9 Best Commercial Espresso Grinders in 2024

This post is an overview of the best commercial espresso grinders. Keep reading to learn more.

I searched for various espresso grinders when researching whether I should consider opening a coffee shop. This guide will provide my top picks to help you find a great machine.

I chose the Mahlkönig E65S GbW as the best overall because it’ll give small- and medium-traffic businesses the highest quality espresso possible due to using grind-by-weight technology.

Such technology makes this device exceptional for coffee shops focusing on flavor to keep customers returning. You may find this device too expensive or not good enough for high-traffic shops. I have alternatives.

I’ll provide various recommendations for grinders in different categories. You’ll learn who they’re best for, their pros and cons, and how they’d make your business better (or worse).

Let’s get to it.

Best Professional Espresso Grinders for Businesses

1. Mahlkönig E65S GbW: Top pick and quietest
2. CEADO E6P: Most affordable
3. Mahlkönig EK43 OMNIA: Best high-end device (released in August)
4. Mahlkönig DK27 LVH: Best industrial grinder
5. Mahlkönig E80S GbW: Best grind-by-weight device
6. Fiorenzato All Ground: Best prosumer device
7. CEADO E7: Includes a doser
8. Etzinger EtzMAN W Manual GbW: Best manual espresso grinder
9. Mahlkönig Guatemala 2.0: Best for restaurants

Espresso Grinders vs. Coffee Grinders (Important)

There are differences between coffee and espresso grinders. The latter is better for grinding coffee due to some design choices. If you’re interested in primarily focusing on coffee with your business, check out our recommendations for commercial coffee grinders.

Here are the differences:

Espresso grinders:

• Stepless settings: Businesses can make micro-adjustments ensuring an ideal extraction for different coffees and roast levels.
• Designed for fine, consistent espresso grind. This allows for even water extraction and a balanced espresso flavor.

Coffee grinders:

• Stepped settings: Limited settings. While you can grind for espresso, you’ll struggle with consistency and flavor quality.
• More budget-friendly compared to espresso grinders.

Most available commercial grinders will include stepless settings, but it’s important to know the differences to prevent you from making any mistakes.

Opting for a stepless espresso grinder gives you absolute control over the grind, letting you dial in the perfect espresso shot. This superior control over flavor will keep customers satisfied and helps maintain quality standards if your business scales.

Summary: Espresso grinders work better for espresso because they allow for unlimited adjustments, which’ll affect extraction quality and taste.

Top Espresso Machines for Business Use

I’ll cover the following throughout these sections:

• Machine specifications: For a glance at whether this machine will fit your needs.
• Pros and cons: Where the machine succeeds and fails.
• Who it’s best for: Does it meet your business’ needs?
• Features overviews: Determine whether you’d need specific features or design choices.
• In-depth look at pros and cons: More clarity on whether the machine is worth it.

If you find yourself confused about any of the specifications that I mention, or other information, refer to the buyer’s guide after all these miniature reviews. It’ll provide more clarity.

Here’s our top pick.

1. Mahlkönig E65S GbW: Best Overall

The Mahlkönig E65S GbW is ideal for high-volume, specialty coffee shops that prioritize precise espresso grinding, consistency, and streamlined workflow features.

Grinders with grind-by-weight (GbW) technology have a built-in scale. You program the desired weight of coffee (e.g., 18 grams), and the grinder automatically stops grinding once that weight is reached.

The biggest advantage is consistency. Espresso extraction is sensitive to dose. With GbW, every shot uses the exact amount of coffee, leading to more consistent shots and fewer wasted pulls.

This streamlines workflow, especially in high-volume cafés. Furthermore, consistent dosing directly translates to more consistent, and often better-tasting, espresso. Customers receive higher-quality drinks each time.

However.

Small home setups or cafés with minimal espresso volume might not see the cost-benefit ratio justifying GbW grinders. And if your café’s primary focus isn’t espresso, you might want to invest in better equipment for filter coffee instead.

For instance, I recommend the Mahlkönig Guatemala 2.0 for grinding filter coffee. I’ll talk more about it later in this guide.

What contributes to the E65s’ excellent grind consistency?

Partially, the grind-by-weight technology. Then the 65 mm flat burrs, which provide a larger surface area for consistent grinding. These are known for even particle size distribution. If you’re a high-traffic business, you might want to opt for larger burrs, though.

They have more surface area, which generates less heat and grinds quicker. Leading to quicker drinks and a longer machine life. I’ll provide an alternative later (the E80S GbW).

You want excellent espresso consistency because consistent grinds lead to consistent drink quality. This builds customer loyalty and a positive reputation.

And with more consistent dosing, you notice less coffee loss due to improper shots needing extraction redos. This saves on coffee bean costs.

All grinders often create some degree of clumping in the grinds. However, the E65S GbW features a design element (potentially in the burr geometry or spout design) to break up larger clumps before they hit the portafilter.

Having fewer clumps in your portafilter means experiencing espresso channeling is less likely. With less espresso channeling, you won’t have sour or bitter drinks.

Customers will appreciate that.

From my experience, it’s quieter than other more popular devices (e.g., EK43). This is something you’d want to create a quiet atmosphere.

And if this machine isn’t quiet enough, get a silicone mat. It’ll reduce the vibrations your machine lets out and further muffle it.

Consider the next pick if this grinder isn’t necessary for your business or out of your budget.

---

2. CEADO E6P: Most Affordable

The Ceado E6P is best for medium-volume cafés that value precise grind control, consistency, and moderate speed for an optimized espresso workflow.

Its consistent grinds come from its 64 mm flat burrs because they offer a greater surface area for grinding coffee. Providing a more uniform particle distribution.

Additionally, the “Steady Lock Burr” technology maintains a consistent distance between the burrs under heavy use, minimizing fluctuations in grind size that can occur over time.

Such consistent grinds are valuable for businesses that want customers to know their coffee’s taste won’t change. And with unchanging coffee, you’ll have loyal customers.

The machine also isn’t that loud, which makes it excellent for smaller coffee shops that aren’t trying to drive customers out with roaring grinders. And the high-quality cast aluminum body gives it resistance to everyday wear and tear.

And the burrs will grind up to 600 pounds of coffee before requiring a replacement [1]. That’s not optimal for high-traffic businesses. But it’s fine for smaller- and medium-sized cafés where people might not always order coffee.

The fact that you’re paying less for a grinder means you’re bound to find issues.

Dialing in the grind size for espresso is challenging because small movements can make a big difference. This is because the grinder requires very fine movements of the dosing dial, and it also retains a lot of grounds.

You could fix this by getting a single dose ring.

A single-dose ring replaces a portion of the traditional bean hopper. This reduces the open space inside the grinder above the burrs, leaving less room for grounds to get trapped.

And you don’t want old grounds to get trapped in the machine. Because some old, potentially stale, coffee can mix with the fresh grinds, affecting flavor. Customers won’t like this and may not return to your shop if they have stale coffee.

You’ll need a much better grinder if you’re a higher-traffic or high-end shop. Check out this next pick for a better recommendation.

---

3. Mahlkönig EK43 OMNIA: Most Expensive Espresso Grinder (Released in August 2024)

The EK Omnia is a high-end grinder well-suited for high-traffic coffee shops, cafés, restaurants, and specialty coffee shops.

You might have seen the Mahlkönig EK43. It’s a popular grinder in coffee houses (including Starbucks). The OMNIA improves upon its design with a brushless DC motor, which is more energy efficient, creates less coffee spray, and is quieter.

Better energy efficiency will save you more money on electricity bills over time. The less coffee spray creates a cleaner work environment, which means better time management for team members. And the quietness is a massive perk since it allows team members to understand customers better while ordering.

The micron adjustment dial is a feature on the EK Omnia grinder that allows baristas to make small adjustments to the grind size. The dial is a fantastic choice for coffee shops because it will enable baristas to create precise and consistent grind sizes, which is essential for making espresso.

It can also improve workflow by allowing baristas to quickly and easily adjust the grind size for different coffees or brewing methods.

The ability to save multiple grind time presets works through the Library Mode. In this mode, the barista can create recipes for different brew methods and assign the grind size and time. 

Once saved, your team member can swipe a finger to access the recipe within seconds. Preventing them from manually dialing grind sizes for multiple brewing methods. Better for time management.

However…

Unlike the EK43, this grinder includes a much smaller hopper (250 grams). This isn’t ideal for high-traffic environments that won’t frequently want to refill their bean hopper. But it is optimal for smaller shops focusing on bean freshness.

Since you won’t leave beans in the hopper for long, they don’t have as much UV rays and oxygen exposure, which can degrade coffee bean aroma and flavor.

If you want a larger hopper, you’ll need to get one from Mahlkönig. And there’s no portafilter holder on this device, which is inconvenient for grinding espresso since your team members must hover a portafilter under the grind dispenser while in use.

Doing this prevents them from doing other tasks while the machine grinds.

I don’t want to leave this grinder on a sour note. I also recommend this grinder for longevity because it’ll grind more than 13,200 pounds of coffee beans before requiring a replacement [2]. That’ll save you time on finding a technician and it reduces downtime during replacements.

Larger businesses (e.g., roasteries) will need much larger grinders to handle grinding more beans. That means you’ll need this next recommendation.

---

4. Mahlkönig DK27 LVH: Best Industrial Espresso Grinder

The Mahlkönig DK27 LVH is an exceptional choice for small-scale roasteries and espresso wholesalers who need to grind in bulk.

The 180 mm burrs will grind up to 616 pounds of beans per hour, which will ensure this device will meet most demands your business will encounter. It also has a great-sized bean hopper that’ll reduce the frequency your team will need to refill it.

The less refilling you need to perform, the longer your machine can operate without interruptions. And with fewer interruptions, you’ll have more productivity.

Speaking of interruptions, you’ll need to consider downtime when replacing burrs.

This machine uses tungsten carbide burrs. Tungsten carbide is a composite material, an alloy primarily made of tungsten and carbon. It’s renowned for its hardness (Mohs rating 9/10) and resistance to wear, which exceeds that of high-speed steel (Mohs rating 4.2—8.75/10).

Coffee beans are hard. The constant grinding action places significant stress on the burrs.

Tungsten carbide’s extreme hardness allows it to withstand the grinding of coffee beans without quickly dulling or chipping. Such durability allows this machine to grind up to 90,000 pounds of coffee beans before requiring a replacement.

In addition to downtime, you won’t need to worry about sourcing replacement burrs or technicians as often. Saving you time and money.

This machine doesn’t have the greatest upfront cost savings, though. However, it’s a machine for large-scale grinding, not small coffee shops. You’re paying for a premium machine that grinds massive amounts of beans.

If you need more than 616 pounds of coffee per hour, device recommendations above that range are not my specialty. You will need to find specific websites dedicated to serving coffee manufacturers.

If you’re a high-traffic coffee shop that doesn’t want to spend so much on a machine yet wants high-quality beans, keep reading.

---

5. Mahlkönig E80S GbW: Best Grind-By-Weight Espresso Grinder

The Mahlkönig E80S GbW espresso grinder is ideal for busy cafés that need a high-volume grinder that can grind quickly and accurately by weight.

The first recommendation in this guide explains what grind-by-weight grinders are and who they’re best for. In short, they’re optimal for businesses after consistency with their espresso drinks. Such consistency is valuable for attracting repeat customers.

If a café only grinds a few pounds of coffee daily, a business may not justify the cost and complexity of a grind-by-weight machine. A less expensive grinder may suffice. For instance, the CEADO E6P.

2 internal fans keep the Mahlkönig E80S GbW cool by circulating air within the machine. As the grinder operates, the burrs and motor naturally generate heat. If left unchecked, this heat can transfer to the coffee beans as they grind, negatively impacting their flavor profile.

The E80S GbW helps businesses consistently serve a superior coffee experience by preventing the coffee from overheating during the grinding stage. This could give you the edge to stand out from your competition.

If you’re in an area with many competing cafés and coffee shops, you’ll need a way to stand out. And maintaining your beans’ freshness could be the key.

Having virtually no clumps will also help, though. 

The 80 mm burrs allow for faster grinding with less heat generation and produce a more consistent grind distribution. This consistency makes for smooth extraction and reduces the likelihood of pockets or channels forming in the coffee puck, where clumps often start.

Eliminating espresso channeling will prevent your barista from brewing sour or bitter drinks, which could deter customers from returning to your business.

If you read this post as a home user or a smaller coffee shop that wants a good grinder, I have an excellent recommendation.

---

6. Fiorenzato All Ground: Best Prosumer Espresso Grinder

The Fiorenzato All-Ground is a good choice for businesses that need to grind for espresso and pour-over, and it’s also well-suited for home use because of its versatility.

This device is a stepped grinder, not stepless. While it can grind for espresso, it won’t produce the highest-quality espresso. Because you’re not getting as precise of adjustments as with stepless machines due to limited settings.

These aren’t ideal if you’re a shop focused on high-quality espresso. Since you won’t extract as much flavor from your beans. But it’s more of a good option for a not-so-busy store that wants to offer a diverse menu. So long as Turkish coffee isn’t on that menu.

The burrs in the grinder are set too close together, which is ideal for espresso but not for the ultra-fine grind required for Turkish coffee. This results in uneven grinding and an inconsistent cup.

I’d opt for the Guatemala 2.0, which I’ll discuss in a couple of sections.

This machine’s also a fantastic addition to small- and medium-traffic businesses because it has decent-sized burrs that’ll grind more than 3,000 pounds of coffee before requiring a replacement.

Burr size matters because it’ll increase the machine’s lifespan due to less heat putting stress on your machine. There’s also less heat that’ll burn your beans, improving the flavor and aroma of your drinks.

Customers will always appreciate better-tasting coffee.

Not having to replace your burrs as often saves you time on sourcing new burrs and downtime on having to install those new burrs. Allowing you to operate longer with fewer interruptions.

However, the hopper size isn’t optimal for high-traffic businesses.

You’ll need to add beans more often since they’ll run out quicker, interrupting productivity. But you’ll have fresher beans since they’re exposed to oxygen and UV rays for less time.

Less exposure to oxygen and UV rays better preserves your beans’ freshness and aroma.

Why’s this worthy as a prosumer home device? It’s affordable for a higher-end grinder and supports multiple brewing methods. That, combined with its durable burrs, put it ahead of many machines—even some on this list.

You may be in a business that wants a grinder with a doser. Consider the next pick.

---

7. CEADO E7: Best Espresso Grinder with Doser

The Ceado E7 is best for light commercial environments like small cafés and restaurants that demand high-quality, consistent espresso grinds.

Dosing chambers often have internal dividers creating pie-shaped sections. A lever is used to rotate the chamber, releasing a predetermined amount of coffee (usually around 7 grams) into the portafilter.

In a busy environment, a barista can quickly dispense a dose with the pull of a lever rather than grinding directly into the portafilter each time. This streamlines workflow during peak hours. This allows baristas to prepare multiple shots rapidly while reducing waste.

However, the dosing chamber is one more component that your team must clean periodically to prevent the buildup of stale grinds and oils. This adds to maintenance tasks, which is time your team could better spend toward other tasks, like talking to customers.

This grinder shares many features and design choices of cheaper models like the CEADO E6X—e.g., stepless settings and burr size. Why not choose that instead? 

The E7 features a 400-watt motor, while the E6X uses a 300-watt one. This extra power is valuable for cafés experiencing very high output, as it may reduce grind time and handle the grind load more efficiently.

If you’re a smaller coffee house that doesn’t need such a powerful motor, wants to save money on your electric bill, and wants a doser, opt for the CEADO E6X.

And if you’re a business who doesn’t have much access to electricity at all, consider the next pick.

---

8. Etzinger EtzMAN W Manual GbW: Best Manual Espresso Grinder

The Etzinger EtzMAN W Manual GbW is an excellent manual espresso grinder for businesses that don’t have much access to electricity.

A pop-up coffee cart with limited access to power should consider a manual grinder. Small home-based espresso setups used for catering or events also benefit from the portability and lower cost of manual options.

You’re saving money due to the machine not using electricity.

A coffee shop catering to an audience dedicated to the hands-on, artisanal aspects of coffee preparation could employ manual grinders as part of a unique offering.

However.

Coffee shops depend on speed and consistency. Manual grinders are slower, requiring effort to grind enough coffee for each shot. And even with great care, achieving consistent espresso-fine grinds manually is challenging since you have no technology measuring and dispensing the beans.

Fluctuations in grind size lead to unpredictable extraction times and flavor in the final cup. With fluctuations in taste, how could a customer trust that you’ll deliver a similar cup of coffee on their next visit? At that point, they’d likely consider a more reliable coffee shop.

High-volume coffee shops would also find manual espresso grinders physically taxing on staff and unable to keep up with customer demand.

And if the team can’t keep up with customers, customers will become frustrated and may likely never return.

This is a niche grinder that’s for specific uses. Though I don’t recommend it for most businesses, it’s important to include it on this list to present all available choices to various types of business owners.

I haven’t mentioned anything about coffee grinders, yet. Let’s change that.

---

9. Mahlkönig Guatemala 2.0: Best Grinder for Coffee & Restaurants

The Mahlkönig Guatemala 2.0 is best for cafés, roasteries, and coffee shops that want consistent results for different brewing methods.

Conical burrs can handle fine espresso grinds and coarser settings for drip coffee, pour-over, or French press. Plus, they operate at lower speeds than flat burr grinders, minimizing heat generation and preserving coffee flavors and aromas. 

Preserving aromas and flavors is an obvious advantage for attracting customers by providing flavorful drinks.

However.

Conical burrs might deliver slightly less consistency in the finest grind settings than flat burrs, causing minor variations in espresso extraction.

Additionally, they may retain a small amount of coffee grounds within the grinder, potentially requiring a purge shot before switching between different brewing methods.

Such an additional task may reduce your team’s productivity and increase the risk of having inconsistent drinks if someone forgets to purge the grinder before switching brewing methods.

Here’s an example. A team member brews drip coffee (coarse grind) and then switches to espresso (fine grind) but forgets to purge the grinder. That could lead to issues like espresso channeling.

Here’s why:

• Coarser grounds create wider gaps, offering less resistance than the finely ground espresso.
• Water rushes through the coarser grounds, over-extracting those areas while leaving the densely packed fine grinds under-extracted.
• Uneven extraction disrupts the espresso’s flavor profile, potentially resulting in a mix of sour (under-extracted) and bitter (over-extracted) flavors.

With careful puck preparation, you won’t have issues. You should know this information just in case, though.

If your business values offering multiple brewing options without being absolutely fixated on the uniformity achievable with specialized espresso grinders, a conical burr grinder is an excellent choice.

This grinder could work for businesses since it’ll brew different types of coffee. However, most restaurants are better off using super-automatic espresso machines with built-in grinders.

Because these devices don’t require you to train your team members how to use semi-automatic machines, which requires practice to perfect. Higher-end restaurants offering various coffee drinks with dedicated baristas on staff will find this device valuable, though.

That’s all for recommendations. Let’s move onto the buying guide.

---

Commercial Espresso Grinder Buying Guide

Consider all these factors when shopping for a commercial espresso grinder:

Factor	Description
Price	Your budget for a machine.
Manual vs. Electric	How much access you have to electricity.
Burr vs. Blade	All commercial grinders use burrs.
Features	Improves productivity and taste at a higher cost.
Brand	Determines cost, support, and built quality.
Bean Capacity	How much you can grind before refilling the hopper.
Built-in Grinder vs. Separate Grinder	Built-in grinders work better for specific businesses.
Burr Type	Conical vs. flat burrs.
Burr Size	Cost vs. efficiency and taste.
Post-Sale Support	Warranties, customer service access, and more.
Where it’s Made	Parts availability, built quality, and logistics

I’ll discuss all these points further throughout the following sections.

Read on to learn more.

1. Price

Avg. price:

• Smaller Shops: $1,000–$3,000
• Medium-to-High-Traffic Shops: $1,500–$4,000
• Industrial: $5,000–$20,000

A commercial espresso grinder’s price reflects the quality of its burrs, the robustness of its build, and the sophistication of its features. Advanced technologies, premium materials, and the reputation of the brand naturally lead to higher price tags.

Grinders designed for high-volume use with large hoppers will cost more than smaller counterparts.

Whether a machine’s electric or manual will also impact its price.

2. Type: Manual vs. Electric

Manual espresso grinders are too slow for use in most businesses due to having no motor or automation. Such a lack of speed can result in drinks taking forever, which’ll likely lead to customers never returning.

A few use-cases for manual grinders exist, like:

• Pop-up events: When portability and minimal electricity are required, a manual grinder might be a viable option for temporary, mobile setups.
• Customer experience: Certain cafés might implement a manual grinder for a specific premium drink as a way to highlight craft.
• Education and training: Manual grinders allow baristas to develop a deeper understanding of the grinding process and how grind size affects espresso flavor.

Otherwise, electric grinders are any business’ best choice. They grind much faster, which is critical for serving many customers and reducing wait times.

They reduce physical strain. Using a manual grinder for prolonged periods can lead to fatigue and potentially lead to errors and injury.

They also have larger hoppers. Manual grinders typically have a small hopper capacity, meaning they need frequent refilling. This is impractical in a high-volume setting.

Now that you know what type of grinder you want, let’s move onto whether you should get a burr or blade grinder.

Summary: Only use commercial manual espresso grinders for specific use-cases.

3. Burr vs. Blade

Commercial espresso grinders never use blades because blades chop the coffee beans inconsistently.

This uneven grind leads to improper extraction. Some grounds will be over-extracted (bitter) while others under-extracted (sour)—resulting in an unpleasant tasting espresso.

Commercial grinders use burrs to crush the beans into a uniform size, ensuring a balanced and flavorful extraction.

Grinders will have various features. Let’s dive deeper into that.

Summary: Commercial espresso grinders don’t use blades.

4. Features

Feature	What it Does	Best For…
Programmable Dosing	Dispenses consistent amounts of ground coffee	Busy shops, consistency
Grind-by-Weight	Doses based on weight for accuracy	cafés prioritizing accuracy
Low Grind Retention	Minimizes leftover grounds for freshness	Flavor-conscious cafés
Quiet Operation	Reduces noise in the café atmosphere	Customer-focused shops
Built-In Tamper	Streamlines workflow, ensures even tamping	Efficiency-minded baristas

More details:

• Programmable dosing: A standard feature on most commercial grinders for ensuring consistent shot output.
• Grind-by-weight: This highly accurate feature is found on select top-tier commercial grinders.
• Low grind retention: Commercial grinders prioritize low retention designs but the effectiveness varies between models.
• Quiet operation: While commercial grinders aren’t whisper-quiet, manufacturers actively optimize for reduced noise levels compared to older models.
• Built-in tamper: Less common in standalone commercial grinders, although some high-end, all-in-one espresso machines might integrate this feature.

Whether machines include these features will also depend on the brand you buy from. Let’s see how the machine’s brand will influence its price.

Summary: Most grinders will include large hoppers. Whether they include other features depends on how much you pay.

5. Brand

Higher-end brands (e.g., CEADO), with reputations for superior quality and innovation, command premium prices. These brands often invest heavily in research and development, leading to cutting-edge features like precision burrs, advanced dosing technologies, and intuitive user interfaces.

Top-tier manufacturers utilize premium materials and components, ensuring build quality and longevity, making their products more expensive.

Less established brands or those targeting budget-conscious buyers might use more affordable materials and offer less elaborate feature sets.

While these less expensive grinders can be functional, they may lack the finesse and consistency of their premium counterparts.

Here are the big players you’ll typically see:

Mahlkönig	CEADO	Fiorenzato	Anfim
Brentwood	Newco	Pinecone	Macap
Etzinger	Mazzer	Leon

Let’s keep moving.

Summary: Prestige, innovation, and quality in commercial grinders come at a cost.

6. Bean Capacity

Common hopper sizes in commercial grinders range from around 1 pound to more than 3 pounds. Larger hoppers offer a crucial advantage for businesses: they minimize how often staff needs to refill beans.

This keeps service running smoothly, especially during peak hours, and frees up employees for other tasks.

However, smaller, single-dose hoppers are becoming more popular among coffee houses.

Here’s when they might be a good fit for your business:

• Prioritizing freshness: Single dosing lets you grind only the exact amount needed per shot, minimizing stale coffee in the hopper.
• Specialty coffee offerings: If you frequently rotate through many different specialty beans, single-dose grinding reduces waste and cross-contamination between coffee types.

With most commercial espresso grinders, you’ll likely need to purchase a separate single-dose hopper from the manufacturer or a third-party supplier.

Here’s a table that’ll help you decide which is best for you:

Feature	Single-Dose Hopper	Large Hopper
Freshness	Maximizes bean freshness	Requires regular refills to stay fresh
Bean Variety	Easy to switch between varieties	Best with limited bean offerings
Waste Reduction	Minimizes waste, especially with special blends	Potential for leftover grounds
Workflow	Requires weighing beans each time	Streamlined for high volume

Let’s move onto whether you even need a separate espresso grinder.

Summary: Single-dose hoppers are better for small businesses that want to focus on freshness and taste. Larger hoppers are mandatory for high-traffic shops.

7. Built-in Grinder vs. Separate Grinder

Best for:

• Super-Automatic Espresso Machine (Built-in Grinder): Offices, small cafés with limited staff, or hotel breakfast areas.
• Separate Espresso Grinders: Coffee shops and cafés.

Businesses where speed and convenience are more important than crafting the finest espresso will thrive with a super-automatic machine. Think busy offices, small cafés with minimal staff, or hotel breakfast buffets.

These machines typically have built-in grinders that can produce an espresso grind but have “stepped” settings.

This means you can adjust the grind, but only in larger jumps. I talked about stepped settings in the beginning of this guide.

The larger the jump, the less control you have over your beans.

However, with the touch of a button, they grind the beans, tamp the coffee, and pull the shot. Anyone can consistently produce at least passable espresso, which is a big plus for untrained staff.

Dedicated espresso grinders provide stepless adjustment, allowing for infinitely small changes in grind size. This level of control is crucial for dialing in the perfect espresso extraction. That’s better for most coffee shops.

These machines don’t typically offer the most options with burr size and type. Standalone grinders do. I’ll cover your options throughout the next couple of sections.

Summary: Super-automatic espresso machines with built-in grinders work better for businesses like cafés with limited staff, offices, and hotel breakfast areas.

8. Burr Type

• Conical Burrs: Best for businesses with moderate volume or those that switch between coffee origins frequently.
• Flat Burrs: Ideal for high-volume cafés that specialize in consistently producing the same espresso drinks.

Conical burrs produce a grind that brings out the unique flavors in different coffees. This makes them a good choice for cafés that switch coffee origins often or have moderate volume.

They also operate quieter than flat burr models, a potential benefit in certain café environments.

However, conical burr grinders might generate more heat during grinding and sometimes may be a bit slower with high-volume output.

That’s not ideal for high-volume cafés looking to serve drinks quickly.

High-volume establishments generally prefer flat burrs because they’re known for consistency. They have a wider surface area to crush the beans more uniformly, allowing for reliable extraction times and repeatable flavor in every shot.

This makes them excellent for busy cafés looking to optimize workflow efficiency and deliver a dependable espresso experience for customers.

Now, let’s move onto burr size.

Summary: High-volume cafés focusing on espresso should always use flat burrs. Conical burrs work better for businesses focusing on quiet atmospheres.

9. Burr Size

Most commercial espresso grinders use burrs ranging from 60 mm to 80 mm in diameter.

Smaller burr grinders (think 60 mm to 65 mm) are more budget-friendly. Grinders with larger burrs (70 mm+) grind coffee faster, which is essential for high-traffic businesses.

How do they grind coffee faster?

Because they have a larger surface area, which requires fewer rotations. These fewer rotations also offer better heat dissipation, which reduces the chances you’ll burn your beans when grinding.

Resulting in better-tasting espresso.

And it’ll extend the lifespan of your machine due to less heat putting stress on your device. With less stress, you’ll have less-frequent burr replacements.

When it comes time for replacements, you’ll need good after-sale support.

Summary: Larger burrs grind better and don’t produce as much heat. Making them better for tasty espresso and high-traffic businesses. But they cost more.

10. Post-Sale Support

Consider these points when searching for post-sale support:

• Technical support: Can you easily reach qualified technicians for troubleshooting and repair advice?
  • How accessible are they—phone, email, or live chat?
• Parts availability: Does the manufacturer/supplier stock a wide range of readily available replacement parts?
• On-site service: Is on-site repair offered within your location, or will you need to ship the grinder for service?
• Response time: What’s the expected turnaround time for answering basic questions and getting repairs completed?
• Coverage: Typical coverage includes manufacturer defects but may exclude wear and tear or damage from misuse.

Then you’ll need to consider warranties. Commercial grinders are heavy-use machines; malfunctions happen. A warranty minimizes downtime which ultimately keeps your business operating smoothly.

Most commercial espresso grinders come with a 1-year parts and labor warranty. Some high-end brands (e.g., Etzinger) may offer extended warranties of 2–3 years.

Summary: When evaluating post-sale support, focus on technician accessibility, parts availability, on-site service options, response times, and warranty coverage.

11. Where it’s Made

Commercial espresso grinders are typically made in these countries:

• Italy: Italian brands (e.g., Mazzer) are renowned for craftsmanship, tradition, and robustly built machines.
• Germany: German grinders (Mahlkönig) often prioritize advanced features and grind consistency.
• Other European countries: Examples include Switzerland and Spain, offering specialized or higher-end grinders.
• USA: A smaller but growing market for commercial espresso grinders, focusing on innovation and niche product lines.

Why is where they’re made important, though?

First off, part availability.

Grinders from popular European brands typically have easier parts availability in most markets. For less common brands or US-made grinders, sourcing parts might take longer. This might make it take longer to receive parts for your machine.

However, where you’re based will play more of a part in availability and device cost. For instance, it’ll likely be cheaper to get a European-made machine if you’re a café in Europe than if you’re in the States.

Higher shipping costs could factor in for grinders imported from further away.

Again, this will depend on where you’re based and whether the brand you’re after has a branch in your country.

Businesses in the United States would want to shop from Mahlkönig USA instead of Mahlkönig Germany.

We have a couple more points.

Summary: Commercial espresso grinders are commonly manufactured in Italy, Germany, other European countries, and the USA. Country of origin matters because it influences parts availability, shipping costs, and potentially the availability of local technicians.

I hope this guide helped you in the right direction.

Conclusion

Here’s a breakdown of our top picks:

1. Mahlkönig E65S GbW: Precise grinds and not loud
2. CEADO E6P: Affordable access to high-quality grinds
3. Mahlkönig EK43 OMNIA: Amazing for multiple brewing methods

I chose the Mahlkönig E65S GbW as the top pick because it uses grind-by-weight technology that eliminates guesswork and ensures consistent espresso drinks no matter the barista that brewed it. It’s an excellent choice for businesses that want to attract returning customers.

Are you having trouble figuring out what to get for your coffee business? Check out a checklist that we wrote.