Grinding coffee powder is not that simple!

Is it better to grind coffee powder finer? How should we define the coarseness of coffee powder? The coffee powder after grinding has different sizes, so does the size of these particles have a big impact on a cup of coffee?

Before making coffee, we need to grind the coffee beans into fine particles to release the charming aroma and taste of coffee. Therefore, choosing the right coffee grinder and grinding degree is particularly important. How should we choose a coffee grinder and how should we set it? To this end, we can judge the grinding of coffee through the following 4 points.

There are four basic principles of coffee grinding:

1. Choose a grinding degree that is suitable for the brewing method. Adjust it appropriately according to the characteristics of the grinder and the degree of roasting. Generally speaking, the shorter the brewing time, the more surface area the coffee powder must expand to contact the water, and the finer the particles are required; conversely, the longer the brewing time, the coarser the ground particles must be to avoid extracting unnecessary impurities.

2. The temperature generated during grinding should be low. No matter what coffee grinder you use, friction will generate heat during operation, which will speed up the volatilization process, so try to ensure that the temperature generated during grinding is low.

3. The powder particles after grinding should be uniform. The importance of uniform powder particles has been mentioned before, so I won’t elaborate on it here.

4. Grinding must be done at the last moment before brewing. Grinding too early will increase the surface area of ​​coffee in contact with air and humidity, and gradually lose its aroma.

When grinding beans, the coarseness of the powder depends on the cooking method. Grinding coffee powder with the right coarseness is very important for making a good cup of coffee, because the extraction of water-soluble substances in coffee powder has its ideal time. If the powder is very fine and it is cooked for a long time, it will cause over-extraction, and the coffee may be very bitter and lose its aroma; on the contrary, if the powder is very coarse and it is cooked too fast, it will cause insufficient extraction, and the coffee will be bland because there is no time to dissolve the water-soluble substances in the powder.

Three factors that determine the degree of coffee grinding

1 Utensils or machines used to make coffee

When making coffee, the shorter the time you use the appliance or machine, the finer the coffee powder you use should be; conversely, the longer you use the coffee, the coarser the coffee powder you use should be.

For example, an Italian coffee machine only takes 20 to 30 seconds to make a cup of espresso, and it requires extremely finely ground coffee powder; a French press takes 3 to 4 minutes to make a cup of coffee, so it requires coarsely ground coffee powder.

2. Roasting degree of coffee beans

Generally speaking, the degree of grinding of coffee powder is used to control the stability of coffee flavor. The darker the coffee beans are roasted, the coarser they should be ground; on the contrary, the lighter the coffee beans are roasted, the finer they should be ground.

If you usually brew coffee by hand, and like coffee that is neither too bitter nor too sour, and want a balanced flavor, then when you get a bag of medium roasted coffee beans, you can grind them to the same thickness as white sugar, which is a medium grinding degree; if it is medium-deep roasted coffee beans, you need to grind them a little coarser; similarly, if it is lightly roasted coffee beans, you need to grind them a little finer.

3 Desired coffee flavor

If you consciously want to use the coarseness of the coffee grounds to adjust the final flavor of the coffee you make, there is a general rule: the coarser the coffee grounds, the stronger the acidity; the finer the coffee grounds, the more bitter it is.

For the same type of coffee beans, if you want a mellower cup of coffee, you might as well grind the powder finer; if you want to taste the fruity tone, you can grind it coarser.

Making delicious, aromatic coffee is both an art and a science.

The choice of coffee beans, the degree of grinding of coffee powder, and even the quality of water used are all very particular. This may be the charm of coffee.

Brew a cup of fragrant coffee carefully and savor it slowly, it will definitely taste different.

Finally, the coffee grinder needs to be maintained frequently. The blade disc should be removed regularly to clean the grease inside. The blade disc is a consumable and will become dull every 800 to 1000 pounds of grinding. Remember to replace it with a new one, otherwise the ground particles will be a mixture of coarse and fine, which will cause uneven extraction and reduce the good flavor of the coffee.