Guide to buying the perfect cafe grinding machine
The coffee grinder machine plays an incredibly important role in the creation of high quality espresso, yet so many people find it challenging to find the right one for them.
Often, coffee grinders are an afterthought to buying an espresso coffee machine, which is a real shame.
A good cafe grinder machine is responsible for:
- Ensuring there is a consistent grind,
- Keeping coffee grinds fresh,
- Ensuring each dose is consistent,
- Quietly grinding coffee beans,
- Cool grinding coffee beans,
- Having a good hopper capacity,
- Are easily adjustable,
- And ensure all grind adjustments are accurate.
When shopping for a coffee grinder that’s right for you, you should not only be looking out that the said qualities are featured in your desired grinder, but also determine whether a ‘grind on demand’ grinder or ‘doser’ grinder is right for you.
A ‘grind on demand grinder’ will only grind the coffee when it is needed for a set amount of time to ensure you will receive only your desired dose. These grinders are fantastic to use when making espressos as the coffee grinds will always be fresh.
‘Doser grinders’ are those coffee grinders that have a dosing chamber, usually at the front of the machine, to store ground coffee in.
The grinder consists of several pie shaped compartments that rotate and move around whenever a lever is pulled. One compartment at the bottom is always empty, so that it is ready for coffee to fall out and into the group handle.
To operate, a barista will need to ensure that the dosing chamber is full of ground coffee before pulling a lever that moves all the compartments around. Typically, each pull of the lever will generate a single shot of espresso.
Overall, grind on demand grinders are the preferred style of coffee grinder in cafes and restaurants, as the coffee is ground fresh, ensuring all espressos created will be of the highest quality.