Favoured by baristas, home brewers, and competitors, single-dose grinding is a common practice in specialty coffee. The technique allows you to grind one dose at a time, preserving freshness and making it easier to switch between different coffees.
Traditionally, most commercial and home grinders – for espresso and filter – have large hoppers designed to hold bigger quantities of coffee. This is especially important for cafés, where baristas don’t have ample time for single-dose grinding, particularly for espresso. Topping up hoppers helps improve workflow and speed of service.
But as the practice has become more popular, grinder manufacturers have noticed. An increasing number of professional and prosumer models include smaller hoppers, designed specifically for single-dosing, and more advanced features that minimise retention, improving extraction consistency and flavour.
To learn more about how single-dose grinding is changing, I spoke to Donghwan Gu, the roastery manager at CBSC International Co. Ltd, who works with Eureka grinders.
You may also like our article on why grinder consistency is important for perfect espresso.
Why single-dose grinding became so popular
Single-dose grinding is standard for filter brewing, allowing coffee shops to offer more menu options. Generally speaking, coffee shops offer between two and three espresso options (including a decaf coffee) and will likely have a regular rotation of filter and pour over options.
By dosing coffee individually and using a single-dose grinder, cafés can increase the number of filter coffees on their menus.
But a full espresso grinder hopper is a common sight in many cafés.
Whenever they have the chance, baristas fill hoppers with coffee beans. The reasons are twofold: a well-stocked hopper allows baristas to work faster, and the weight of the coffee beans enables the grinder to dispense doses more quickly and accurately.
In recent years, however, baristas have come to understand the benefits of single-dose grinding for both filter and espresso. Because only one dose is added to the hopper at a time, the risk of oxidation is significantly reduced, preserving the volatile compounds in coffee and improving flavours in the cup.
“Precise measurement of coffee beans also reduces waste, ensures consistent extraction, and minimises contamination when experimenting with or using other coffee beans,” says seasoned competitor and the 2023 Korean Barista Champion Donghwan Gu. He is the roastery manager at CBSC International Co. Ltd, a coffee consulting service in Goyang, South Korea.
“This makes single-dose grinding ideal for exploring new flavours and is highly advantageous in today’s coffee market, where quality and environmental efficiency are paramount,” he adds.
Supporting innovation
Like many other trends in specialty coffee, competitions helped standardise single-dose grinding. The technique is believed to have become popular after a competitor repurposed an old grinder so that they could single-dose their coffee. Well-known World Barista Championship competitors like Matt Perger and Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood also helped popularise it.
“Competitions provide opportunities to share and learn professional skills and practices,” Donghwan says. “I have used different grind sizes for a single coffee before to showcase its full range of flavours, achieving excellent results through single-dose grinding.”
As baristas and home brewers increasingly seek to experiment with a range of varieties and processing methods to experience new flavours, single-dose grinding has emerged as a useful technique to switch between different coffees more efficiently. Instead of emptying the hopper every time they want to grind and brew a new coffee, baristas simply add a single dose to the grinder – allowing them to change grind size more quickly and precisely.
How grinder manufacturers have adapted to the trend
Both home brewers and professional baristas are increasingly focused on optimising coffee extraction, requiring precise control over an ever-growing range of variables. However, to achieve uniform dosing, they need to invest in high-performing grinders that reduce retention.
This is especially true for single-dose grinding. Baristas need accurate, consistent doses, ensuring that their grinder retains as few coffee grounds as possible. Otherwise, the practice quickly becomes negligible.
With its growing popularity, grinder manufacturers have started to include single-dose features in their product offerings.
At World of Coffee Copenhagen in June 2024, premium Italian coffee equipment company Eureka, for example, launched the Mignon Single Dose Pro, Mignon Zero 65 All Purpose, and Zeus One, which are handmade in Florence in the company’s recently expanded production facility.
These grinders, with specific cutting-edge technical solutions, such as the Zero-Retention grind chamber, help users achieve consistent, precise dosing. Baristas can also attach the single-dose hopper to reduce the movement of the beans during grinding.
“Over the last few years, in response to increasing attention on single-dose grinding, Eureka has invested in technical solutions to reduce grind retention, both in its commercial and home models,” Donghwan tells me.
Grinder retention has a number of implications for coffee extraction. Over time, as old, stale coffee grounds build up, they will contaminate and impede extraction – potentially increasing off-flavours in the cup.
“Eureka was the first company to introduce the Blow-Up System, which allows baristas to clean the inside of the grinding chamber,” Donghwan adds. “Over the years, the brand started to develop specific, more advanced products that further reduce coffee retention.
“The Mignon Single-Dose (SD) Pro features an inclined grinding chamber and chute and a ‘blind’ upper burr, which has no screw holes to achieve the lowest retention possible.”
Grinder design has a huge impact on retention
Given how vital it is to minimise, or ideally eliminate, grind retention during single-dose grinding, manufacturers have become more strategic with their internal designs.
The Eureka Mignon SD Pro features a 15° inclined chamber and chute, which reduces retention by up to 70% compared to previous models. Combined with the new larger King Size grind dial with an integrated revolution counter, baristas can efficiently adjust the grind size for a range of brewing methods.
The Zeus grinder, meanwhile, includes the Zero-Retention grind chamber system, designed to eliminate coffee retention and improve dose consistency. Although grind retention will likely never be zero, reducing levels to a minimum ensures that every single dose of coffee is fresh and precise in measurement, no matter which grinder you use.
Additionally, advances in technology have made it possible for grinder manufacturers to offer more durable and stronger burrs, such as Eureka’s Black Diamond burr set, that further reduce retention and increase equipment longevity. The burrs can also be added as an upgrade to the brand’s grinders, accommodating for a wider range of brewing methods.
Room to experiment
As coffee extraction becomes increasingly scientific, honing in on and controlling particular variables to achieve the desired results, single-dose grinding is set to become even more popular.
“The evolution of single-dose grinding will centre on the expansion of nuanced flavour profiles, sustainability, and personalised user preferences,” Donghwan tells me. “This combined focus on technology and artistry could give rise to an engaging new coffee culture.”
Already a well-established practice for filter brewing, single-dose grinding has the potential to become more widely adopted for espresso, but challenges persist.
Espresso-based drinks are typically the most popular menu items at most coffee shops. This means single-dose espresso grinding is likely to impede workflow and slow down service, especially during busy periods.
However, when done right, this grinding technique can enhance the customer experience by opening up new possibilities for espresso flavour and aroma.
“Single dosing allows for more than just straightforward extraction for single origin coffees; it opens the door to innovative blends that include different ratios of coffee to create unique flavour combinations,” Donghwan explains. “By balancing roast profile with extraction methods, single-dose grinding allows you to highlight complex, distinctive flavour profiles and create customised espresso recipes.”
Knowing when and where to use single-dose grinding for espresso
Single-dose grinding can unlock new flavour experiences for both filter coffee and espresso, enhancing a café’s menu offerings. However, baristas need to be strategic to achieve success with the latter.
For high-volume coffee shops interested in single-dose grinding for espresso, a slow bar concept could work well. Investing in premium grinders like the Eureka ORO Mignon Single Dose Pro, designed for both espresso and filter, allows them to dedicate time and attention to single dosing for espresso without disrupting wider service. The grinder’s upper blind burr, anti-chaff funnel, and zero-retention grind chamber also help to reduce waste and improve efficiency.
Customers could also be engaged in the process, as baristas have sufficient time to explain how single-dose grinding works and why they use it – adding value to their café visits.
The benefits of single-dose grinding are evident. It offers baristas and home brewers the opportunity to improve consistency, experiment with different coffees, reduce waste, and streamline service. Looking ahead, the practice is only set to become more popular.
Manufacturers have noticed the growing trend and are integrating more features in their grinders that facilitate and optimise the process. Over time, we’ll see more coffee shops adopt these techniques, opening up new opportunities to showcase the full spectrum of coffee flavour.
Enjoyed this? Then read our article on why single-dose grinding became so popular.
Photo credits: Eureka, @artphotoespresso
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