bustedknuckles Senior Member Joined: 10 Aug 2012 Posts: 1 Location: canada Expertise: Just starting
Posted Sat Aug 11, 2012, 12:41am Subject: manual commercial grinder
Hi everyone, great forum. I am looking at doing an espresso cart and would like to know my options for a manual grinder.Something that is pretty quick. I would love to use one of those old timey looking grinders, just not sure of the grind quality. The HG one looks pretty good. looking forward to your replies.
CoffeeMills Senior Member Joined: 21 Feb 2012 Posts: 32 Location: USA, Canada Expertise: Professional
Espresso: la Pavoni Professional Grinder: Mazzer Mini Drip: Gravity Cone Roaster: 49TH //
Posted Sat Aug 11, 2012, 2:02am Subject: Re: manual commercial grinder
bustedknuckles,
Thank you for posting. Manual mill systems work well and provide a decent workout. If your cart theme is old school grinding, please consider customer wait time. Most manual coffee grinders are novelty, yet capable of french press milling. Achieving drip coffee or espresso grind consistency may require mortar and pestle. eBay has dozens of manual grinders. Check local thrift or antique store for discounts. Lucky folks find artistic ones with character.
emradguy Senior Member Joined: 31 Mar 2011 Posts: 1,727 Location: Houston Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Izzo Alex Duetto II Grinder: MacapM4T, Macap M4, OE Lido,... Drip: Espro press; Aeropress Roaster: internet
Posted Sat Aug 11, 2012, 7:44am Subject: Re: manual commercial grinder
I'd have to disagree that a mortar and pestle should be considered for espresso. I would recommend considering the OE Pharos. It's a very high quality single dose manual grinder that sells for $245 on the OE website. The only downside I can see, considering what you asked for, is that it is high tech looking as well, not antique. OE did used to refurbish antique grinders and sell them, but I don't think they do that anymore. Click Here (www.orphanespresso.com)
Posted Sat Aug 11, 2012, 8:51pm Subject: Re: manual commercial grinder
I honestly don't think that a manual grinder would be appropriate for a business. Unless you have a gigantic flywheel (and not the HGone), grinding will be slow and more importantly fatiguing. Making espresso commercially is very different than making it at home. Speed, reliability, and effort are more important considerations. With an un-assistend manual grinder you or your employee wil be hurt at the end of a successful day. Dosing will also be an issue. Weighing a dose on demand from a large container of beans is both slow, equipment intensive (scale, scoop, container, counter space), exposes the beans to a lot of air, and introduces the constant opportunity to waste/spill beans. You could pre dose many doses into little canisters...but that also requires time and double storage space. I don't think that the aesthetic value of a manual grinder justifies the operational compromises. If there were some sort of bean dosing machine that could measure out a single dose of beans at the touch of a button, then I might think other wise.
If electrical is an issue, well...I'm not sure...I guess you could pick up an HGone when it is available and find a way to manage dosing. If lack of electrical isn't the reason you need a manual grinder, you may want to just look around for a really nice looking motorized grinder. Some of the Elektra rebranded Macaps are vintage-y looking with a proper commercial warranty and service.
IMAWriter Senior Member Joined: 4 Jul 2002 Posts: 5,464 Location: Brentwood, TN Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Nothing at the moment Grinder: Vario-W,Preciso-Esatto/KyM... Vac Pot: Adcraft SS, Yama 8 cup Drip: Brazen.Chemex, Hario, Clever... Roaster: Behmor 1600, CO/UFO combo
Posted Sat Aug 11, 2012, 10:20pm Subject: Re: manual commercial grinder
+1. The Mazzer line, especially the SJ, Major, Robur are classic grinders, with what I believe is a classic look. Anyone who has ever been in a quality cafe would have seen one, and they exude professionalism in a business setting. Of course, other grinders like the K30, etc are of pretty equal grinding competence, but are of a slightly more modern appearance.
(to our OP).. Are you using a more "artsy" machine, such as a 2 group commercial lever, with a flow jet, or a reservoir type double boiler? If the latter, I'd not be concerned with how retro your grinder looks, as most likely the machine will dominate anyway.
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