ECBC Approved Coffee Grinders
for the Domestic Market
June 6 - 2021 Coffee Geography Magazine
The European Coffee Brewing Centre (ECBC) is run by The Norwegian Coffee Association and has since 1975 tested and approved coffee makers for both the home and professional market.
A new approval program for home coffee grinders is now being launched.
In the
market of home coffee equipment, there is a large element of blade grinders sold as
coffee grinders. Customers with little experience or knowledge are not necessarily
aware that they «crush»
the coffee beans instead
of
cutting them into even particles. In addition to
inconsistency, it is difficult
to
control
the particle
size. Heated
grinds and static charge may also be a problem
with
these
grinders.
The
result does
not
do justice to high-quality coffee beans and
will
most likely ruin
the result in the
cup.
This is the
main reason why
the European Coffee Brewing Centre is now launching a
new approval programme for coffee grinders in the
domestic market.
Approved
grinders have the
right to use the
Seal of Approval
and obtain recognition
for their product.
A similar approval program for coffee makers has existed since 1975 and
has
been highly
successful.
More and more producers wish to offer models that satisfy the
requirements of ECBC,
and the range of approved brewers has never been higher.
“The
seal of approval
should provide
the consumer with a sense of security regarding grind quality,”
emphasizes Stig Hiller, Technical Manager at the
ECBC.
The ECBC cooperates with the
Specialty
Coffee Organization (SCA) on
common
standards for coffee makers. Currently the ECBC is the
only
test center running an approval program for home grinders.
This is being tested:
• Particle size distribution: the coffee grinder must be
able to produce a
prescribed
grind distribution within
5%
of the ECBC Filter grind
standard.
• Grind
retention: the coffee grinder must be able to dispense ground coffee without retaining much coffee.
• Uniformity of performance: to assure the grinder is both consistent in grind settings and reliable, it
will be tested
for uniformity
of performance.
• Coffee volume: the hopper must be
able to accommodate at least 60 grams of coffee beans.
• Uniformity
of extraction: ability to produce coffee that can be
brewed
according to the ECBC/SCA
Gold cup standards.
The
ECBC is testing the
grinders’
ability to give correct results for filter brewing methods,
both
automatic and
manual. This is also
the most common brewing method both in
North
America
and Europe.
The
first grinders to be approved are Wilfa
Uniform and Fellow Ode.
Manufacturers of home grinders are invited to contact the ECBC for further information
about the approval
program.
The
Norwegian
Coffee Association
was established
in
1962 and is
an information centre for coffee and
coffee brewing equipment. Our mission
has always been
to
inform,
train and educate professionals and consumers to brew their coffee the
best way. We promote good coffee culture by maintaining high quality in every step
of
the process, from the
green beans to the
finished brew at
home, at work, in cafés, restaurants and coffee bars.
The
European Coffee Brewing Centre (ECBC) was established in
1971
by the Norwegian Coffee Association. The
mission
has
always been to improve the technical qualities of the
brewers. ECBC has since 1975 been
testing and certifying coffee-brewing equipment for the seal
of
approval. The
centre was supported financially by the
International Coffee Organization
(ICO) for many years and
is now one of the few independent coffee-brewing test centres
in the world. Many of the large international
manufacturers of coffee-brewing equipment send their brewers to ECBC to test for approval.
Contact information:
Technical Manager Stig Hiller, stig@kaffe.no, tel +47 454 16
190
General Manager Marit Lynes, marit@kaffe.no, tel +47 480 40 862
Read more about the approval
program at
www.ecbc.no