For those who sell home roasted coffee, what kind of grinder are you using?

[EricL9]

Hey folks. I'm new to the whole coffee roasting thing. I've been roasting for a little over four months now and have learned quite a bit, but I'm looking for some equipment input. More specifically, regarding the type of grinder the good folks of the coffeeforum are using when they sell their home roasted coffee. I scoured the forum for a question similar to mine but I didn't find anything close.

I'm currently using a KRUPS GX5000 grinder. It's great for normal everyday home use. I hate having to clean it and it doesn't have a removable bean hopper (which would be awesome), but it generally gets the job done. I sell some of the coffee I roast at home and many customers ask for the coffee to be pre-ground since they themselves don't have a grinder. The KRUPS, you can imagine, takes quite a while to fill a bag full of ground coffee as the ground coffee container only holds 7oz, if I'm lucky. It actually shut off on me one day and wouldn't turn back on for a while. I think it overheated.

So, what I'm really looking for is a recommendation for a grinder that has a sizeable ground coffee container, conical burr preferred, removable hopper, and rigid enough to handle grinding up to 5 lbs of coffee in an efficient amount of time, say approximately a half hour.

I have looked into Grindmaster grinders like the ones used in coffee shops but they're awfully expensive given my current operation. Plus, could you imagine one of those sitting in your kitchen? They're kind of an ugly counter item. I have also looked at Baratza and Breville that seem to give you a decent amount of control over the grind, I just don't know if they're rigid enough to hold up under the demand I plan to put on them.

Recommendations welcome.

[shadow745]

Home grinders are meant to grind no more than 1-2 lbs DAILY and usually with a low duty cycle, meaning grinding a bit, stop a bit, etc. 5# in 30 minutes is commercial territory. For high volume, but good grind quality/decent price I would definitely seek out a used bulk grinder like those you see in grocery stores. They will run forever, have very long life rating on the burrs and will get the job done fast for a fair price. Yeah they might be a bit much to look at, but you need function over form.

If you want something compact, but offers very high quality grind quality/good speed look at a used BUNN LPG. I used one in a commercial application and it was awesome. If I remember correctly it would grind 4 oz in 10-12 seconds and did so with very high grind quality. I have seen them used for as low as $150-250 many times. These grinders are used in convenience stores, Waffle House restaurants local to me, so they can stand up to lots of use for a long time.

You can also score a used BUNN G1 or Grindmaster equivalent for fair prices compared to new. May need a good cleaning, but usually not much else as they are so robust. Look on your local Craigslist, etc. eBay and other online places might have good deals, but shipping $ may be quite high.

[EricL9]

Home grinders are meant to grind no more than 1-2 lbs DAILY and usually with a low duty cycle, meaning grinding a bit, stop a bit, etc. 5# in 30 minutes is commercial territory. For high volume, but good grind quality/decent price I would definitely seek out a used bulk grinder like those you see in grocery stores. They will run forever, have very long life rating on the burrs and will get the job done fast for a fair price. Yeah they might be a bit much to look at, but you need function over form.

If you want something compact, but offers very high quality grind quality/good speed look at a used BUNN LPG. I used one in a commercial application and it was awesome. If I remember correctly it would grind 4 oz in 10-12 seconds and did so with very high grind quality. I have seen them used for $150 or so many times. These grinders are used in convenience stores, Waffle House restaurants local to me, so they can stand up to lots of use for a long time.

Thank you for the input. I had no idea the home grinders were only good for 1-2lbs per day. It probably says that in the instruction manual I never read. I'll keep an eye out for other machines like the Bunn LPG you suggested. Thanks again!

[shadow745]

Yeah and lower priced home grinders likely won't last long at 1-2 lbs. daily. For what you described definitely commercial bulk grinding is the only way to go. Also, no way I would be using a home grinder like the Krups to grind coffee being sold.

[EricL9]

Yeah and lower priced home grinders likely won't last long at 1-2 lbs. daily. For what you described definitely commercial bulk grinding is the only way to go. Also, no way I would be using a home grinder like the Krups to grind coffee being sold.

Haha! Yeah. Believe me, I hate the Krups grinder. On the other hand, our coffee has been well received and it has mostly been made for friends and family who aren't necessarily coffee snobs.

I don't grind 5lbs per day every day in half hour increments. It's just when I have 5lbs of freshly roasted coffee to get through in the evening, I don't want to spend two hours grinding, bagging, and labeling. Grinding taking the most time out of all three.

Thanks again.

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[EricL9]

I bit the bullet and purchased a Grindmaster 875. Got it used on ebay in stellar condition for $150. It has a big Eight O Clock Coffee label on the front of it. That'll get replaced, of course. I'm guessing that's why nobody wanted it. I was the only bidder. I'm either lucky or everyone else knows something I don't. We'll be finding out soon enough.

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[EricL9]

Well, here it is. Cleaned it up and ran a half pound of coffee beans through it. Works like a charm. And it's fast!

[shadow745]

That's awesome... let us know how well it serves you.

You should tell us more about your roasting operation...

BTW I see you have a rather large bag of Charbux coffee!

[Missjune75]

I still love Eight O'Clock Coffee (as a supermarket brand) even though they did my biggest pet peeve and started selling 11oz bags of coffee when they used to sell a full pound. I have to forgive a lot of my favorite coffee roasters for not selling a pound of coffee (Gimme Coffee and Rojo Roastery comes to mind).
If a roaster sells their coffee in pounds instead of 12oz and 14oz bags - they have a big plus in my book.
I love that gorgeous giant red grinder with the fab 8 O'clock logo! What a find. It's awesome looking and I hope it grinds as well as it looks. I believe the Shopright Supermarket my mother shopped at had one just like it but maybe I'm imagining that. Anyway- great find!

[EricL9]

That's awesome... let us know how well it serves you.

You should tell us more about your roasting operation...

BTW I see you have a rather large bag of Charbux coffee!

My operation is pretty simple. It's a modified Whirly Pop popcorn popper. I know multiple threads have been started on those. I just motorized mine and wired up a speed control so I can increase or decrease the agitator speed. It's pretty simple and it roasts evenly. I have been able to successfully roast 16oz batches, which turns into approximately 12oz by the end of roasting (depending on roast level).