Mortar & Pestles

Grinding spices yourself like humans did ages ago may seem strange in modern times, however, compared with food processors and other electrical devices, you'll find the mortar and pestle method still does wonders today both for your flavors and nerves.  No clunky and noisy machines with tangled power cords needed as you can quickly grab one of these right off the shelf to and instantly be mashing and grinding spices effectively against the ridges unique to the design of these Japanese style mortars.  They are also notably simple to clean so just set out one of these around in your kitchen and you'll soon learn why these still remain a popular must-have cooking item even today.