Commercial Coffee Grinders
Grinding coffee beans for your own personal pleasure has its perks. First, you get to drink the freshest cup of coffee on a daily basis. Second, you get to enjoy the little pleasures in life such as smelling the rich and spicy aroma of coffee beans as the grinder merrily burrs its way into the beans. Your “daily grind” obviously means something that is pleasurable.
There are various schools of thought on how to grind the perfect brew. The truth is there is no one rule on the coarseness or fineness of you coffee beans as your grind should match your coffee maker. Fine, medium or coarse grinds should match your brewing method. A coarse ground is chunky; a medium ground is more like coarse sand; fine ground is more like sugar or fine salt; super fine is not as fine as powdered sugar or flour; Turkish grind is powdery like flour.
As there are two main types of coffee grinders, blade and burr, choosing the right one for you is also dependent on the kind of coffee maker you have. As blade grinders produce coarse and medium grinds, this grinder is ideal for a French press, or a percolator or a vacuum coffee maker and a drip coffee maker. Fine grind will be best suited for some brand of drip coffee makers with cone shaped filters and stove top espresso coffee makers. Super fine grind is best for those stylish and expensive espresso machines.
It has been observed that two tablespoon of coffee beans per cup is just the right proportion for a perfect cup. If you are too cheap to buy your own coffee grinder, you could perhaps measure two tablespoon of your favorite coffee bean, get the mortar and pestle and pathetically start manually grinding your beans! If you want to truly enjoy a fresh cup of brew in the morning, then go buy the right coffee grinder.
Grinding your beans by means of a mortar and pestle may or work for you in some level but if you intent to grind pounds and pounds of beans for your coffee shop or cafeteria on a daily basis, you need a commercial grinder. Your mortar and pestle won’t work this time. How do you choose the best commercial grinder for you?
As most commercial coffee grinders use burr take out of the equation the type of coffee maker you have. Know how much coffee beans you need to grind per batch. There’s a grinder that can grind from half a pound up to 9 pounds of beans. Here are some models and brands worth considering.
The Bunn Bulk Coffee Grinder is best for small scale cafes or cafeterias as the hopper’s maximum hold is only a pound or half a kilo. The precision burrs could cut coffee beans evenly and consistently as the turbo action of the grinder draws coffee through the grinder. This model is efficient and fast as it can grind a pound of beans in 30 seconds. Varied level of grinds can be produced to suit the type of commercial coffee maker that you use. At $729, this black or red model is a winner.
Bunn G9-HD Portion Control Commercial Coffee Grinder can hold up to 9 pounds of beans in one hopper. The machine has precision control for the right amount of coffee and has burrs that can grind beans at the right consistency. Priced at $795, this grinder is worth the price.
Another product from Bunn-o-matic Corporation is the Bunn G9-2 HD Coffee Grinder with 2 Hoppers. This grinder can hold up to 12 pounds of beans in its two hoppers. Capacity-wise this is the best choice for canteens and coffee shops with high traffic. Priced at $1,025, this machine is quite expensive but has the added feature of a brewer interface and can accommodate large brew funnels that can be used with airpot brewer and the likes.
The GrindMaster Commercial Espresso Grinders has two models: the 625 semi-automatic series and the 650 automatic series. The 625 has European style burrs that are easy to adjust to grind a maximum of three pounds of coffee beans. The burrs are perfect for espresso grinds but they can accommodate different levels of coarseness and fineness too. The 650’s best feature is that it grinds beans automatically to refill the doser when it’s low. Both series come in black, chrome and copper finish. At $678 these models are heavy duty.
Commercial Espresso Coffee Grinder (KegWorks) tank can hold up to five pounds of beans. The tank has a removable and unbreakable polycarbonate lid. What makes this grinder great is that it starts and stops automatically to keep the dispenser full. You can choose how fine your grind is and how much coffee you want dispensed at each serving. The burr grinder is so quiet that you could hardly hear it. For $1,049 this grinder is tops.