The term "shop grinder" may not sound particularly exciting to people outside of the coffee industry. The Italian equivalent, "drogheria" (from the word for grocery store), may at least sound a bit more exotic, but neither term really speaks to the importance of this type of grinder. The terms stem from this category of grinder's traditional use, but in today's specialty coffee world, there's much more to the shop grinder.

As the name implies, shop grinders were originally created, and still are used, for grinding entire bags of beans for customers in a shop. That's why they're also sometimes called "packet grinders." Of course, we would never recommend pre-grinding an entire bag of beans, but the reality is that grinding at the point of purchase is way better than grinding weeks before the coffee goes on the shelf.

To make a grinder capable of grinding 250g or even 1kg of beans in one shot, manufacturers fit these types of grinders with big burrs and big motors, and that's where they become particularly interesting to the specialty coffee crowd. Yes, you can grind huge quantities of beans at once on these grinders, but more importantly, you can also grind coffee very consistently.

That's why many specialty coffee shops have started using shop grinders to single-dose everything from batch brew to pour-overs and even espresso. It's not the capacity that specialty coffee shops enjoy, as much as the consistency.

Whether you're looking for capacity, consistency, or both, we're confident that you'll find a great coffee grinder for your business here. Don't hesitate to reach out for advice on what to choose.