Grinding

For maintaining coffee at its optimal freshness, we recommend purchasing coffee whole bean. Ground coffee has more surface area that is exposed to air. Air oxidizes the coffee and causes the coffee to go stale. By freshly grinding the coffee beans immediately before brewing, the coffee will be fresher and the flavors of the coffee will extract properly.

Proper selection of a grinder is a simple but important step. There are two basic types of grinders, blade and burr.

Blade

The blade grinder is an inexpensive grinder that is also suited for grinding spices. The big disadvantage of the blade grinder is achieving a consistent grind. Consistent grind particles are critical in brewing coffee. An inconsistent grind will result in some of the larger particles being under-extracted and giving a grassy, sour taste to the coffee, while smaller particles will be over-extracted, leaving a bitter taste. Once a blade grinder has been used for a spice grinder, it will contaminate all future coffee grounds with the spice flavor.

Burr

Burr grinders are better suited for specialty coffee. The burrs crush the beans to an even consistency, resulting in a better tasting coffee. The burr grinders have settings for different grind particle sizes. For espresso, we recommend a burr grinder that is specifically designed for espresso because these grinders have finer settings designed for espresso.

The type of grind is determined by the brewing method.

Generally, the longer contact time with the water, the coarser a grind is used.

Regardless of the type of grinder chosen, be sure to clean the grinder with a brush and towel after each use. Grind particles left in the grinder over time will result in stale, rancid-tasting coffee. Never use water to clean your grinder. On most burr grinders, the burr can be removed for easy brushing and cleaning. Follow the cleaning instructions given by the manufacturer.

As one experiments with grinding, adjust the grind if the coffee is brewing too weak or too strong. Prior to adjusting the grind, verify that the proper amount of coffee is being used in relation to the amount of water. For coffee that is weak, lacking color, tastes grassy, lacks sweetness or is sour, a finer grind will improve the flavor. For coffee that is strong, dark in color, astringent or bitter tasting, a coarser grind will improve the flavor.

Turkish

extra fine like flour, the finest setting on burr grinders

Espresso

fine, like finely ground cornmeal, slightly coarser than flour

Pour Over, Moka

medium fine, like granulated sugar

Chemex

medium, to coarse, like Kosher salt

French Press, Cold Brew

coarse, like coarse cornmeal or grits, the coarsest setting on a burr grinder