We originally wrote this piece for our own web content to help people choose between grinders naturally before purchasing for their wholesale needs. But considering that the Anfim SP II is such an exemplary commercial espresso grinder,  we thought it warranted  its own place on the blog! So, check out the benefits and reasons why we think this grinder is worth considering below. 🙂

Of course, for personal recommendations and advice on this as a choice in more depth, simply get in touch with matt@northstarroast.com for help.

Benefits of Anfim II Grinder

Dual Cooling Fans

The Anfim SPII harbours the most effective active cooling system we’ve seen in a high output espresso grinder. It clears the heat created during grinding swiftly, and shifts the humidity in the air to reduce its impact. It does both far more effectively than other espresso build grinders in high output, small site size locations that see the biggest fluctuations in heat and humidity. This is why we make it the grinder of choice for a wide range of service styles – if needed to, it can deal with the extremes. If those extremes aren’t faced, it’s still your top choice anyway, since it does the proactive cooling and ventilation work whether or not it is actually needed. It’s not just being wasteful, it’s preventative to the common recipe problems seen in coffee service!

Low Wastage

Lowest wastage during use and cleaning we’ve ever seen at up to 15g (typically 12-15g) necessary wastage only. This includes only what you cannot practically reach by being efficient when emptying the grinder, such as what is already ground but retained in the grind chamber, and beans that are trapped between the burrs so are unable to be reached for collection by hand / with tools.

Titanium Burrs

Large titanium burrs of 75mm – not only does titanium last longer than hardened steel for grinding burr lifespan, but when those titanium blades are this large and well engineered, they grind quickly and cut beans very efficiently, creating a narrow range of particle size distributions and thus recipes that baristas were actually expecting to get, instead of a mixture of sensory results that don’t line up to what baristas were intending to create in the cup.

Quick Dosing

Quick dosing times for double espresso doses (under 5 seconds for up to 19g, for shot time ranges of 28-38 seconds). The Anfim SP II has a fast, powerful motor in it, which is a subject of concern for some shop owners or baristas buying a grinder. However, it’s clear from performance stats and results in the cup that we see daily, that in the case of the Anfim the motor and fan system really is unique and accounting for itself quite thoughtfully. The motor is often operating for only 4-5 seconds, so less heat is produced than if a slightly lower power motor was on for 6-9 seconds as with most grinders. With the Anfim, it follows that the coffee cannot absorb much heat, as not a lot was produced. Plus, with the grinder’s dual fan system the heat is actively and immediately pushed away to leave consistently cool coffee being efficiently dosed into your espresso baskets. A big win for baristas in keeping the most aroma, the speediest workflow and reducing adjustments needed through any given day.

Low Heat Retention

Lowest heat retention inside the grinder that we’ve ever seen to date. Again this is due to the active cooling system working constantly to cycle hot air and humidity away from the grind chamber. This is explained in part above, but it also comes with a plethora of other benefits such as reduced need for cleaning, reduced wastage during any of said cleaning, and constantly lowered retention in the grinder. Not to mention less static, less humidity and a lowered need for grind adjustments during any given service.

Low Wastage During Service

Low wastage seen during service – for espresso grinders built for service at expected speeds and with good ergonomics for baristas, the Anfim SP II is the grinder which yields the least wastage during days of long service (according to what we’ve seen in our customer base and data so far). For baristas it means less time worrying whether quality has diminished since the start of the day due to changes in the surrounding environment, and less time spent changing things. For shop owners and businesses at scale, it means lower costs due to a diminished need for grind adjustments during service. It means less wastage, and less accidental caffeination of staff, each of which are crucial to sustainable performance of a business and its team!

Build Quality

Incredible build quality relative to its competition – heavy metals are used in Anfim grinders, most notably for parts where most would be using black plastics, meaning a more durable build in use and higher longevity, but also less unwanted vibration affecting grind performance due to increased weight.

Clump Crushing Technology

Clump crushing technology at high build quality – with the Anfim SP II the clump crushing technology comes with less of a troublesome maintenance need than other grinder builds offer, but with identical benefits to others’ models. The clumps in espresso dosing are caused usually by static and/or humidity. Getting rid of them means a fluffier set of particles that are not going to contribute to uneven distribution of coffee in the espresso basket. The Anfim does this without excessive maintenance needs, so this is just another good feature it offers for baristas to subtly improve espresso technique across any given team of staff.

Central Dosing

Central dosing – the Anfim SP II grinder drops coffee right in the middle of your machine’s portafilter, meaning you have the least chance of spilling any and the most chance of gaining evenly distributed ground coffee for a healthy espresso technique. This seems like something you’d never perceive to be an issue with grinders, but minor spillages due to grinders not doing this has been a long term issue faced! Again, for more on why it is important including wastage stats over time, and how central dosing affects staff uniformity, head to one of our SCA Brewing or Barista Skills courses for some advanced show & tell 🙂

Portafilter Hook

Portafilter hook – not necessarily unique to this grinder, but the Anfim SPII will hold onto your portafilters while you grind into them. It frees up your hand to do something else in a time-sensitive environment such as coffee service, which can be a huge labour time saving over the course of a day (or simply helping to increase the amount of work done per minute while facing a long queue). This has the hidden benefit of making all baristas’ dosing ‘techniques’ a little more uniform too, which we know is an often overlooked element to coffee quality.

Easy Programming

Easy programming. It’s as simple as holding a button, pressing the dose you want to alter and then moving it up or down in time by using the obvious plus or minus buttons. Click again to save it. Dead easy, unlike grinders with complicated software. You’ll be able to adjust doses in under 30 seconds after setting your grinder up every morning, and easily adjust through the day where needed (it rarely is needed).

Summary

This is by no means the be all and end all of the Afim SPII grinder, but remarkably this list forms a pretty good tick list for what you ought to look for when buying espresso grinding equipment. But as we all know, reading a list does not form a substitute for getting to know something through actual use. We always recommend learning a grinder by using it as you do your normal work. We regularly use this one ourselves up in the roastery (and often during training sessions at the Academy), so you are welcome to book in to see it for yourself. If you’d like a video of us dosing with the Anfim, or a little more content, please do speak with Ollie about why you’re interested in the Anfim. 🙂