When you start planning a café buildout, most of your focus goes to the espresso machine. It is the centerpiece of the bar, after all. It’s also the biggest line item on an equipment quote. But your espresso machine is not what controls your workflow. Your grinders do.
One of the most common issues we see during café planning is under-investing in commercial coffee grinders. New shop owners spec a capable machine, then they try to make everything else work around one grinder. Sometimes two. That commercial grinder setup might technically get you open, but it rarely supports consistent service once peak volume increases or your menu expands.
The one-grinder problem in café workflow
Do you need separate espresso vs. decaf grinders? A single commercial espresso grinder can work in limited situations. A coffee cart serving a single espresso option or a very low-volume café running only a house blend may be able to operate successfully with one grinder.
But as soon as you introduce:
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Decaf espresso
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A seasonal single origin
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A guest roaster feature
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A drip option
That single grinder becomes a major bottleneck; one your customers will notice immediately.
In a well-oiled coffee shop, baristas swap beans mid-shift. They’re redialing grind settings during peak service, cleaning out the last coffee grounds from the grinder, or avoiding menu variety entirely because the bar cannot keep up. This usually leads to slower ticket times, inconsistent espresso extraction, increased coffee waste, and unnecessary strain on your team.
Over time, inefficient grinder workflow turns into staff burnout. Burnout leads to turnover. Turnover costs significantly more than adding the right grinder during your initial café equipment planning.
Espresso grinders vs. batch grinders
Another common oversight during a coffee shop buildout is assuming an espresso grinder can cover every other brewing need on the menu. In some cases, a three-in-one option like Sanremo’s X-One can handle multiple grind styles, but it typically requires an investment comparable to purchasing separate grinders for each task.
Commercial espresso grinders are designed for precision and repeatability at fine grind settings. Batch grinders are designed for speed, larger doses, and quick adjustment between brew methods like drip coffee, retail bag grinding, and manual brewing.
Many cafés purchase a two-group or three-group espresso machine and an espresso grinder, only to realize after installation that they still need to support batch brew service or retail grinding. Attempting to handle those needs with an espresso grinder alone creates workflow issues almost immediately.
If your café offers batch brew or retail grinding, you’re probably going to need a dedicated bulk grinder alongside your espresso setup to maintain service speed and drink consistency.
Factors that determine how many commercial coffee grinders your café needs
Determining the right number of commercial grinders depends on how you plan to serve coffee, not just the espresso machine you install.
Number of coffee offerings
Most cafés serve at least a house espresso and decaf espresso. Many also offer a seasonal espresso option, a guest roaster feature, or a single origin for manual brewing.
Each additional offering may require its own grinder if you want to maintain consistent dial-in and avoid service delays during peak periods.
Expected café volume
Morning rush periods place very different demands on equipment than steady all-day service. High-volume cafés benefit from commercial grinders with larger burr sets that support faster grind speeds and improved heat management.
Remember, you need to choose your grinders based on your busiest part of the day, not based on the average.
Common commercial burr sizes include:
58 mm
64 mm
75 mm
83 mm
Larger burrs generally allow faster output and better thermal stability during repeated dosing in busy environments.
Barista experience level
Experienced baristas can work with most commercial grinder systems. Newer staff benefit from grinders that are easier to dial in and calibrate.
Features like programmable dosing, low grind retention, and intuitive adjustment systems help maintain drink consistency across shifts and reduce wasted coffee during dial-in. You’d be surprised at the innovative grinder tech coming out. For the most up-to-date information, reach out to our team at sales@espressoparts.com to find out what options are best for you
Commercial grinder recommendations based on your café setup
Even once you know how many grinders your café likely needs, the next step is understanding what type of commercial grinders make sense for your service model. Grinder selection should reflect your menu, expected volume, and daily workflow. Below are general commercial grinder recommendations based on common café setups we see during equipment planning and buildout.
Below are general commercial grinder recommendations based on common shop setups we see during café buildouts.
Coffee carts and low-volume cafés
If you are running a coffee cart or a low-volume café offering a single espresso option, one quality commercial espresso grinder may be sufficient to get started.
A mid-volume on-demand grinder with a 58 mm or 64 mm burr set is typically appropriate for this type of setup. One of the most popular we’ve seen on coffee carts is the Fiorenzato F64 espresso grinder, bringing the best of both worlds in size and effectiveness.
Small cafés with decaf or seasonal espresso
If your café offers both a house espresso and a decaf espresso, you will typically need at least two commercial espresso grinders to maintain consistent dial-in and service speed during peak periods.
At this stage, most cafés benefit from pairing:
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One primary grinder for house espresso
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One secondary grinder for decaf or seasonal espresso
This setup reduces the need for mid-shift bean swaps (and cleaning) and allows baristas to maintain stable grind settings throughout service.
Medium-volume cafés with batch brew
Cafés offering batch brew or retail bag grinding should plan for a dedicated bulk grinder in addition to their espresso grinders.
A commercial bulk grinder such as the Mahlkönig EK43 is commonly used for:
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Batch brewing
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Retail grinding
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Pour-over dosing
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Sample grinding
Its 98 mm flat burr set supports high grinding capacity and uniform particle size distribution across multiple brew methods, allowing it to grind more than 20 grams per second depending on grind size while helping maintain extraction consistency.
High-volume cafés with multiple espresso offerings
High-volume cafés offering multiple espresso options should plan for at least:
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Two commercial espresso grinders
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One dedicated bulk grinder
This configuration supports consistent dial-in across multiple coffees while maintaining service speed during peak periods.
Higher-volume bars typically benefit from grinders with larger burr sets in the 75 mm to 83 mm range to support faster output and improved heat management during repeated dosing.
Multi-offering cafés with limited bar space
In some situations, cafés may consider a multi-hopper grinder such as the Sanremo X-One to consolidate multiple espresso offerings into a single unit.
The X-One features a triple-chamber grinding system with two main hoppers for espresso service and a third bypass chamber for single dosing up to 250 grams.
This type of system can support multiple coffee offerings in a smaller footprint, but it typically requires an investment comparable to purchasing separate commercial grinders.
Commercial grinder features that impact café workflow
Grinder features play a major role in how efficiently your bar operates day to day.
Hopper size
Larger hoppers reduce refill frequency during peak service. Smaller hoppers can support freshness but typically require more hands-on attention from staff. When choosing a hopper size, you’ll also need to consider how much space is needed above to remove the lid and pour coffee beans in.
On-demand vs. grind-by-weight dosing
On-demand espresso grinders dose based on grind time. Grind-by-weight systems dose based on the actual output weight in the portafilter, which improves dose accuracy and reduces the need to continually recalibrate during dial-in.
Retention and adjustability
Low-retention commercial grinders with intuitive grind adjustment make it easier to switch between coffee offerings and reduce coffee waste during dial-in. With current green coffee costs, even small improvements in dose accuracy can result in meaningful long-term savings.
The cost of under-investing in café equipment
Cutting corners on grinder investment to reduce upfront buildout costs often leads to higher operational expenses later.
Under-spec’d grinder setups can contribute to:
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Slower service
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Inconsistent beverages
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Increased coffee waste
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Equipment strain
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Barista burnout
Avoiding a commercial grinder investment during initial café planning may translate to lost revenue during peak service or higher labor costs within the first year of operation.
Grinder planning is service planning
Your espresso machine may anchor the bar. But your commercial coffee grinders determine how efficiently that bar actually runs. Matching your grinder setup to your menu offerings, expected volume, and staff workflow helps improve service speed, drink consistency, and long-term equipment performance.
Evaluating your grinder needs during café buildout or expansion ensures your equipment supports both your current operations and future growth.
FAQ: commercial grinder planning for coffee shops
Do coffee shops need separate grinders for espresso and decaf?
Yes. Most cafés operate at least two espresso grinders. One for house espresso and one for decaf. Adjusting a single grinder between coffees slows workflow and makes dialing in consistency difficult.
Should a café have a separate grinder for single origin espresso?
If single origin espresso is part of your menu, a dedicated grinder is recommended. This allows baristas to maintain dial-in without affecting your house blend during service.
How many grinders does a small coffee shop need?
Low-volume cafés typically operate with:
- 1 house espresso grinder
- 1 decaf espresso grinder
- Additional grinders may be added for batch brew or retail coffee grinding.
Do you need a grinder for drip or batch brew in a coffee shop?
Yes. Espresso grinders are not ideal for drip or batch brew production. A separate grinder helps prevent workflow bottlenecks and reduces the need for constant grind adjustments.
Can one commercial grinder handle multiple brew methods?
Some grinders can technically be adjusted across brew styles. However, doing so regularly will slow service and make consistent extraction more difficult in a busy café environment
Should you plan grinder capacity for peak hours or daily volume?
Grinder capacity should be sized based on peak drink demand, not daily average volume. Equipment that cannot keep pace during rush periods creates workflow bottlenecks
