Although you all know that preparing a pot of coffee is not a hard job, before you can add your grounds and turn the machine on, you need to consider how you want to create your coffee grounds that will be brewed.
There are three main types of coffee grounds, all of which you can create by starting out with coffee beans right at home.
How finely your coffee is ground really plays a large role in how the brewing process goes. It is very important to always make certain that you use the proper grind of coffee for the method you choose when making the brew. This is because the grind of coffee combined with the method of brewing has a significant impact on how your coffee will taste.
For example, if you brew in a way that allows the coffee grounds to be in contact with heated water for long periods of time, you will want to use a grind of coffee that is coarse. However, if beans are too finely ground for the brewing method you are using, the taste of your java will be incredibly bitter.
Although, if the same method of brewing is used, and your grind is too coarse, the result will be a pot of coffee that tastes more like water than java.
There are three main ways that you can create your grounds for brewing at home. You will easily be able to create coffee grounds exactly the way you like them using one of the three simple methods.
Not only is grinding your own beans easy, the result of a pot of coffee brewed with freshly ground beans tastes dramatically different than coffee brewed with store bought grounds.
Most people, who are used to making their own ground coffee at home, would never switch back to purchasing pre-ground coffee. With a little practice you will soon agree with these individuals.
First of all, you can try what is known as burr grinding. This method of grinding, uses a machine that has two elements that revolve and as a result, tear and crush the coffee bean and provide you with far less of a chance of burning your beans.
Burr grinders that are conical offer you a large amount of aroma and provide grounds that are incredibly fine and typically consistent. The steel burrs on the machine provide a high gear reduction that slows down the speed of the grinding.
When the speed is slower, the ground coffee is exposed to less heat and is left with more fragrance. A burr grinder has numerous settings that allow you to create grounds that can be used in virtually every type of coffee related machine.
Burr grinders that come with disk-type burrs typically have a quicker grinding speed and therefore infuse more heat into the coffee. They can be used for almost any type of coffee grounds you wish to make at home.
Chopping is the second way you can go about creating your coffee grounds. Most of today’s coffee grinders chop the coffee beans into bit. Some people actually use a blender to create their coffee grounds at home. Although economical, chopping your beans this way does not always provide you with consistent results.
When you have a blade grinder, your beans are smashed at incredibly fast speeds. The resulting coffee grounds will find inconsistent sizes of particles than when you use a burr grinder.
Blade grinders can also leave you with a large amount of dust, which can plug up parts of espresso machines as well as French presses. Typically, the grounds made with these grinders are only useful when you make your brew in a drip coffee machine.
Pounding is the last method you can use when creating your coffee grounds at home. If you do not have a burr grinder and want very fine coffee grounds that are practically powder, this is an excellent method. Pounding coffee involves using a mortar and pestle until your grounds are just the way that you want them to be.