I have had the privilege of being able to test a few select instruments for macerating or pulverizing very complex matrices including hard candy and botanical material. A sound practical approach in selecting the right tool for the job means testing a significant amount of different materials - conditions and technologies. Here are a few examples. IKA makes several "blade" grinders- the user can also add dry ice into a edible or hard candy to assist in flash freezing the sample. I have noticed the freezing of the sample no matter what form- will significantly impact the quality of grind- whether blade or ball type grinder.

1 gram of random botanical material. Processed using IKA-Tube Mill Control 5000-25000 rpm. On loan from IKA- Thank you Robert Ranville.

25mm Stainless steel balls - 50ml jars. Anton Parr Ball Mill. (On loan - thank you Felice Eckard.)

200mg of botanical material - cyrogenically cooled using liquid N2 (courtesy of Mattheson Gas, John Wilson)