Grinding
Grinding
Ultimately the purpose in grinding coffee is to smash the beans as fine as possible and still get a reliable brew. In regular coffee the grind should be as fine as it can without clogging the filter. Espresso or Turkish coffee grinds can be grinded finer due to the pressure and or in the case of Turkish coffee the duration in which the grinds are exposed to hot water.
The topic of grinding coffee inevitably always brings up a time not so long ago when camping far from civilization the only access to coffee was through five pounds of whole bean Kona coffee. Early morning coffee deprivation when camping can lead one to accomplish a pretty decent grind when only given a thick stick and metal cup within which to pulverize the beans. Of course the tireless efforts of converting whole bean coffee to a ground “Cowboy Coffee” can be quite rewarding when its a cup of Kona’s finest “Volcanically grown” That said, pulverizing coffee with a stick is not the preferred method. The two most common household grinders are as follows:
- Blade Grinders – Blade grinders are the most in-expensive grinders available usually found for between $12 and $15. The concept of these electric blade grinders is very simple – two small blades utilize velocity and an angled edge to grind the coffee. These grinders can often produce a perfectly good cup of coffee but are fairly inconsistent. The level of grind is subject to human error because the duration of the grind is determined by the amount of time the “on” tab is pressed.
- Burr grinders – These grinders are a bit more expensive and range on the average from $40 and up. The concept of Burr grinders utilizes two grooved metal plates. The grind is adjusted by lessening or increasing the distance that the two plates rub together. The beans fall between the two Burrs and are crushed. These grinders do not work well with flavored coffees due to the flavor oils. Dark roasted coffees can also result in a challenging effort to clean the burrs. Often times the coffee oil that is so prevalent in dark roasted coffees creates a sticky “go” that can only be removed from the burr by being scraped out with a tool.
