1. Where does the grain come from?
2. What is the storage life of freshly milled grains?
3. What is the life time of the stones?
4. What are the delivery costs?
5. Can one grind poppyseeds, peanuts, herbs, etc in the stone mills?
6. Is it possible to make quinoa or amaranth flour?
7. Is it possible to grind chickpeas?
8. Do you sell grains?
9. Who is the Grain Mill Company?
10. Do your mills come with a guarantee?
11. How can I pay for my order?
12. Do you sell your mills in shops?
13. Can I get a discount if I order more than one mill?
14. What is the delivery time?
15. What is Dinkel or Spelt?

Unless stated otherwise all the grain we offer has been grown in NZ. We want to provide a source of vital grain that you can use also for sprouting e.g. to grow wheat grass. Imported grain gets treated upon arrival in NZ and thus is not suitable for sprouting anymore. However, some crops simply don't grow in our climate so we can get organic certified grain from overseas. Please contact us if you can't find what you are after.

Any flour milled from whole grains contains the germs. These are rich in oils (which is one of the benefits of freshly ground flour) and are prone to oxidation or – more commonly – going rancid. Depending on a few factors you can expect a storage life of 4 to 6 weeks. The main factors that influence the oxidation are:
Temperatur, radiation (light, espec. UV), and surface.

Since flour has a huge surface compared to the intact grain the oils can react much easier and faster with air. To slow down this process, the best way is obviously not to grind the flour until you need it. However, if you decided to mill larger quantities at a time you want to make sure that the flour is stored in a dark, dry place, as cool as possible.

The life time of the stones cannot be expressed in years. It rather depends on the amount and the type of grain that you are milling. Chickpeas and rye for example are harder than wheat. Additionally, the stones last longer when using the mill mainly on a coarse setting. You can order new stones from us but before you have to consider an exchange of stones you can expect to grind approximately 1500kg of soft grain with a PICO and even 2000kg with a GRANO / VARIO.

You do not need to exchange the stones as soon as you experience the milled grain to be progressively coarse at a giving setting. You can adjust the position of the stones up to 3 times. For details on how to do that please contact us.

We send most of our orders by courier/post with tracking.

The freight for Whole sacks of grain (25kg) is already included in the price.
For everything else the current charges are:

0–5kg: $10
5–10kg: $18
10–20kg: $34

Please contact us for orders over 20kg.

No, the stone mills don’t work well with oily seeds. They can handle a certain amount but generally they would need to be mixed with a grain such as wheat or dinkel.

Yes, this is no problem at all.

Yes, I have done a little test with whole organic chickpeas in the Pico and they mill no problem. It wasn’t the case with the ones I used but some chickpeas may be too large to fit through the hopper in which case they may need to be smashed first with a rolling pin in a plastic bag.

Yes, we now sell a range of certified organic whole grains including wheat, spelt/dinkel, rye and barley. Usually we also sell flax seeds (linseed) which are fantastic rolled into flakes through our hand flakers or the Schnitzer Vario. We focus on New Zealand grown grains. If you would like other organic grains (amaranth, millet, quinoa, rice etc.) or smaller quantities please contact us directly for availability and prices.

The Grain Mill Company was founded by Galen and Nicole King and is now run by Jochen and Ute Maurer.

We live in beautiful Golden Bay and will continue to sell Schnitzer and Eschenfelder mills. We like doing this because we want to make these mills available to everyone in New Zealand.

Jochen spends lots of his time making music (leading “ZING” – Golden Bay’s World Music Choir – and teaching piano and guitar), while Ute works in our local organic shop in Takaka.

Yes, all our mills come with a 24-month guarantee.

Mills and Flakers are guaranteed against manufacturing defects and the guarantee does not cover damage or problems caused by improper use.

We accept direct deposit, cheque or credit card. Orders are shipped once payment has been received in full.

In an effort to keep the prices as low as possible, we no longer sell our mills through retail outlets.

We offer discounts on mills only. Discounts are only given for orders placed and paid for at the same time and shipped to one address.

• 1 Mill: No discount
• 2–4 Mills: 10%
• 5–9 Mills: 15%
• 10+ Mills: 20%

If your order is placed online, we will refund the discount once the order has gone through. If paid for by credit card, this refund will go directly back onto the card used for the original purchase.

If you have a retail outlet and would like to stock our mills, please contact us to enquire about wholesale prices.

If we have the item in stock, you can expect to receive it within one week.

If we do not have the item in stock, please allow the following delivery times from the date we receive payment:

• 2-3 weeks for books
• 6-8 weeks for mills and accessories

Dinkel (also known as Spelt) is an ancient relative of wheat. It is thought to have originated in Southeast Asia and then introduced to the Middle East more than 9000 years ago. Since then it has spread over the European continent. Very recently, Dinkel has enjoyed renewed popularity in Europe as a result of translations of mystical writings of 12th-century healer St. Hildegard of Bingen, who praised spelt as the grain best tolerated by the body.

Today Dinkel is being used in the West in much the same way as wheat; the main distinction is that people with allergies to wheat frequently do not react to Dinkel. Although Dinkel contains gluten, those with gluten sensitivity – even celiacs – can usually tolerate it. In addition, Dinkel is appreciated as much for its hearty nut-like flavor as for its healing qualities.

The grain berry grows an exceptionally thick husk that protects it from pollutants and insects. It is stored with its husk intact, so it remains fresher. Thus, unlike other grains, it is not normally treated with pesticides or other chemicals. The strong protective husk may also be a metaphorical signature of this grain’s capacity to strengthen immunity.

Dinkel is richly supplied with nutrients. In general, it is higher in protein, fat, and fiber than most other varieties of wheat. An important feature is its highly water-soluble fibre, which dissolves easily and allows for efficient nutrient assimilation by the body.

To use Dinkel in baked goods, cereals, and other dishes calling for wheat or other grains, substitute it one for one. Dinkel is becoming widely available in the form of pastas, cereals, breads, flour, and whole-grain berry. When using Dinkel for healing debilitated conditons, it is often best in a thin porridge or congee. Dinkel has been used as an adjunct in the treatment of many disorders, especially chronic digestive problems of all kinds, chronic infections (herpes, AIDS), nerve and bone disorders (Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis), cancer, and antibiotic side effects.