How to choose the size of coffee beans and how to grind your favorite coffee beans perfectly

It's no secret that coffee is good for you. However, taste is an important factor in whether coffee drinkers really like coffee. Buying coffee beans will help maintain the freshness and flavor of your favorite coffee in the coming months. Many coffee fans choose to buy coffee beans and grind them at home immediately before making boutique coffee; this extra step creates a coffee quality with a longer shelf life than pre-ground coffee beans.

It takes some skill to grind coffee successfully. The size of the grinding will determine the taste of your coffee. Therefore, correct grinding is very important to create an ideal coffee flavor.

But don't worry. Qianjie Coffee will show you how to grind coffee beans at home so that you can make the ideal coffee easily and effectively every time.

Why is grinding size important?

The size of the coffee grinding will determine the actual amount of coffee extracted during the brewing process. Water, usually hot, flows through coffee powder to extract the taste of coffee. The size of the grinding will determine how much flavor the water can extract.

If the grinding is too rough, it is usually impossible to get enough flavor from the coffee. You'll end up with a sour coffee. This is called "insufficient extraction" because the water does not have access to enough coffee to give off a strong flavor. On the other hand, if the grinding is too fine, there may be "excessive extraction", which can lead to the overwhelming and bitter taste of coffee. In this extreme case, the water comes into contact with too much coffee powder in too short a time.

Combined with the grinding size, the taste of coffee depends on the actual way the coffee is brewed. The same kind of beans are baked in the same way, and depending on the way they are cooked, they may taste very different.

How to achieve perfect grinding?

There are two main types of grinders: blades and burrs. The burr grinder is almost always the first choice for coffee lovers. The working principle of blade grinder is similar to that of mixer. The blade in the can rotates quickly to cut up the coffee beans. Think about how the blender works: it first cuts up everything at the bottom. This usually leads to grinding inconsistencies, which is bad news for coffee. Inconsistent grinding means that some coffee beans are overextracted, while others are underextracted, which usually leads to sour and bitter coffee with ​​. The blade grinder also produces a lot of heat and friction, which basically "burns" the coffee in the grinding process.

This is why the burr grinder is the tool of choice. It has two cutting plates called burrs. These discs quickly cut up the beans with less calories. The distance between burrs determines the consistency of grinding; the smaller the burr distance, the finer the grinding, and the larger the burr distance, the thicker the grinding.

Because the burr grinder uses slower speed and less heat, the integrity of the beans remains the same. The burr can also achieve more accurate and consistent grinding, resulting in better brewing.

Consistency in grinding is the key to a good cup of coffee. If the brewing method is not consistent, the coffee will be extracted at different speeds, resulting in taste differences in the same batch. The more consistent the grinding, the better the final result.

Automatic and manual grinder

The grinder can be automatic or manual. Manual grinders are usually cheaper, but they require more work and can lead to mixing inconsistencies, depending on the skill level. If you plan to grind coffee every day, it's worth investing in an automatic grinder that does a good job.

Serious coffee fans may also want to buy a portable grinder to prepare coffee beans anytime, anywhere. Hand-held portable grinders are ideal for those who travel outdoors or kill time.

Grinding consistency

Once you have selected the type of grinder, you need to find the appropriate settings for the grinding consistency you want. The amount of grinding required to extract the best coffee flavor depends on the type of coffee made and the coffee machine used.

In the experiment of grinding consistency, the actual operation mode of the cooking process is considered. Hot water flows through the ground coffee beans to extract flavor. The bigger and rougher the grinding, the less coffee the water actually comes into contact with. This results in slower and less effective extraction. Through finer grinding, water flows through and "touches" more coffee, resulting in faster and more powerful extracts.

This is why cold-extracted coffee requires extra rough grinding, while espresso needs fine grinding. Cold-extracted coffee is brewed in cold water for a long time (about 24 hours), so larger beans are needed for a slower extraction process. Espresso is brewed in 30 to 40 seconds, so more fine grinding is needed for hot water to be extracted quickly.

Coffee roasting

The size of the grinding depends on the coffee machine used, but also on the coffee roasting. "roasting" is how long it takes for a coffee bean to give off its flavor. The taste will vary depending on the way it is ground.

For example, espresso roasting is a deep roasting. This means that it has been roasted for longer, and it will be a smooth and slightly acidic cup of coffee. Espresso tastes best when extracting "speed and passion". This means that they need to be carefully ground with hot water and pressed hard for about 20-40 seconds. If you want to do the same type of espresso process-- fast brewing fine grinding-- and light roasting, you may end up with bitter and sour results.

Moderate baking usually requires moderate grinding. This is what we call "American" coffee. Hand-brewed coffee can also be moderately ground, which takes at least 4 minutes of extraction to create a smooth, sour and intoxicating coffee flavor.

Grinding Tips

Before you start grinding your own whole bean coffee, consider the following tips:

If the grinder allows, grind the beans by pulse. Brewing in a short time can produce a uniform grinding effect, so as to extract coffee flavor more accurately.

Be careful not to overgrind the coffee, which can lead to sour and strong taste.

Test different grinding and cooking times with a coffee maker to see which one works best. If the coffee is too bitter, the coffee is overextracted; use thicker grinding or reduce brewing time. If the coffee is sour, it is underextracted; try finer grinding or longer brewing time.

Even if the correct grinding settings are found on the grinder, different coffee beans may have different requirements. You may need to "experiment" on each coffee bean and try to get the correct settings and time.

Put the whole bean in an airtight container to keep it fresh. Use some of the best jars to preserve coffee here.