Coffee (3 Viewers)

[Unicron]

There's a coffee grinder on sale on amazon today for about a queens tenner. Is it worth going to the effort of grinding your own beans?

 

[ann post]

i know a few women who grind their own beans, and they seem to like it.

 

[7 - No tomorrow]

I don't think that I am at the point where I can tell good coffee from bad coffee.

 

[Kermit McDermott]

Can I change my vote, I don't take sugar anymore. Just black coffee now, Hardcore.

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

I've started putting sugar in mine

 

[thairock]

There's a coffee grinder on sale on amazon today for about a queens tenner. Is it worth going to the effort of grinding your own beans?

It Is worth grinding your own, with a few provisos :

Good grinder: if the grinder is a blade grinder, don't bother. Most of these scald the beans while pulverizing them.
Ideally, you want a burr grinder, preferably with ceramic burrs and if you can't adjust the grind sufficiently , don't bother.

Fresh beans: if you are just buying supermarket beans , chances are they haven't been recently roasted. You won't reap the benefits.
If you like particular beans from your local cafe, try and buy it from them . ( ideally, beans that have been roasted about 5 to 6 days prior and have been bagged properly, will have dissipated enough Co2 gas to hit the sweet spot.

Brewing method: your grind will need to be adjusted for your specific method of brewing.
Fine for an espresso machine, less so for a Chemex or filter/pour over method and various degrees in between for stovetop or other methods.

Time/effort/ceremony/physical ability: grinding a dose for one coffee (depending on method ) can take a few minutes. Electric grinder takes little effort but is noisy and unless it's got the afore mentioned burrs etc. will scald and almost cauterize the bean fragments.
A hand cranked grinder, with adjustable grind etc will take a little while to find the sweet spot for your desired level of grind initially, but once you find that, small adjustments are required occasionally to account for age of beans, humidity etc.
Hand grinding will take a few minutes and you will get a tired arm/wrist by the time you are done. If you have arthritis or a repetitive strain injury, don't bother. ( although , depending on model of hand crank grinder you could possibly attatch a cordless drill to the turning mechanism and use that to achive the rpm's relatively effortlessly.
Preparing a coffee with a bit of work and ceremony involved is quite satisfying and makes it taste all the better but if you are the type who is always rushing out the door in the morning with a slice of toast between your teeth, might be too much hassle.

Cleaning: Brush out excess grinds with a dry , suitable sized tooth brush and keep your grind clean and dry ( but don't use non recommended detergents etc as they will mess with the good oils in the coffee.

If all this sounds like a hassle or if you have skipped the overlong post to read the conclusion, then home grinding is probably not for you.

If you can acquire good coffee beans and prepare them with suitable devices and enjoy process / ceremony , then the benifits of grinding your own coffee in a good grinder are well worth it.
Coffee starts to go stale within minutes of grinding it so if you have method and means to grind to order, you will have tasty , full bodied coffee which will delight and set you up for the day and is worth the effort in my opinion.

Hope that helps and isn't too long a reply.
Link to said grinder if you want me to assess it with a "yeah" or "nah" one word reply.

 

[7 - No tomorrow]

I use Chock Full O' Nuts

 

[Squiggle]

There's a coffee grinder on sale on amazon today for about a queens tenner. Is it worth going to the effort of grinding your own beans?

What Thairock said. I used to buy beans and grind (cranked burr grinder, fully adjustable etc). It was my weekend morning ritual, grind coffee, brew coffee, drink coffee usually while smoking lovely cigarettes still in my pjs. I miss it, but a sadly Nespresso fits in with my available time a bit better these days. I look forward to breaking out my grinder again in my old age... might take up smoking again then too.

 

[7 - No tomorrow]

I put my coffee in the filter at night and load it up with water, so there's just a flick of a switch to get hot black coffee.

 

[7 - No tomorrow]

Thinking of buying a Keurig machine though. That way I could nick the pods from work.

 

[thairock]

Needless to say, if you like what you are doing / drinking now, keep on doing it. It's right for you and that's all that matters.

 

[ernesto]

Can I change my vote, I don't take sugar anymore. Just black coffee now, Hardcore.

Coffee was originally drank with milk....... I think

 

[thairock]

Nomadic Ethiopians would eat balls of fat rolled with coffee beans while traveling long distances. It's said that trees would grow along the route from the discarded waste.
Yum.

 

[Unicron]

Thanks for your very informative post. By the looks of it the one I was looking at has blades so I should probably stay away.

It sounds like a bit too much work for me. I mostly brew from a moka pot but I also have a dolce gusto machine for when I'm in a rush and to be honest it's often a temptation to go for the more convenient method anyway despite the moka making much nicer coffee.

 

[thairock]

Thanks for your very informative post. By the looks of it the one I was looking at has blades so I should probably stay away.

It sounds like a bit too much work for me. I mostly brew from a moka pot but I also have a dolce gusto machine for when I'm in a rush and to be honest it's often a temptation to go for the more convenient method anyway despite the moka making much nicer coffee.

No worries. Trust me, I understand the power of convenience !
Incedently , a very cursory glance at Amazon shows some decent Hario grinders at reasonable price.

 

[тхеодоре кацзынски]

Thairock is a veritable mine of information. Good job.

 

[7 - No tomorrow]

Thairock is a veritable mine of information. Good job.

He is a civet cat full of wonderful nuggets

 

[thairock]

 

[7 - No tomorrow]

I meant that nice.

Isn't that like the world's best coffee or something?

 

[thairock]

I meant that nice.

Isn't that like the world's best coffee or something?

Yes, that was my " aw, shucks," face.
Yes, they say coffee harvested from the droppings of the civit cat ( they eat the ripe coffee cherries) makes an awe inspiring cuppa. Certainly , it's sold for quite a lot of $.
Never tried it but I imagine it's a bit of hype.
I took it as a compliment though.
Thanks