How To Grind Coffee Beans Perfectly Every Time

Yahoo

a day ago

Coffee is one of those daily rituals that we take for granted, a simple pleasure that's not that simple at all. It's a chemistry experiment that hinges on the perfect meeting of a well-roasted bean and water of the right temperature and pressure. Every detail matters when making your favorite coffee drink, including how you grind the beans.
The stakes are high when it comes to nailing that superlative cup of joe, and there are plenty of ways to mess up. So, Chowhound turned to an expert for some exclusive advice: 2020 U.S. Barista Champ and 2021 World Barista Runner-Up Andrea Allen, co-founder of the Northwestern Arkansas coffee company, Onyx Coffee Lab (@onyxcoffeelab on Instagram). She explains that the different methods of brewing coffee require different grind sizes — steeped French press coffee, for instance, requires coarser grounds. And she shares a basic guideline that applies regardless of what drink you're making. "The rule of thumb is finer grinds create more bitter attributes and coarser grounds create more sour style attributes, and what you want to achieve is balance," she says. "The best place to start with determining grind size is to take recommendations from a barista connected with the brew method that is being used." With that baseline, you can make adjustments to suit your palate.
Of course, knowing what grind size to aim for is just one piece of the puzzle. The type of grinder you use will also affect how that fresh cup of coffee tastes. Ultimately, for Allen, reliability is key.
Read more: The 9 Best Coffee Bean Brands For All Of Your Brewing Needs
Choose The Right Coffee Grinder For A Cup Of Smooth, Elevated Coffee
Freshly ground coffee just tastes better, but it can be a bit of a grind trying to find the perfect grinder. While you can choose between manual and electric models, there are essentially two basic types: blade and burr grinders (ideal for full-bodied coffee). Andrea Allen recommends burr over blade as "the proper way to grind coffee to create a consistent grind size." That consistency is essential to brewing the choicest cup.
"In a burr grinder, the coffee is fed by gravity through a set burr setup and will theoretically grind evenly," she says. "Grind size is everything in coffee extraction. Blade grinders 'chop' the coffee beans, creating various sizes and ensuring uneven extraction." If you have a blade grinder, you can try pulse grinding in short intervals, gently shaking it occasionally to avoid clumping.
As you're shopping for the perfect coffee grinder, you'll notice that there are two different kinds of burr grinders -- conical and flat burr grinders. Both styles produce evenly ground beans, and their slight differences might only be felt by true aficionados. Allen leans toward using a conical burr grinder. It's a little bit easier to dial in the exact grind size you want on a conical burr grinder, and they create less heat, so your morning espresso or boozy afternoon caffè corretto are smooth and bold.
Read the original article on Chowhound.
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