What’s the point of a grinder? Fresh ground coffee tastes better.
Have you ever wondered why coffee is sold pre-ground and whole bean? Or maybe you’ve noticed that after you order a drink at a coffee shop, the barista’s first step is to ground coffee beans. All quality coffee shops keep both their drip coffee and their espresso coffee as whole bean, despite the extra time and steps required to grind the beans fresh. The reason they do this is because whole beans ground into freshly ground coffee provides optimal taste and flavor.
Here’s how:
1. After being roasted, coffee beans contain oils that contribute to their aroma and flavor. Once beans are ground, the grinds create new surface areas that immediately start to release these oils. Brewing these fresh grounds creates a fresher, more flavorful cup of coffee.
2. When you open a bag of craft roasted, whole bean coffee, you should experience a fragrant bouquet of aromas. After its ground, the coffee releases even more of that aroma. Cupping a cup of freshly ground and brewed beans will enhance that bouquet, and should continue the sensory experience.
3. The oils that coffee contains can also oxidize. When the larger surface area of pre-ground coffee is repeatedly exposed to oxygen, it can eventually become rancid. Because whole bean coffee has less surface area to come into contact with oxygen when the bag is opened and closed, the risk of oxidation is lower. Grinding fresh immediately before you brew preserves the coffee flavor.
4. Every brewing technique also requires an appropriate size grind for optimal coffee extraction. Grinding before brewing allows you to control the grind size to match the brewing method.
Fresh grinding coffee is essential to allow you to maximize your coffee experience. You will get better flavor and aroma in the cup, the coffee will remain fresher longer, and you can fine tune each grind to maximize the extraction for your favorite brewing method.
For home coffee lovers, we sell home grinders. We recommend the Baratza Virtuoso and Fellow Ode for drip and pour-over coffees. A nicely priced espresso grinder would be the Eureka Mignon Silenzio. Check them all out here.
