The simplest coffee grinder is the traditional and primitive stone mortar and pestle system, still employed in many parts of the world where coffee is consumed. Roast beans are placed in the well of the mortar and ground to the desired fineness by the action of the pestle. This is a time consuming and labor intensive process, requiring several minutes of grinding to reach a fine powder state. In a commercial environment this approach should only be used if there is no other grinding equipment available.

The use of a hand powered mincer can increase the speed of the grinding process, but the quality of the grind is very coarse, and still requires manual operation. Again, only if there is not a more suitable option for grinding should the hand mincer be used.

A more common type of grinder is the blade grinder. This is a simple device with an electronic or mechanically driven blade, that whirls around in a cavity at a rapid rate, finely chopping the roast coffee beans to a fineness controlled by the length of time that the machine operates. These can provide a very fine grind, but often do not provide the uniform quality of grind required for the operation of a commercial espresso machine. Suited for the small scale coffee drinker with an appreciation of fresh ground coffee, the blade grinder is a very useful addition to the kitchen.

Care should be taken with blade grinders to avoid operation when the lid is off, as the rapidly rotating blade can endanger the fingers and other fleshy extremities. Always ensure the machine is switched off when loading, and if it begins to malfunction it may be time to find another.

If the small blade grinder does stop working, all is not lost, often they can be fixed. If it is just a matter of coffee grinds blocking the mechanism that controls the on off switch, or a screw becoming loose through continued vibration, then five minutes of careful attention with the correct tool will allow you to restore the grinder to operation. If it cannot be fixed easily, then a kitchen blender will also work to grind coffee beans to a fine powder, though the larger size of the cavity makes it more difficult to remove the ground coffee once a desired texture has been reached. Make sure the lid is on otherwise there will be coffee beans everywhere in the kitchen.

More sophisticated technologies do exist. The most ideal coffee grinder for most applications is the Burr Grinder. This is a device with rotating grinding teeth, set up in an arrangement to allow the distance between the teeth to be adjusted, and the particle size of the ground coffee to be increased or reduced as demand requires. Often found in a cafe, these grinders can grind coffee as fast as beans can fall through the rapidly whirring teeth. Being more resilient and sturdy in their construction, these grinders often carry a much higher price tag than a blade grinder. Careful hunting at a thrift sales and auctions can often result in picking up a commercial quality burr grinder for a low price.

Take care though, make sure that you are only grinding coffee in the grinder otherwise the teeth may clog and cease operating properly. Clean the mechanism regularly, in order to maintain functionality of your grinder and great tasting coffee. A top quality burr grinder will last several years of rigorous daily use if it is looked after properly.

The noise of a coffee grinder can be deafening, as can the entire experience of a busy cafe full of epicurean delights, designed to tantalise and titillate the taste buds until the mouth is watering out of control. The sensory overload that drives the cafe culture of a big city is reliably focused around delivery of excellent coffee. By having a grinder up to the task of rapid turnaround of orders, magically turning the beans into the base material for frothy lattes or strong short blacks, a cafe can do rip roaring business in a few hours.

If the grinder is constantly breaking down, or grinding imperfectly, slowly or otherwise unsuitably, then the quality of the coffee being produced will fall, and unless the barista is an all talented wizard, the final results will be unprofessional at best. It takes a little time and a lot of money, but serious investment such as the basic infrastructure required for a cafe should not be taken lightly. The right equipment will stick with you for years to come, making your life easier and simpler for the intelligent designs that have been implemented in the construction of your purchase.

In the establishment of your new cafe, or the refurbishment of an existing one, the coffee grinder should be considered as a key component. The use of it will be interminably regular, with the grinder representing the teeth of the system that digests coffee into profits. While you may be tempted to skimp on the basic purchases in order to do a fancier fit out of decor, or to put in more seating, this can be quite a hazardous thing to do. There are many ways to ensure the repeat custom of enlightened individuals.

The best way to ensure that someone comes back to spend more money in your store is to keep them addicted to good coffee. If the place is the dirtiest, shabbiest dive bar in town, that never gets sunlight and fails to provide adequately warmed food, with curt and unfriendly service, it can be redeemed by its exceptional coffee. Punters will line up to spend money on the excellent coffee, even asking for the staff to treat them like dirt in exchange for a trickle of the finest, blackest and tastiest coffee liquor that can be had in the town. Any coffee house is only as good as its coffee, so make sure you spend money on the essentials, and do it properly. That way you can be sure that you will make profit for years into the future.