Espresso Makers for Less

by ASurroca

Commercial Coffee Grinders

Commercial coffee grinders are as the name implies; grinders used for commercial purposes. The number one priority from each company is the ability to guarantee uniform grinding with every setting available on that grinder. They are designed for continuous use, fast grind time, long time use with a heavy duty ½ horse power motor to do that. Most are burr grinders, but blade grinders are available. The list of where commercial coffee grinders are used is too long to name them all here. But, to name some of the major spots include coffee houses, tea shops, yes tea houses for those who also enjoy a good cup of coffee, short term high quality convalescent  centers, hospitals, restaurants, pizza places, coffee roasting shops and large corporations where they want to serve their clients a great cup of coffee.

The first concern when buying a commercial grinder is the need and the amount of use. This immediately leads to the three types of commercial coffee grinders. The three types of commercial coffee grinders are: retail grinders, food service grinders and last, but not lest espresso grinders.

Retail grinders are those you find at the grocery store or a specialty store where you can grind your own coffee by the pound. Usually they have one or two, sometimes more, different brands of coffee beans already in a sack that you can empty into the hopper at the top of the grinder. This way you are grinding coffee a select amount; 1 or 2 lbs. The grinders offer a number of click-stop grind settings. The best grinders offer settings from Turkish powder for espresso machines to course grinds for percolators and French press coffee makers. Many grinders today have safety an ETL sanitation rating and are RoHas approved; this means they do not have any toxic metals in the manufacture of that commercial grinder. Grindmaster offers a four (4) year warranty on parts (or 30,000 lbs.) of ground coffee, whichever comes first and one year labor; all other parts are two (2) years and 1 year labor. Other companies offer similar warranties.  

Food service grinders also offer a wide range of grind settings from course to Turkish powder. Food service grinders are found in restaurants, coffee houses, fast food restaurants, delis, pizza restaurants, and fine tea houses. They are also found in hotel restaurants and high end short term convalescent care centers. These usually have long-lasting burr grinders that are dependable work horses, yet economical. These coffee grinders come in one, two and three portion hoppers. This allows the server to brew select portions of, say, a fresh ground decaf, a fresh ground light roast and a fresh ground dark (robust) roast coffee. Burr grinders also grind flavored coffees as well without creating a burnt flavor or taste. Most food service grinder companies offer a 3 year warranty.

Commercial espresso grinders offer an exclusive set of grind settings. These grinders have dosers for the barista. The automatic espresso grinders keep the doser chute full of ground espresso coffee that is ready for dispensing right into the porta-filter of your commercial espresso machine. When the doser becomes low the grinder automatically grinds the right amount to refill the doser. Another espresso grinder for the advanced barista offers a manual timer. Here an advanced barista can control the length of the grind and the size of the grind for each espresso, latte or cappuccino.

Konitz Espresso Writing 3-Ounce Cups and Saucers, Set of 4, Black/White

• Konitz Espresso Writing 3 Ounce Cups and Saucers, Set of 4, Black/White
• Made of Highly Durable Porcelain
• The word espresso is written all over these adorable cups and saucers
• Microwave and Dishwasher Safe
• Capacity: 3 Ounces

At Konitz everything revolves around mugs! Konitz offers a wide assortment of coffee and tea mugs, as well as espresso, cappuccino and café-au-lait cups with flower, animal, artistic, modern and trendy decors. Konitz is constantly on the look-out for the newest and most “in” trends in the area of fashion, design, technology and living, in order to create new mugs. Headquartered in Germany, and founded by the Rosenthal family that created Rosenthal Porcelain, Konitz mugs and tea cups are in a category all by themselves.

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by insidious_plots

Go Deep Into the World of Coffee With a Top Quality Bar Course

With coffee drinks and coffee houses as popular as they’ve ever been and the competition for qualified baristas at an all time high, it’s extremely important that you give yourself an edge if you are planning to hit the job market for coffee specialists and baristas. Think about it. If you were a hiring manager would you prefer to hire someone with little or no experience or someone who knows how to use the equipment, understands how coffee flavors blend together, and may even be able to create art with creamer?

You can prepare yourself for a career in the coffee shop hospitality market when you take part in a high quality bar course that is designed around coffee. Even if you aren’t planning to make coffee your career, you can benefit from a bar course. You’ll learn the basics of the industry as well as get hands on experience making espresso-based drinks using professional equipment. When it’s all said and done you’ll know the tricks of the trade and certainly be able to make one mean cup of coffee.

A good coffee themed bar course will start by introducing to the history of the coffee industry from the bean to the processing. You’ll discover the differences between the various types of beans and understand how variations in beans and their roasting makes them better suited for various drinks. You’ll get hands on experience creating espresso-based drinks such as cappuccino, macchiato, and café latte on the very same equipment used in the top coffee bars. Your bar course will also introduce you to techniques that allow you to express your creativity. This includes high end skills such as milk texturing and creating poured and spooned patterns.

So you’ve decided that you are ready to sign up! Now what? Well, now you can look for a coffee bar course. But what should you look for? The first thing to look for is the type of individuals who will be instructing you. The best coffee bar courses have professional instructors who have experience both working in the actual industry as well as teaching. This ensures that your teacher can give you practical real world insight into what it is like to be a professional barista. Even if you don’t plan to use your bar course to get a job, having professional instructors means that your learning will be enriched with insights that just can’t be had from book learning.

Coffee bar courses also make an excellent gift. A good professional bar course company will be happy to help you arrange for a gift certificate. Your friend or family member will never forget having the chance to become immersed in the world of espresso based coffee drinks. If you are shopping for yourself, this is the perfect class to take with a friend as well as on your own. You’ll get up close and personal with the world of espresso down to the sampling. You are certain to have an entirely new experience that you will appreciate for a very long time. What could be better than applying for a coffee bar job with the confidence of knowing that you are already an expert?

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