Coffee is a nice, helpful friend that everybody likes. Most of us can’t go one day without having at least one cup of coffee.
It gives us energy and has many benefits. Not to mention that it tastes great.
Many people swear by the taste of freshly ground coffee compared to pre-ground or store-bought coffee.
In this war of convenience against flavor, who wins?
You can be the judge by trying both and eventually picking fresh coffee like Convergent Coffee.
Here is everything you need to know about grinding your coffee.
Why Grind It Yourself
We’ve mentioned that freshly ground coffee has a better taste and more robust flavor, but why?
According to Food Republic, coffee goes stale quickly after being ground, losing its flavor and aroma quickly.
This happens due to oxidation, CO2 depletion, and moisture.
Some compounds in coffee aren’t stable and change quickly.
They interact with air molecules, releasing their flavor and aroma, oxidation.
This happens right after you grind your coffee, which gives it a great taste.
After a short time after it is ground, the best of your coffee has already been released.
Oils in coffee beans are water-soluble, and when exposed to moisture, they start dissolving and diluting.
Something similar happens to the CO2, which is what transfers oil into your coffee as it escapes, too.
Overall, the coffee loses part of its deliciousness when left for some time after being ground.
Types of Coffee Grinders
There are three types of coffee grinders: blade, burr, and manual.
Blade grinders cut the beans with sharp blades.
They are the smallest and least expensive, perfect for a home setting.
However, they are noisy and inconsistent.
Burr grinders crush the beans with a grinder wheel.
You can easily decide what size you want the grind to be, and the result will be precise and accurate.
There are two types of burr grinders: wheel burr grinders and conical burr grinders.
The wheel grinder is less expensive but relatively noisy and messy.
The conical burr grinder is more pricey but provides the best results for coffee grinding.
As the name suggests, a manual grinder is powered by manual labor.
You turn a crank until you get the grinding size you want.
This makes it ideal if you’re on a trip to a place off-the-grid because it requires no electricity.
They are very quiet and look stylishly vintage, too.
Types of Grinding
A good coffee grinder can grind to a variety of sizes.
Coffee beans are ground differently to produce different types of coffee.
With these detailed reviews of coffee grinders, you will be able to find the perfect coffee grinder for your home or cafe.
The grinding goes from extra coarse to coarse, medium-coarse, medium-fine, fine, and, finally, extra fine.
Extra coarse should look like peppercorns and is specially ground for a cold brew.
Coarse is the size of sea salt, and it’s used for a French press, which is brewed for about 4 minutes.
For clever dripper or Chemex coffee, medium-coarse is a perfect size, similar to the size of sand.
Medium ground coffee is the generic coffee size.
Medium-fine produces pour overs and siphon coffee.
Fine grounds are used for your favorite cup of espresso.
Finally, an extra-fine is for Turkish coffee, also called Greek Coffee.
Grinding Size Rules
There are general rules regarding the grinding size.
The coarser the grind is, the more time it will require for extraction.
For example, a cold brew, which is the most coarse type of grind, takes 12 hours to extract the flavor.
But to produce a tasty cup of espresso, all you need is a half minute.
Another rule is: the finer the coffee, the stronger the taste, and the more bitter it is.
Take Turkish coffee, for example, known for its bitterness and how it’s an acquired taste.
If you’re grinding your coffee at home, consider how you will brew it, and then decide on the size of the grind.
Regardless of what type of coffee you like, you will appreciate the flavor of the coffee you grind yourself.
Nothing beats the freshness and strength of its taste and smell.
That is mainly because it loses moisture and CO2 when stored for some time before it’s brewed.
It’s easy to decide what size to grind your coffee because it all depends on your brewing method.
So what are you waiting for?
Buy a coffee grinder and try it yourself.