The Secret To Great Coffee
By: Tony Carrera
Would you like to know the secrets of great coffee? A coffee grinder could be the missing link that's holding you back from unlocking true coffee flavor.
If you buy ground coffee it's probably because it's convenient and ready to use in your drip coffee maker. Even though grinding coffee beans requires a little more effort, it could be what's missing to truly great coffee.
Grinding coffee beans at home is actually very easy and takes less than a minute. Once you experience the difference in flavor, you'll quickly discover the small amount of effort might be the secret to making a great cup of coffee.
The two most popular kinds of coffee grinders are blade and burr coffee grinders. Just like anything else in life you get what you pay for. You will pay a little more for burr coffee grinders, but they produce better results.
If you want to see if grinding your own coffee beans is actually worth it, you may want to start with a more inexpensive blade coffee grinder. But you may never go back to ground coffee after trying this because it really does make that much of a difference in flavor if you are buying ground coffee now.
If you decide to go with a blade grinder, you need to time how long you grind your coffee beans. Here are the grinding times according to the kind of coffee maker you have.
Course Grind - for electric percolators grind for 5-10 seconds.
Medium Grind - for electric drip or French press 10-15 seconds.
Fine Grind - for espresso machines grind approximately 30 seconds
Here is a good tip for using a blade grinder. Push the grinding button in intervals instead of holding the button down steady. Grind in quick bursts of 2-5 seconds because that prevents the beans from heating up too much. Experiment with your equipment, grinding time and different coffee blends to achieve the results that please your tastes.
Burr coffee grinders are by far the best method for grinding your gourmet coffee beans. The grind is more consistent and most of the grinders have grind settings which means you don't have to time anything.
Some models even have settings for how many cups you want to grind and include a receptacle where your coffee grounds are deposited. That makes it much easier to pour your coffee grounds from the receptacle into your coffee maker.
If you do decide to get a coffee grinder and grind your own coffee beans, make sure you grind them immediately before brewing a fresh pot. The life of ground coffee is only a few days after grinding because oxygen and moisture in the air quickly deteriorate ground coffee.
Here are a few good coffee grinder buying tips:
One important and often overlooked buying tip is look at how you clean the coffee grinder. Routine cleaning is occasionally required and you don't want it to be difficult. If it's easy to clean you'll keep it cleaner and your coffee will taste as good as it should.
Also, only grind fresh gourmet coffee with your coffee grinder. Don't grind flavored beans because they will leave flavor residue in your coffee grinder that is almost impossible to get out. Several manufacturers suggest that you can grind spices, but if you do, the spice residue can give your coffee a strange flavor.
If you are buying ground coffee at the grocery store, you may want to consider getting a good quality grinder and buy whole bean coffee instead. Grind your coffee beans just before you brew a fresh pot and discover what great coffee is all about.
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