GRIND SIZE MATTERS!

Coffee beans are ground to allow the flavor to be extracted from the bean when placed in water, so it is important to have the correct grind to produce a great cup of coffee. The size and quality of the grind have a significant effect on how the coffee will taste. It may take a few shots to get the correct grind, and then not to mention the method and timing of the brew will also playing a factor, although, the grinding of fresh beans to the right degree makes a huge difference. This is because as the grinds encounter water, different flavor notes come out, and at different times. First, you get acidic, sharp flavors, at the end you get increasing bitter flavors and hiding in between are the juicy sweet wonderful flavor – Loving The Bean Life!

NOW TO DIG A LITTLE DEEPER INTO IT…….

The desired extraction of the coffee grinds is determined by how long the water is in contact with the coffee and how much of the coffee is in contact with water (that timing thing we spoke about above). This is determined by the size of the ground coffee pieces. A perfect cup is where the coffee has met the water for the right amount of time. Coffee that is under-extracted will taste salty or sour and thin bodied, whereas an over-extracted coffee will taste bitter or burnt and syrupy in body. 

By tweaking grind size, assuring the quality of the grind (we will discuss this later as to the importance of having the right equipment to get a perfect grind), and tasting your coffee you should be able to zero in on right size grind to produce great coffee!

CHOOSING THE RIGHT GRINDER WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Nothing tastes better than buying fresh roasted coffee beans and brewing your own coffee at home. For the freshest, best-tasting coffee at home, you really must invest in a good coffee grinder to get the most flavor out of your Bean Life Coffee’s roasted coffee beans. A coffee grinder allows you to purchase whole beans and grind them as needed, this way the beans stay as fresh as possible between brews/cups. To explain as simple as possible without getting too technical, grinding coffee beans creates a larger surface area, which allows the brewing process to extract all the flavor and caffeine possible from the beans – think of the comparison of granulated sugar to powdered sugar, where as one (powdered) absorbs much quicker than the other. There are two basic types of coffee grinders: blade grinders and burr grinders.

EXTRA COARSE GRIND

• Brewing Method:  Toddy
• Characteristics: Used for making cold coffee. Cold Coffee needs more than 12 hours brewing time. As the coffee grinds require longer time, it's perfect coffee grinds for making cold coffee.

MEDIUM COARSE GRIND

• Brewing Method: Chemex, Café Solo, Clever Machine
• Characteristics: Generally, it takes a short time for brewing. In about 2 minutes, the process of brewing can be done!

COARSE GRIND

• Brewing Method: French Press, Percolator, Vacuum Pot
• Characteristics: Looks like Sea Salt

MEDIUM GRIND

• Brewing Method: Drip Coffee
• Characteristics: It resembles dry sand. Most common grind found with a grocery store coffee.

MEDIUM FINE GRIND

• Brewing Method: Pour Over, Vacuum Pot, Siphon
• Characteristics: You can try with this grind to discover different tastes. The cups of coffee won't disappoint you!

FINE GRIND

• Brewing Method: Moka Pot, AeroPress, Espresso Machine
• Characteristics: By processing with a short pulse, the grind can produce a great cup of espresso each time.

SUPER FINE GRIND

• Brewing Method: Ibrik, Small pot
• Characteristics: It looks like sugar or flour (does not contain any kind of grains). Most used for Turkish coffee. It can make very a flavorful cup of coffee. 

BLADE GRINDER

A blade grinder is probably the most common used home grinder, most affordable, easy to use, and found in most stores. Depending on the amount of time the beans are grinding, will determine the size of the pieces, and in most cases with a blade grinder they will be different size pieces. Therefore, the blade grinders functionality can tend to be inconsistent, resulting in your coffee pieces ranging in size from dust to small pieces. As a result, this may affect the outcome of your brewed coffee. The grind settings are the result of how long the grinder is grinding, there are no pre-set settings to choose.

BURR GRINDER

Most coffee aficionados will tell you to go the route of a burr grinder. There are two types of burr grinders, one is called a flat burr and the other a conical burr. The difference between the two is the shape of their rings.  Again, not to get to technical, the flat burr grinder is equipped with two gears, or burrs, that face each other and provide grinding. One burr gear remains stationary while the other is in motion. As for the conical burr grinder, it has a cone shaped ring that sits inside another cone shaped ring. Beans are directed down through the burrs at a slight angle, yet the path is a downward vertical. Both types of grinders will create uniformly grind coffee and will have several different size grind settings.