Peugeot Paris u'Select 9-Inch

Peugeot has been making pepper mills since 1842 — thirty years before they made their first car. The Paris u'Select is the culmination of that heritage: a beechwood body, a case-hardened steel grinding mechanism, and a u'Select dial on the bottom that lets you set six levels of grind from powder to cracked.

The mechanism is the reason you buy a Peugeot. It's not ceramic (which chips), not stainless (which dulls), but case-hardened carbon steel — the same treatment applied to gear teeth. It bites into peppercorns and shears them cleanly instead of crushing them, which releases more aromatic oils and produces a noticeably better flavor.

Every other pepper mill is either a disposable grocery-store grinder or a knockoff trying to look like this one. Get the 9-inch in natural wood. It will last longer than anything else on your counter.