For the best flavor possible from your coffee beans, grind them yourself. Adding to that philosophy, use only beans that were roasted within the past ten days to get the freshest flavor. Beware of beans that are too new, though. Beans that have been roasted only within the past day or two are full of carbon dioxide. It will get released into your cup of coffee, causing it to turn sudsy.
There are two main types of grinders on the market: blade grinders and burr grinders. Burr grinders are also known as mills. Each type of grinder has its benefits and drawbacks, and you must decide which qualities are the most important for you.
Blade Grinders
These are the easiest and cheapest coffee grinders. A metal blade inside the grinder spins rapidly, chopping the coffee beans. The result is coffee flakes that are uneven in size, often causing the taste of the brewed product to be inconsistent.
There are generally no settings to tell the machine how coarse or how fine to grind coffee. It is up to the user to determine how long to let the grinder run to achieve the desired level of fineness.
Blades build up heat while grinding. If you are trying to grind coffee to make espresso, you will have to allow the blades to run for a long time. This causes them to get hot, which can in turn give the coffee a burned taste.
If you want a good, basic grinder for everyday use, you can find them in nearly every home goods or department store for approximately .
Blade grinders are fantastic for basic day-to-day coffee consumption, but if you want more finesse in you flavor, you need to move to a burr grinder.
Burr Grinders
Typically referred to as mills, burr grinders crush the beans uniformly between a grinding wheel and a stationary surface. There are two types of burr grinders.
Wheel Burr
This is the less expensive form of burr grinder. The grinding wheel spins very quickly to crush the beans, and the fineness of the grind depends upon where the grinding wheel is set. These grinders can be noisy and can get quite messy.
Conical Burr
The burr spins much slower in these grinders, making them quieter and cleaner. These grinders are more expensive, but will not clog and can be used to grind oily or flavored beans.
In addition to wheel burr mills and conical burr mills, there is also a wide assortment of handheld grinders. Due to the very nature of the handheld grinder, the wheel is turning much more slowly, which means it is not building up heat. If you desire a very fine grind for something such as espresso, you will get the best results and maintain the most flavor with a handheld burr mill.
Beautiful, heirloom-quality solid wood, handheld burr mills can be found for around to 0. Modern, electric burr mills will run anywhere from 0 to 0 for very good ones.
How Fine to Grind
There are essentially four main grinds you need to concern yourself with. There are some others in addition to these, but the ones listed below will get you well on your way to becoming a coffee connoisseur.
o Extra Fine is nearly powder, much the consistency of sugar. Extra fine ground beans are used to make espresso.
o Fine could be described as just slightly coarser than table salt. Fine coffee would be used in pots or automatic drip machines with a conical filter.
o Medium would be much like the consistency of sand, and would work best in automatic drip coffeepots with flat-bottomed filters.
o Coarse coffee will have distinct particles or flakes. This is the coffee you would want to use in a French press or old-style percolator.
The finest coffee of all is Turkish coffee. This must be ground to a baby-fine powder, and many times must be finished off in a mortar and pestle after being ground in a burr grinder. Even the best of grinders cannot always get coffee as finely ground as it needs to be for Turkish coffee.
Never use your coffee grinder for anything other than coffee. Many people use their coffee grinder to chop up spices or herbs, or even to chop medicine for children or pets. It is extremely difficult to remove every foreign particle in the grinder, so save yourself some trouble and keep the coffee to itself. Use a food processor to chop other things such as herbs or spices. This way, the flavors will not be able to intermingle, and your coffee will remain pure.
Many modern coffee makers incorporate a grinder into the piece of machinery. This is a convenient way to grind and brew all at the same time. You will definitely get what you pay for, though. Cheaper models will most certainly have a blade grinder, while the more upscale versions will come with a burr grinder. Pay close attention to the product description so you know exactly what product you are receiving. This is particularly important if you enjoy finely ground coffees such as espresso.
