How to grind coffee at home
Three fundamental aspects to prepare a good cup of coffee are: the raw material, the coffee maker and the type of grinding. In this way, you will get a perfect espresso coffee, balanced and with a good taste.
In the past, buying coffee beans was a widespread custom, but it has been lost over the years. Why recover this 'old' habit with how comfortable it is to buy already ground coffee?
- How to grind coffee at home and Burr Coffee Grinders Product
Very easy: did you know that the 15 minutes after grinding the coffee has lost between 60% to 70% of the aromas? In addition, coffee beans keep all their properties intact when stored for weeks.
Cardiovascular diseases, all types of cancers and type 2 diabetes appear as the main cause due to "oxidative stress." Therefore, it is very important to eat foods rich in antioxidants, such as coffee, which provides 200 to 500 mg of antioxidants per cup. For more information, visit thisArticle.
Coffee grinding type
The quality of the coffee grind has a significant influence on the aroma and flavor of your coffee. It doesn't matter that you've bought yourself the highest quality coffee beans, it won't do any good if you don't grind them properly. I am telling you because you will have to adapt the coffee grind according to the type of coffee maker you have at home. If you do not follow these tips, the taste of the coffee will be altered, taking on a bitter, acid or sour taste.
Next, I am going to show you the types of coffee grinds that you can prepare, the texture that can be obtained and in what type of coffee maker it is the most recommended to use it.
Fine
The texture is achieved with a fine grind is the closest thing to table salt. Ideal for use in an Italian or espresso machine.
Medium-fine
The thickness of this type of grinding is very similar to the previous one, highly recommended for an Aeropress or a V60 coffee maker.
Half
The medium-textured coffee grind reminds me of brown sugar, very suitable if you use a siphon coffee maker that uses a flat-bottom filter.
Medium-thick
The texture obtained is the closest thing to coarse cooking salt. Use that grind thickness if you have a Chemex filter coffee maker.
Gross
It is also very similar to the texture of coarse salt, with the difference that this type of coffee ground comes from pearls for French press.
Types of grinders
In order to achieve a good coffee grind, it is essential to have a quality grinder. Next, I show you the types of grinders on the market and discover all their characteristics.
house grinders
Blade grinder
Knife grinders contain a system of knives in the bottom of the grinder, which rotate rapidly cutting the coffee beans. The disadvantage of this method is that the grains are cut unevenly, forming finer and coarser particles.
Therefore, when it comes to infusing the coffee, there will be particles that have not been moistened enough and others that have been exceeded. Resulting in an unbalanced flavor. Of course, they are the cheapest.
Grinding wheel
The grinding mills are equipped with two rotary grinders that form the coffee beans into a more homogeneous powder. Therefore, when the coffee is infused, the powder is evenly moistened, so you will get a coffee with a taste like no other.
The great advantage of this type of mill is that it allows you to select different levels of grinding. So that in this way it adapts to the characteristics of the coffee maker you have.
Conical grinding wheels: they have a cone shape and a serrated surface.
Flat wheels : they are formed by two parallel discs and a toothed surface.
How to adjust the coffee grinder
As I mentioned before, a coffee grinder is equipped with two grinding wheels (conical or flat) that are responsible for cutting the coffee beans, reducing them to powder. The closer the grinding wheels are, the smaller the ground coffee particles will be.
As the particles become finer, they can compress closer to each other, making it difficult for water to pass. So it will slow down the time of extraction of espresso.
Each grinder has a system to adjust the distance of the wheels. Consult the instruction manual of the particular model for information on the adjustment mechanism. Once you've figured out how it fits, do the following:
Depending on the type of coffee maker you have, you will need to obtain a finer or coarser grind, as I have mentioned above.
- Perform various tests for small portions until you achieve the texture that your type of coffee maker requires.
- When you have already obtained the correct texture, you must adjust the dose to obtain a quality coffee.
Tricks for grinding coffee at home
- To prevent coffee from oxidizing, emulsify it right after grinding it to benefit from all its properties.
- Get in the habit of weighing the dose (between 15 and 20 grams) to get a quality coffee.
- The coffee beans must be kept in a container as airtight as possible so that external agents that could deteriorate it are not strained.
- To avoid altering the taste of coffee, it is very important that the water you use is filtered.