of coffee beans. Then, I saw that they had come out with metal cannisters. So, i bought two more. Two cannisters hold an entire 1 kg bag of coffee with room to spare. And, the metal cannisters means that now I can keep them out in the open on the coffee station, while the two glass cannisters remain in the cabinet. When the metal ones become empty, I simply refill from the glass ones. the metal ones solved my two negative issues perfectly.1) They block the light, so they can stay out in the open for easy access.2) They are very durable. Don't get me wrong, the glass ones are solid, as well. It's more of a 'peace of mind' thing.Also, the metal ones are easier to grip. The surface is textured, which makes them feel much more secure in the hand.The operation is the same - double tap the button to pull a vacuum, double tap the button to release a vacuum. Like the glass ones, the metal cannisters still have the little holder on the outside for the scoop, which I do not use for the scoop. since it simply fits inside the cannister pressed into the beans. But, the holder does make a nice little handle to grip the lid, when removeing. Also, the lids on these metal ones seem to grab the cannister better to pull a vacuum. With the glass ones, i sometimes have to press down on the lid, until the vacuum secures the lid in place. With these metal ones, I simply seat the lid on the cannister, making sure the gasket is not folded, push the button, and let it do its thing. The gaskets seem to grab the metal better, but I do not know if it is an improved design or just that the gaskets on the older, glass cannisters have lost a little of their grip. Time will tell, but it is not an issue, either way.NOTE: Some reviewers have reported that the pump on the cannister suddenly stopped working. Be advised that, if you long press the button (it is about three seconds on my units), then the mechanism locks and will not pump. IT IS NOT BROKEN. Just long press the button a second time, and the lock will release. It also gives a long beep, both when the lock engages and when it releases. How do I know this? Welll, I did the long press by accident, and I thought the unit had failed, until, by chance, I long-pressed the button a second time. I am sure it is in the instructions, but, who keeps those?Anyway. these are excellent vacuum cannisters, much better than those manual ones, or the ones, where you depress the lid to push out air (which is not even a vacuum). I use these cannisters at least twice a day, and the batteries last several weeks. They recharge in a couple of hours and use a USB Type C connector. I have found the mechanisms to be durable, and they absolutely keep my coffee beans as fresh as I can keep them in a home environment. Oh, and they look good, too.

I've had it for about a month now. It is still running on the first battery charge I did when I received it. The touch panel operates easily, one touch wakes it from sleep, then a quick double tap releases, or initiates the vacuum. It has a strong enough vacuum that you can't remove the lid once it has vacuumed down and shut off. Every time I have released the vacuum I can hear the hiss of the air entering so it is maintaining the vacuum over time. It looks well made, the canister steel wall is thick enough to maintain it's shape under vacuum. Assuming it continues to work this well, it is a good investment to preserve the flavor of your coffee.

Only used it (open and close process) 3 times. Bought the canister in March. Tried to open it this morning and none of the buttons respond to touch. Fully charged it to make sure (green light shows its charged) and still not able to open it. Would return it if I could. Very disappointing that it only worked three times. Cant find anything online regarding a troubleshooting process (maybe to reboot the chip?) Would skip if I had the chance again.

The Soulhand vacuum canister is now my preferred coffee storage solution. I own two Airscape canisters (ASIN B014QLPEMW) and one from Evak (ASIN B00MHR9RDA) and although they are quicker to use than the Soulhand, they do leave air around the beans, and every time I open them this air gets replaced by fresh air, which is bad. These canisters do offer a reasonable storage solution that's comparable to dedicated coffee bags (the ones with a one-way valve) with somewhat improved convenience, but are not a match to a vacuum canister like the Soulhand.I haven't tried the popular Fellow Atmos vacuum canister, but compared to the Soulhand I see two significant downsides - it's mechanical, so a lot more hassle to operate, and it doesn't automatically maintain the vacuum like the Soulhand. As fresh coffee beans de-gas, the Atmos is known to lose its seal, while the Soulhand automatically maintains it.Pros:+ More effective storage - no air is left (unlike the Airscape and Evak), vacuum is automatically maintained (unlike the Atmos)+ Less expensive than the canisters mentioned above+ Recharges via USB Type C and holds its charge for a long time+ Excellent product support. The lid of my original canister was activating the vacuum too often. I chatted with Soulhand support (over Facebook) and they identified that there's an issue with the lid and sent me a new one free of charge. I couldn't ask for better manufacturer support.Cons- Vacuuming takes about 15 seconds, as does releasing the vacuum. For home users who anyway need to wait for the coffee machine to warm up, this is negligible and the wait is well worth the more effective storage.- At one point the canister didn't respond to button presses. I thought there was an issue with it but it turns out I probably turned it off by mistake. Just long press the power button and it's back on and responsive again.Bottom line: This is an excellent product that does exactly what I want. I love it!