We have all gone into our favorite coffee shop and been amazed with the coffee quality we are presented. The question is – how do they do it?
The answer is simple -y that they have all of the right tools. They use high quality beans, they use a high quality coffee brewing tools (be it an espresso machine, coffee brewer, drip setup, etc.) and they use a high quality grinder to break down the coffee beans right before making your drink.
Few people realize the impact that a coffee grinder has on over all coffee flavor, yet it does havehas a huge effect on how your coffee tastes. The reason a coffee grinder is so important lies in the very reason that a grinder is needed at all. We have – the need to break down the bean to expose the interior to hot water, allowing the oils and flavors to be extracted. Finer ground coffee creates an increased surface area which causes there to be acausing greater dissolution of oils in theyour drink. More area exposed surface area means more water molecules can ‘rip’ the coffee oils out of the bean and bring them along into the your cup. Inversely, athe more coaurser your grind, the lower the means less exposed surface area andthereby decreaseding your dissolution of oils. It is very important to match your grind size with your brew method to balance your extraction. More of that later.
Roasted coffee in the bag is always exposed to air When you purchase coffee from your favorite roaster, it will be exposed to air in the bag (some roasters use airtight bags and nitrogen flush the bags to remove all air particles, but the following effect will be the same once the bag is opened for the first time). This The oxygenair will begin to act on the coffee, breaking apart the oils thus aging the coffee and flattening out the flavor. If you purchase pPre-ground coffee, you will have morebe exposeding more surface area to air which speeds up the denaturing process. That This is why pre-ground coffee has a shorter shelf life than whole bean coffee.
Given the importance of the size of your coffee grounds used for your making coffee drink, it follows that inconsistent grind size will make determining the right grind to use for your extraction very difficult. Thus, a good coffee grinder will need to be able to be adjustedis adjustable to theyour brew method and will also need tois be consistent when breaking apart the coffee bean allowing for an even extraction of all particles.
There are two main types of grinders that are used in the coffee industry- the blade grinder and the burr grinder.
The blade grinder has several advantages. It is cheap, small, fast, and easy to operate. The trouble with a blade grinder is that they produce a wide range of particle sizes with every dose of coffee ground which makes them inaccurate in terms of achieving a consistent grind size. They don’t allow for any portion control, and have tend to overheat the coffee. All these characteristics can lead to inconsistent extraction and flavor in the cup.The first is a blade grinder. These are typically less expensive than other grinders, are easy to operate, take up little space on your counter and are fast when grinding your coffee. The draw back to a bladed coffee grinder is that they produce an uneven grain size, can heat up and ‘cook’ the coffee during grinding, and can be inaccurate in achieving the desired grind size.
The second type of grinder used in the coffee industry, is a burr grinder. Burr grinders, on the other hand, do a very good job of grinding coffee evenly, allow for a broad adjustment range and preserve the natural coffee flavor. However, they tend tobut can be louder, slower and more expensive than blade grinders.
There are three types of burr grinders, bulk grinders, flat burr grinders and conical burr grinders.
Bulk grinders are very good at quickly breaking downgrinding a large amount of coffee into relatively even pieces. They are used to grind pre-ground coffee and to grind coffee before it goes into a commercial coffee brewer. They are adjustable and can achieve numerous grind sizes for brewing coffee, dripping coffee or percolating coffee, but . They are not considered to be sufficient to grind coffee fine enough for espresso.
Flat burr grinders are generally, though not always, found on espresso grinders from for home size use to medium cafe size. They are less expensive than conical burr grinders, have a higher rotation speed (creating more heat and requiring more time to cool) and can be louder and messier (due to the increased rotation speed). Flat burr grinders do a great job creating coffee ground for espresso and can excel in the twenty drinks an hour or less range.
Conical burr grinders, on the other hand, can cost more, have a lower burr rotation speed which makes them quieter with less ‘throwing’ of the coffee. Conical burr grinders are generally preferred for high volume cafes because the bulkier conical burrs have more mass and will take more energy to heat up. There are many more nuances such as burr metal composition, burr sharpness, burr tooth shape and many, many other factors that grinder manufacturers manipulate to allow their grinder to preformperform the way they want it to.
Breaking down a whole coffee bean into parts is deceptively simple. While breaking down the bean, it is critical to take into considerationn the grind size, the grind consistency and the repeatability to ensure that you are brewing that cafe level cup of coffee.
I will now go over some of the common brewing methods and where you should be setting your grindthe grind setting should be:
- French Press requires a coaurse grind – the beans should still be in distinct chunks. You can afford to have a lower less exposed surface area because your coffee will have the added benefit of time in the water.
- A Siphon Pot requires a medium-coaurse grind – the pieces of bean should begin to all blur together. The coffee will have less time to sit in the water than would a French press but will have more time than a traditional pour- over method
- A Chemex requires a medium grind – the grinds should be well mixed together in a coaurse powder. This method uses a thicker paper filter than a traditional pour over method which slows the coffee’s passage through the grounds.
- A Pour- Over or Aeropress will take a medium-fine grind – the powder should be indistinct pieces, though far coaurser than a flour-like consistency. The water will flow over the coffee with only the grinds slowing it down
- Espresso requires a fine grind – the powder should be approaching flour in consistency. It should feel silky to the touch. When packed together, it should retain its form. The coffee will have to be packed together tightly enough to prevent nine bars of pressurized water from passing easily through the ‘puck’
- Turkish coffee requires a very -fine grind – the coffee should be flour-like in consistency. The coffee will be dissolved in hot water and so will have to be ground fine enough for the particles to be suspended in water.