|
GRINDING COFFEE
How you grind your coffee beans is
almost as important as the quality of the beans themselves. Below are a few
ground rules, a few truths to get you started.
GRINDING TO SUIT YOUR BREWER
In 1948, another Italian came up
with an improvement on his countryman’s design. In Achille Gaggia’s version of
the espresso maker, a spring-powered piston pushed water through the coffee
harder and faster than the steam-created pressure had. This new spring-loaded
system achieved a pressure that is still considered ideal -- about nine
atmospheres, or nine times the pressure created by the earth’s atmosphere.
auto drip - fairly fine; think sand
vacuum pot - medium
moka pot - fine
espresso - extra fine (should adhere
to skin)
french press - coarse
CHOOSING A GRINDER
Burr Grinders - Beans are fed
through corrugated metal plates
Pros:-timed
shut off -fast;
less air exposure
-more
consistent grind than with electric bladed grinders
-easy to
control size of grounds by adjusting space between the metal plates
Cons:-fairly
high-maintenance, cleaning wise
-don’t
work with flavored coffees; flavoring “gums” up the burrs, and the flavor sticks
around
GMCR
offers:
Capresso Infinity Grinder
Capresso CoffeeTEAM Brewer
(grinder and brewer in one)
Electric Blade Grinders - Steel
blades powered by an electric motor
Pros:
-go well
with paper filters which are not as sensitive to grind consistency.
-less
expensive, small
-work
well with flavored coffees and will even go so far as to grind nuts and other
cooking ingredients.
Cons:
-somewhat
difficult to remove coffee from beneath the blades - whether cleaning or
attempting to brew your beans now that you’ve ground them.
-some
guesswork involved in regulating fineness; generally, the longer the blades are
allowed to spin, the finer the ground.
-should
not be used with press pots, moka pots, vacuum pots, or espresso machines;
grinds are too variant.
GMCR
offers:
GMCR Blade Grinder
Grinding for a Good Espresso
Espresso beans should be ground with
a burr grinder as coffee can lose its volatile compounds when exposed to the air
for too long, and the burr grinder is fast. Espresso beans should be ground for
around 23 to 28 seconds. Ground espresso beans should be the size of table salt.
|
