Learn How to Grind Your Coffee

Coffee Burr Grinder

The way that you grind your coffee makes a serious difference in the way that your coffee tastes. In fact, each coffee grind type is specific to different coffee brew methods, so make sure that you are grinding correctly!

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Cheaper coffee grinders do not give coarseness settings, so you may need to experiment with how long to grind to achieve the right consistency. Why not just purchase a professional coffee grinder at an affordable price to give you a better taste? So many coffee lovers swear by this, but once you begin using a pro coffee grinder, you will not want to go back to pre-ground coffee.

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To start with, coarse coffee grounds are used to brew with a French Press. The reason that this is a necessary is because when you use a French Press, you have to manually press down the plunger to separate the coffee grounds from the brew. If the grounds are not coarse enough, then they will slip through the mesh filter and plunger to create sediment in your coffee product. This is something that you want to avoid at all costs because it will muddy the flavor of your coffee and potentially ruin your drink. Coarse coffee grounds look like large particles, and they are similar to the texture of heavy kosher salt. If you are using a French press to brew, continue to change your grind consistency until you get the right flavor. Practice makes perfect!

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Medium coffee grounds are ideally used for a traditional coffee maker. If you are purchasing pre-ground coffee from the supermarket, then this is the grind that it will be. Still, it is important to remember that pre-ground coffee from the supermarket is actually stale and not fresh. If you are using a home coffee maker, fresh coffee grounds are the only way! The medium grind consistency will look coarse and gritty, similar to sand. Of course, it will be much less coarse than a French Press grind consistency.

Fine coffee grounds are perfect for brewing espresso, and they look smooth with a fine consistency similar to granulated sugar. This is something that may take practice if you are using an espresso machine at home. A shot of espresso should ideally brew within 25 seconds, so if it is faster or slower, you will need to check your grind consistency.

Last of all, extra fine coffee grounds can be used for brewing Turkish coffee, which leaves the fine coffee grounds as sediment in the bottom of a cup. These coffee grounds should be powdered and look almost like flour, and you will definitely need a commercial burr coffee grinder with precision to achieve this type of consistency in your cup of Joe.

What are you waiting for? Get brewing!

Learn How to Grind Your Coffee

Coffee Burr Grinder

Grinding Beans for a Single Cup Coffee Maker

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...in a single cup coffee maker.

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For those of you who are wanting to continue making your coffee with your own beans, that's perfectly fine! Especially when you have a Keurig single cup coffee maker! The information found here is for those who maybe aren't well versed in grinding their own beans, or who would like to give it a try.

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Why Grind Your Own?

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Well, for starters, some people prefer to grind their own beans for financial reasons. You can buy coffee beans in bulk, which can and will save money over time.

Another reason people will grind their own has to do with flavor and freshness. While you're going to get a great brew from a Keurig single cup coffee maker because of the way the K-Cups are made and because of the brewing process, you're almost always going to have slight differences in taste when you grind your own. This has to do with the beans having been freshly ground and therefore more of the oils are present that will flavor the water.

In addition, there are others still who grind their own coffee simply because they prefer to experiment more. This is where you can really have fun, because you can choose different roasts of coffee and beans that have been flavored during the roasting process and create your own blend. This is especially useful for those who are trying to create the sense of having a coffee shop in their own kitchen.

How to Store

One thing to talk about before launching into the world of grinding your own beans is storage. Why storage? Because if the beans aren't stored properly, they're going to lose their flavor and freshness.

The container you use to store your coffee beans needs to be dark, because you don't want sunlight breaking down the oils in the beans, and airtight, because you don't want your beans to dry out.

Grinding

Having a decent grinder is a key element to grinding your own beans. I highly recommend a burr grinder over a blade grinder. Blades can create heat and an uneven consistency in the grind, while the burr gives you more grind, and more consistent grind, in a shorter time.

When you're first grinding your beans, don't be afraid to stop and check the consistency of the grind. Different methods of brewing require different textures. The more coarse the grind, the less silt or fines you'll have in your cup, while the finer the grind, the better for, say, a filtered coffee maker - much like a Keurig - but you don't want to go too fine or you'll over grind and over extract during the brewing process.

Before you start, gauge about how much you'll need to put in. It will work out approximately the same - for however many tablespoons of ground coffee you need, it'll work out to that same number of tablespoons of whole beans. Or, if you'd like, buy your beans in bulk and grind them in bulk as well!

Now that you've got a few tips about grinding your own coffee, if you feel like being experimental, go out and try it! The reusable filter for a Keurig single cup coffee maker is not all that expensive and will last you a long time if you take care of it properly!

What are you waiting for? Go ahead and bring the coffee shop to your kitchen!

Grinding Beans for a Single Cup Coffee Maker

Coffee Burr Grinder

Pros and Cons of Great Types of Coffee Grinders

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A coffee grinder is an important appliance for coffee drinkers. It grinds the beans for brewing purposes. It produces fresh and aromatic flavors of coffee. It can make fine or coarse grounds, depending on the user. It has become more popular now, tracing its beginnings in the old fashioned pestle and mortar.

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A coffee grinder works in two different ways - manual or electric. Manual grinders have cranks that can be removed for grinding. Electric grinders are plugged in a power outlet to do the job.

Coffee Burr Grinder

Coffee grinders have two main types - the blade grinder and burr grinder. These are the parts that directly grind the beans.

Coffee Burr Grinder

Bladed grinders use rotating metal blades that chop up coffee beans. A user can control how fine he wants his beans to be. It is mainly for home use. It is simple and more inexpensive. It is easy to maintain and clean.

Blade grinders however have a tendency to produce unevenly sized coffee grounds. It therefore results to poor brew quality. Also, leaving the beans in long grinding periods creates heat onto the blade, causing a somewhat burned coffee taste because of friction.

There is also the tendency to produce coffee dust, clogging sieves in espresso machines and French presses. It cannot achieve the consistency of an espresso machine. Too much exposure of the surface area onto hot water can result to bitter tasting coffee.

Top brands of bladed grinders are the Braun Aromatic KSM2-B Coffee Grinder, Krups Fast Touch Grinder and the Jura-Capresso 501 Electric Blades Grinder.

On the other hand, burr grinders are adjustable and can determine granule size. The flat wheel burr grinders use a wheel type to get the desired coarseness or fineness of the ground. Beans are loaded onto the overhead hopper that usually feeds downward onto the grinding area of the appliance.

It crushes the beans amidst a moving grinding wheel and a non-moving surface area. The position regulates the ground size for a consistent grind. Thus, coffee grounds fall into the collection container or directly onto the coffee filter.

Burr grinders are mostly used in coffee shops. It produces an even grind and spins very fast. It allows more control with the desired ground type. Range of settings can be set for an espresso, French press, percolators and drip coffee. It produces less heat so as to avoid changes in coffee taste. It is less expensive, easy to use and convenient.

On the downside, burr grinders can be noisy. The high speed rotation can make the job messy. The beans can get stuck often from a hopper. It needs to be stirred to flow onto the disks again.

Conical Burr Grinders use a conical shaped surface for grinding beans. It is considered the best type, grinding beans very consistently. It spins slower, making it quieter and less messy. It can be used for flavored or oily coffees. The beans clog less, create less friction and less static electricity. It is however more expensive that other types.

Top brands of burr grinders are the Delonghi DCCG39 Grinder, Solis Maestro Coffee Grinder and the KitchenAid KCG200 Model A-9 Coffee Mill.

Pros and Cons of Great Types of Coffee Grinders

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Rancilio Silvia Espresso Machine V3 Review

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Because Rancilio is Italian it almost guarantees better quality espresso machines, add their over 80 years of experience you have a great espresso machine company. The Rancilio Silvia or Miss Silvia has been in existence for 11 years and the 2009SilviaV3 is new and improved version of this classic machine. It brings quality upgrades for an even better machine.

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What are the upgrades of the Rancilio Silvia V3?

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The steam wand is the big upgrade to this machine that has been around for 11 years. The multi-directional want makes steaming and frothing even easier. Now you can use larger milk pitchers. The 1 hole tip creates froth more efficiently than the previous 3 hole steam tip. Brew espresso or dispense hot water for tea, hot cocoa, or other purposes.

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What are the advantages of the Rancilio Silvia Espresso Machine?

They know how to create a brew group that evenly creating uniform temperature espresso. Also the brew group head can easily be disassembled for cleaning and maintenance. With three thermostats, one controlling the espresso temperature, another the steam temperature, and the last protects the boiler from overheating or too much steam pressure. This allows you to set the boiler for coffee brewing or milk-frothing.

What are some of the other features of the Rancilio Silvia?

The heavy-duty chrome plated brass portafilter gives commercial quality to this machine. The 3 way solenoid valve helps prevent over extraction of espresso and after the brew cycle it relieves the excess pressure. Included are two pressed stainless steel filter baskets, a single and double shot. With an adapter kit you can use Easy Serving Espresso, ESE pods.

What did users say in Rancilio Silvia Espresso Machine reviews?

Users loved this machine, proclaiming it the best buy for the money. Most suggested getting a good burr grinder to get the best quality espresso from Miss Silvia. You probably will want to get a better tamping tool than the plastic one that comes with it. The machine is beautiful and built heavy-duty which helps make a good espresso that users were proud to serve.

Did users have problems?

If you are serving several visitors be prepared to wait for the temperature to get right, it does not handle multiple cups back to back very well. While the home baristas loved their Rancilio Silvia V3 Espresso Machines almost all of them stated the machine is finicky and probably not the best machine for beginners.

What is the overall opinion of this espresso maker?

Overall 90% of users loved this machine. If you are a beginner you may want to look at another machine. Be prepared to buy a good grinder, like the Rocky by Rancilio Silvia that is recommended to go with it and grind your beans immediately before using. This will help you get a great cup of espresso that the owners rave over.

Rancilio Silvia Espresso Machine V3 Review

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How to Fully Enjoy Your Morning Cup of Coffee

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Besides the wonderful aroma produced in your kitchen when you grind your own coffee, what other reasons are there for taking the trouble to do it? Well coffee loses flavour quickly, especially after being ground and one of the secrets of making a great brew is to grind freshly roasted beans just before you make your coffee. Even if you seal ground coffee in an airtight container it still deteriorates and will produce an inferior brew compared to that made with freshly ground beans. If you want to make the best coffee at home then buy small quantities of freshly roasted beans regularly and grind them just before brewing. This is one of the secrets of making great coffee.

Coffee Burr Grinder

There are two ways of grinding beans at home (if we ignore the traditional laborious pestle and mortar!). Probably the most familiar is the type of machine which uses a set of blades rotating at high speed to pulverise the beans. This type of grinder may be a standalone machine or may be an attachment for a kitchen food processor or blender and you may own one already. The other type of machine is known as a Burr Grinder, which uses a rotating grinding wheel over a non-moving surface to crush the coffee beans. These machines produce a much more consistent result than the blade type as the process is accurately controlled by altering the distance between the two burrs.

Coffee Burr Grinder

Which type of machine should you choose? Well cost certainly comes into the equation as burr grinders are more expensive than the blade type, but there are other important points to consider. The major consideration is what method you are using to brew your coffee. If you are making coffee with a cafetiere (French Press) or a filter machine (drip coffee maker) then you may find a blade grinder adequate even though it may produce uneven sized grounds which may result in inconsistent quality coffee. However keen espresso makers, who may have invested in a very expensive machine to make their brew, will probably regard a burr grinder essential. The reasons for this include those outlined earlier but there is an even more important one. To produce the fine grind required for espresso making blade grinders have to left running for longer than when producing a coarse grind. There is a danger that the blades may "burn" the coffee and taint its flavour, whereas a burr grinder just has to be adjusted to produce the fine espresso grind with no danger of spoiling the coffee.

Coffee Burr Grinder

You will need to experiment to find the perfect grind for your coffee brewing method and for the flavour that you prefer. Cafetieres or French Presses require a coarse grind, and this is the grind required if you use a percolator. A medium to fine grind is needed to bring out the best in Filter Machines or Drip Coffee Makers. A fine to super fine grind is needed if you are brewing using an Espresso Machine or a simple stove top or Moka Pot.

To a non-coffee drinker all this must seem like a lot of fuss just to produce a beverage which on the surface seems simple to make. However the surge in interest in making fine coffee at home, possibly influenced by the massive growth in coffee shop chains over the last few decades with many people experiencing good ( if expensive!) coffee for the first time, has driven coffee lovers to search for the secrets of making a superb brew at home.

How to Fully Enjoy Your Morning Cup of Coffee

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Coffee Grinders - All You Need to Know

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Fresh ground coffee has a far superior taste than regular coffee primarily because of what it is - fresh. The introduction of oxygen to the bean alters its make up and immediately begins to change the flavor. Since the bean as a whole is more protected than once it has been ground coffee has much more flavor it you can grind only what you need and brew it immediately.

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But true to the old saying that good things never come free, there is a bit of cost that comes with fresh ground coffee. It's not as quick and easy as brewing ground coffee and it can make a bit of a mess. It helps to have the right equipment for the job.

Coffee Burr Grinder

Grinders come in three different types commonly called the crusher, the burr and the blade.

Coffee Burr Grinder

The crusher is true to its name - it crushes the beans. It is usually a large machine and a bit difficult to work with. Because it is crushing and not grinding the grains are not fine or even.

Blade machines are similar in that they also do not grind but chop the beans. The chopping is irregular doesn't produce even granules.

A bit of the coffees fragrance can be lost with this chopping method due to the heat produced by the rapid movement of the blade. The coffee may begin to dissolve and loose some of its flavor. Also, because the grains of coffee are different sizes they also give off different quantities of flavor and this affects the taste.

Burr grinders are really the best way to go because they actually grind up the coffee bean into an even powder, but not to fine. Some grinders even have a setting which gives you the option of deciding how fine you want the granules to be.

The grinding process can be done slowly to reduce thea mount of heat produced by the machine. This ensures that the coffee beans to not begin to dissolve and loose their flavor and aroma.

Grinders that are conical are the choice of many true coffee connoisseurs. That is because it gives the operator directs how finely and how quickly the coffee is ground.

A high end conical grinder gives a wide range of choices in grinding speed and fineness. This gives you total control over your resulting granules. This type of grinder gives the perfect brew of coffee for any true coffee lover.

Enjoy.

Coffee Grinders - All You Need to Know

Coffee Burr Grinder

Greek Coffee - How to Make Greek Coffee Properly

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Greek coffee ("Ellinikos Kafes") is one of the simplest ways to make coffee. It is also known as Turkish coffee. Coffee has a very old history...

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It traveled to Turkey from Yemen and from Turkey it became known in Greece. It became so popular that people started calling it "Greek coffee" instead of Turkish (or Arabic) coffee.

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Differences

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Usually Greek coffee gets roasted lighter than traditional Turkish coffee.

Another difference is that Greeks rarely add spices to their coffee.

How to make Greek coffee

The basic ingredient needed for a delicious Greek coffee is fresh roasted coffee, ground to an extra fine coffee powder (finer than espresso). You can also grind you own coffee beans using a traditional Greek coffee grinder or a modern high quality burr grinder.

Like Turkish coffee in order to make Greek coffee you basically bring a mixture of water and ground coffee almost to boil. Although Turkish people boil their coffee usually 3-4 times Greeks prefer boiling it 1-3 times.

The blends used to make Greek coffee have usually a high percentage of Brazilian coffees, and also some Robusta or a "secret" ingredient to add some more flavour (Colombian coffee, Ethiopia Harrar or Yemen Mocha).

In order to make Greek coffee we need a coffee pot known as briki in Greece. This special Greek coffee pot has a characteristic narrow top which facilitates the correct slow brewing of Turkish coffee and the forming of the famous "kaimaki", which is basically the crema-froth on top of the coffee.

Traditionally these pots were made of copper or brass, but nowadays they are mass produced using stainless steel which is more durable. (I still prefer the brass ibriks for lots of reasons...). Use the proper size coffee pot to make better coffee and better froth. If you are going to make two demitasse cups of coffee use a 2-cups size coffee pot. If you use a much larger sized pot, crema forming will be much harder.

For one cup of coffee, fill the coffee pot with one demitasse cup of cold water, 1-2 teaspoons of Greek coffee, sugar to taste, and then put the pot on low fire. It is very important to use low fire and cold water to extract more flavor from the coffee. Use a gas stove-top or preferably a traditional tabletop burner.

Once the mixture comes almost to a boil and the foam covers the top, pour it into a demitasse cup slowly. You must do this slowly in order to retain the crema layer (froth) on top. If you fail to remove the coffee pot from fire on time, the coffee mixture will foam up quickly and it will get spilled everywhere! Be careful to not let this happen!

Small tip if you want to make two cups or more

There is an old trick used to maximize the froth on top of every demitasse cup, which basically involves taking the froth with a teaspoon from the coffee pot and then adding it to each demitasse cup, before pouring the coffee.

Serving

Traditionally the coffee is served using decorative discs, in small demitasse cups made of fine porcelain.

You can also pair Greek coffee with a nice desert like cookies ("koulourakia"), "halva" or "baklava".

Things to notice

Some people bring the coffee to boil only once. Other people prefer twice and there are also some people who argue that bringing the coffee to boil three times is the absolute minimum.

Another point of argument is the stirring. Some people stir coffee, water and sugar only in the beginning and some other stir continuously till the end to make more froth.

Personal opinion

I prefer to stir the coffee continuously till the end and I also let it foam up twice.

"Why?" you may ask. It is just my taste! You can experiment and find what you like best.

What's most important is the freshness and the quality of your Greek coffee.

Greek Coffee - How to Make Greek Coffee Properly

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