Commercial coffee grinders are as the name implies; grinders used for commercial purposes. The number one priority from each grinder company is the ability to guarantee uniform grinding with every setting available on that grinder. They are designed for continuous use, fast grind time, long time use with a heavy duty ½ horse power motor to do that. Most are burr grinders, but blade grinders are available. The list of where commercial coffee grinders are used is too long to name them all here. But, to name some of the major spots include coffee houses, tea shops, yes tea houses for those who also enjoy a good cup of coffee, high end short term convalescent centers, hospitals, restaurants, pizza places, coffee roasting shops and large corporations where they want to serve their clients a great cup of coffee.
The first concern when buying a commercial grinder is what is the need and the amount of use. This immediately leads to the three types of commercial coffee grinders. The three types of commercial coffee grinders are: retail grinders, food service grinders and last, but not lest espresso grinders.
Retail grinders are those you find at the grocery store or a specialty store where you can grind your own coffee by the pound. Usually they have one or two, sometimes more, different brands of coffee beans already in a sack that you can empty into the hopper at the top of the grinder. This way you are grinding a select amount of coffee; 1 or 2 lbs. The grinders offer a number of click-stop grind settings. The best grinders offer settings from Turkish powder for espresso machines to course grinds for percolators and French press coffee makers. Many grinders today have safety and ETL sanitation ratings and are RoHas approved, which means they do not have any toxic metals in the manufacture of that commercial grinder. Grindmaster offers a four year warranty on parts (or 30,000 lbs.) of ground coffee, whichever comes first and one year labor; all other parts are 2 years with 1 year labor.
Food service grinders also offer a wide range of grind settings from course to Turkish powder. Food service grinders are found in restaurants, coffee houses, fast food restaurants, delis, pizza restaurants, and fine tea houses. They are also found in hotel restaurants and high end short term convalescent care centers. These usually have long-lasting burr grinders that are dependable work horses, yet economical. These grinders come in one, two and three portion hoppers. This allows the server to brew select portions of, say, a fresh ground decaf, a fresh ground light roast and a fresh ground mixer grinder dark (robust) roast coffee. Burr grinders also grind flavored coffees as well without creating a burnt flavor or taste. Most food service grinder companies offer a 3 year warranty.
Commercial espresso grinders offer an exclusive set of grind settings. These grinders have dosers for the barista. The automatic espresso grinders keep the doser chute full of ground espresso coffee that is ready for dispensing right into the porta-filter of the espresso machine. When the doser becomes low the grinder automatically grinds the right amount to refill the doser. Another espresso grinder for the advanced barista offers a manual timer. Here he can control the length of the grind and the size of the grind for each espresso, latte or cappuccino drink.