HELP: Grinder for small coffee ute

[Evaliu]

Hi guys, I am new here. My friend and I are going to start of doing coffee ute in the regional market over the weekend. We have few options for grinder, but not sure which one would be the better option for us. We are thinking of getting Macap M4 and Mazzer Mini Manual, but not sure if the been hopper capacity will be too small (M4 only can hold half kilo of beans). other alternative is upgrade to Compak K10 Conic Automatic, but it is more expensive.....$$$


We appreciate anyone's suggetions or ideas.

Cheers

Eva

[DesigningByCoffee]

Welcome Eva
It's not so much about the hopper capacity (or the size of the ute for that matter!) but the turnover at your markets that should impact your choice.
The M4 is a great grinder - and if you were only doing 10-15 coffees an hour you might get through a market or two. Are these small regional markets? And what machine are you pairing it with? How many through the gate?
You might be better off looking for a 2nd hand Super Jolly / K10 if you've got a tight budget - at least that way you will know it's built for capacity…

Cheers Matt

[Evaliu]

Thanks Matt! We'll start from the dog show first so we will expect quite busy crowd. We probably will get 200 coffee order.

We plan to get WEGA Atlas EVD 2 Group.

[woodenteapot]

Thanks Matt! We'll start from the dog show first so we will expect quite busy crowd. We probably will get 200 coffee order.

We plan to get WEGA Atlas EVD 2 Group.

Evaliu, sounds like you guys will be having a really good time brewing coffee! I started a coffee cart at my church and I'm using a two group Expobar Elen 2 paired with a Mazzer Kony E. We only just got through 90+ cups of coffee (we do double shots in each cup of coffee) in about an hour, so I'd definitely recommend getting something bigger and quicker than the M4 or the Mini if you want to be pumping out high volume over a short period.

From my personal experience, a double shot (18-20g) of light to medium roast coffee single dosed into the hopper:
- Mazzer Mini Manual about 30-35secs
- Mazzer Major takes about 20secs
- Mazzer Kony takes about 10secs

With a partially filled hopper, these should come down in time a fair bit, but I really only have experience with the Mazzer Kony taking about 6secs per double shot.

Hope this helps!

[Dimal]

Agree with the guys above...

You really do need a grinder that can pump out the shots pretty quickly as that will end up being the bottle-neck overall when you have a lot of people hanging out for a brew. I thought that the Mazzer Major could grind a double in under 10 seconds; similar to or a bit faster than the Kony...

Mal.

[chokkidog]

Mazzer Major 20-22 gms = approx 8 seconds, medium/medium dark roast.

[scottbase]

Do you have any power or space constraints? Are you running off a generator? I recently purchased a mazer mini and chose it because it has a 250 watt motor to work alongside a compact two group at 2700 watts and small fridge. Some of the other grinders you mention have much bigger motors, I was keen to get the the Compak e10 but I thought it's larger 800w motor might push me into a much more expensive generator bracket. I'm now some what regretting the decision as the Mini is very slow and I can see this becoming a problem for busy periods. It's porta filter holder design is not great either. I'll probably end up keeping it as a secondary decaf grinder and getting something faster. If space and power were not an issue then I would go Compak E8 or E10. They appear to have continued to make good design improvements where Mazzer have rested a little on their strong reputation.

Best to go and compare the ones you've mentioned in a store and see what you like.

[rrm]

Do you have any power or space constraints? Are you running off a generator? I recently purchased a mazer mini and chose it because it has a 250 watt motor to work alongside a compact two group at 2700 watts and small fridge. Some of the other grinders you mention have much bigger motors, I was keen to get the the Compak e10 but I thought it's larger 800w motor might push me into a much more expensive generator bracket. I'm now some what regretting the decision as the Mini is very slow and I can see this becoming a problem for busy periods. It's porta filter holder design is not great either. I'll probably end up keeping it as a secondary decaf grinder and getting something faster. If space and power were not an issue then I would go Compak E8 or E10. They appear to have continued to make good design improvements where Mazzer have rested a little on their strong reputation.

Best to go and compare the ones you've mentioned in a store and see what you like.

Do you have 12v (or 24v) DC available ?

If so you may be able to run the grinder off an inverter.

I'd probably over rate the inverter to be safe .

Expect to pay $150 for a 500w sine wave inverter.

[scottbase]

Yes, I have a car battery in a box for my winch. Could use that, but if I upgrade I need to drive a 800w motor or higher.

I'd be interested to hear from the OP, especially once you've settled on a solution. These threads often go dead without hearing the end result. Thx

[Evaliu]

Thanks, that's very helpful!!

[Evaliu]

Thanks, yes we are running off a generator so we prefer not to have big motor one. How big is your generator? We are going to get 5.5 or 6 kva one, do you this it would be enough?

[Dimal]

G'day Evaliu...

I agree with a couple of the recommendations above. Given that you will probably want to settle on an Automatic Doser-Grinder rather than an On-Demand doserless version of some description, outright speed of grind is not really an issue. The auto feature of such a grinder will keep the Doser Chamber full, so long as the Hopper is kept up to coffee consumption.

Therefore, something like a Macap MXA or a Mazzer Super-Jolly Auto would be ideal and typically draw approx. 300W or so and should be easily managed by your proposed generator. Best thing though, would be to arrange a visit with a specialist professional supplier, such as some of our Site Sponsors, and they will definitely set you on the right path...

Mal.

[chokkidog]

Bah humbug.... auto fill grinders are one of my pet hates. As soon as there's a lull you're serving stale coffee.

Go for grind on demand.

[Dimal]

Yeah well...

Trouble with that is, G-O-D grinders that will deliver within a reasonable time-frame, in order to avoid lengthening queues, by necessity have to be of a pretty decent size which then translates into the need for a motor of higher output. Something which the OP indicated was a consideration...

Mal.

[blend52]

Fiorenzato F6 /F6E etc are not large grinders. 64mm burrs, and 350W motor takes <6 secs for 20 gm dose.
Cheaper than most commercial grinders also.