This guide is going to provide a side-by-side comparison of the Mahlkonig GH2 vs Guatemala. We'll be covering all of the important information to help you decide which retail coffee grinder meets your professional needs.
We're going to outline...
- The key features that the Mahlkonig GH2 and Guatemala GUA710 share.
- The unique features on these grinders and how they affect functionality.
- Which grinder will be the best fit for your business.
Quick Summary
Mahlkonig GH2
Robust and budget-friendly, this filter coffee grinder is a great option for coffee shops with medium to high traffic volume. It's a solid choice for businesses offering customers complimentary grinding of retail coffee bags.
Mahlkonig Guatemala GUA710
This filter coffee grinder is customizable and can adapt to coffee shops, labs, roasteries, and locations selling retail coffee. Choose this model if you need a grinder that can accommodate your individual business needs, from cuppings and single-portion grinding to drip coffee service.
Similarities
Retail Coffee Grinder
As retail coffee grinders, the Mahlkonig GH2 and Guatemala are designed for businesses that sells retail coffee beans.
To offer customers fast on-site grinding when they purchase a bag of coffee, retail coffee grinders like the GH2 and Guatemala come with a number of features that increase speed and efficiency.
In addition to retail coffee grinding, these machines will support regular coffee service. They're versatile models, capable of grinding for anything from French press to drip coffee.
In short, a retail grinder is a must if you sell retail coffee bags. It has the speed and flexibility to switch between retail coffee grinding and a wide variety of in-house brew methods.
Flat Burrs
The flat burrs in the GH2 and Guatemala will produce evenly sized coffee particles. This is great for balanced extraction in the brew process.
Because the coffee particles are all the same size, they'll promote even extraction and meld the tasting notes in the cup.
Coffee enthusiasts who love flat burr grinders often choose them for their ability to enhance rich chocolaty and nutty notes.
If you focus on roasts that emphasize these flavors or you just want incredible consistency in your grind, a flat burr grinder is a great option.
Vertically Mounted Grinding Discs
It's typical to see horizontally mounted grinding discs in flat burr grinders, which often encourage more buildup of coffee grounds between the burrs.
Mounting the grinding discs vertically in the GH2 and Guatemala has allowed Mahlkonig to create flat burr grinders with minimal coffee retention due to the vertical path of the coffee.
Coffee wastage will be reduced and your customers will get the most out of their retail coffee purchases.
Fineness Range
The GH2 and the Guatemala come with similar ranges of coarse to fine grind settings. In particular, these grinders have somewhat limited finer grind options in comparison to grinders like the Mahlkonig EK43.
They're not designed to grind for espresso with any particular accuracy, which is why we don't recommend them for this function.
However, these grinders are great for standard filter coffee brew methods, which many coffee shops purchase them for.
Bag Clamp
Grinding into retail bags is made easier with the convenient clamp on the GH2 and Guatemala.
The clamp will hold the bag in place while the machine grinds, freeing baristas up to travel away from the grinder and multitask until the process is complete.
The Guatemala's knock-off device will gently tap against the chute to clear out the remaining coffee grounds. Similarly, you can use the bag clip on the GH2 to tap the chute and get more of the coffee into the bag.
Key Differences
Burr Size
These grinders are constructed with sizable burrs. The GH2 comes with 85 mm grinding discs and the Guatemala contains 71 mm grinding discs.
Larger burrs, like those in the GH2 and the Guatemala, have the potential to create specific effects on the grinding environment. Due to a large surface area, the burrs require fewer rotations to crush the coffee.
This keeps friction and heat buildup in check, limiting static issues that can promote clumpy coffee grounds in the portafilter and preserving the flavor of the coffee for the best results.
Hopper Capacity
The GH2 comes standard with a massive hopper that can hold 4.4 pounds of coffee beans. You'll be able to do some serious large-batch grinding with this model.
You'll get a 1.1-pound hopper with the Guatemala, unless you upgrade to the 2.2-pound hopper or the larger 5.5-pound hopper.
Even the 1.1-pound hopper is substantial with plenty of room for typical 1-pound bags of coffee, but if you need to grind large quantities at the same time, you have several options.
Grinding Capacity
Between the GH2 and the Guatemala, the Guatemala wins for speed. It can grind up to 2 pounds of coffee per minute.
The GH2 grinds at about half the speed, producing a single pound of ground coffee in a minute.
Bear in mind that the grinding capacity will vary with fineness settings—the finer the grind, the longer it will take to process the coffee.
Stepped vs Stepless Grind Adjustment
The GH2 features stepless grind adjustment, which will allow you to move the dial in the smallest of increments toward the coarser or finer settings for precise selection.
The Guatemala's stepped grind adjustment system won't give you limitless precision. However, with 20 different fineness settings, many businesses find that they have more than enough options.
Another pro is that the stepped system will facilitate quick switching between coarse and fine grind settings, even for users with limited experience.
Some businesses need the freedom to choose any grind setting while others may get a bigger benefit from the simple presets.
Mahlkonig Guatemala Bag Shaker
The Guatemala's bag shaking mechanism will gently settle the coffee in retail bags and help to clear out residual coffee grounds in the chute.
It performs a function that baristas do manually when a bag vibration mechanism isn't built into the grinder.
That's why it's another helpful feature that can make life a little easier and cut down on the time it takes to grind a bag of coffee.
Mahlkonig Guatemala Overload Protection
With overload protection, the Guatemala is safer in the event of a power surge.
This feature can protect the grinder from taking on irreparable damage or burning out if there's an electrical circuitry overload.
Greater built-in protection promotes longevity, delivering higher value for your investment.
Mahlkonig Guatemala Customizable Features
Customizable for a variety of applications, the Guatemala can be tailored to a wide variety of businesses.
Some of the features you can opt for include:
- Foldable table (for coffee labs and single-portion grinding)
- Filter coffee basket holder
- Self-service station
- Raised outlet height
Coffee shops that go through a fair amount of drip coffee, locations with coffee cuppings, and many specialized businesses can find a modification to suit their needs.
Price Considerations
At Majesty Coffee, we take your budget into consideration when we price our coffee and espresso equipment.
We offer the Mahlkonig GH2 in standard Black for $950 and the Mahlkonig Guatemala in Black for $1,680.
So Which Should You Buy?
Both of these grinders make great options for medium to higher volume coffee shops, restaurants, and locations offering retail coffee bags and coffee service with various brew methods.
However, the grinder you'll get the most out of will depend on how specialized your coffee service is.
Highly customizable, the Guatemala is often the perfect choice for coffee shops, labs, and locations that offer pourovers and generally require single-portion grinding. It's also the faster grinder for particularly high-volume establishments.
The GH2 is a more basic model that can be a dependable option for cafes and businesses that can't capitalize on the Guatemala's customizable features. As a stepless grinder, it offers great flexibility that many basic models don't.
Here's our advice.
Some of the key factors that make the greatest impact for business owners deciding between these grinders are speed, adaptability, and budget. For this reason, make sure you take these factors into consideration for the most practical option.
For the best prices online, see the Mahlkonig GH2 and Guatemala here on Majesty Coffee...
