Buying Ground Coffee When the Grinder Has Not Been Immersed
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Question
I want to buy coffee beans in a machine that grinds them on the spot, and I know that the grinder has not been immersed. Is it permissible to ask them to grind for me?
Answer
If it has already been ground, it is certainly permissible to buy, as the food is not prohibited when a non-immersed utensil is used. If it has not been ground initially, one should not ask them to grind for him, but those who are lenient are not protested against, since the utensil is made for commerce, and some say it is not considered a dining utensil.
Source
The food is not prohibited, as the Rema wrote in Siman 120, paragraph 16.
In 'Derech Teshuva' it is written that immersion is not required, because they are not considered dining utensils but commercial tools. Because the owner bought them for business, and the one drinking from them is a borrower. (And although every borrower from Israel is forbidden without immersion, this is only when the first is obligated, as written in Shulchan Aruch, Siman 120, paragraph 8) However, already the Chazon Ish, Minchat Yitzchak, and other authorities disagree and hold that immersion is obligatory. Therefore, a business owner certainly needs to immerse, but the buyer, who causes him to use, has what to rely on.