If you are a genuine coffee lover, then the chances are that you like to begin your day with a delicious cup of coffee.
Every individual has their own preference for coffee, and some may find it easier to use pre-ground coffee, while others might enjoy fresh ground coffee.
If you genuinely enjoy drinking coffee and don’t consume it for that caffeine hit, then grinding your own coffee is the best option for you.
When you have that morning cup of coffee made from freshly ground coffee beans, the aroma and flavorful taste leaves you wanting more.
In this article, we have listed the eight outrageous benefits of grinding your own coffee to help you decide what way is better, and is there any actual difference?
So to answer the question, what sets them apart? The process of grinding coffee beans reduces its surface area, which leads to flavor fading faster than they were as whole beans.
Therefore when coffee is made from freshly ground coffee beans, the flavor stays longer and helps magnify everything that makes coffee delicious.
In contrast, pre-ground coffee loses its tasteful flavor when stored and packaged.
The coffee world is massive and can sometimes be overwhelming. It caters to every individual as per their personal taste, preference, needs, or requirement.
Many coffee lovers experiment every single day to find that perfect cup of coffee that satisfies their needs.
If you view different ways to make the best tasting coffee ever, then grinding your own coffee is the way to go. Now let’s review the benefits you can gain from grinding your own coffee.
Pros of Grinding Your Own Coffee
- It gives you better quality coffee.
- The flavor is preserved better.
- Freshness remains longer.
- Fragrance is incredible.
- The essence of coffee is preserved.
- Gives you cleaner coffee.
- It gives a boost to brain stimulation and antioxidants.
- You have control over the grind.
Cons of Grinding Your Own Coffee
- The coffee grinding process can be loud sometimes.
- Need to buy a grinder.
- Learn the proper way of grinding.
Benefits of Grinding Your Own Coffee
One of the biggest reasons you grind coffee is that roasted coffee beans’ surface area can be increased, which helps improve the extraction of aromas and flavors within the coffee.
Multiple options are available for you when it comes to coffee; you can buy any coffee from a shop or restaurant, you can buy instant coffee or pre-ground coffee, or you can buy whole beans to grind your own coffee.
So what is the best way to go about a coffee? Grinding is an essential component of the brewing process when making coffee.
The taste and texture of coffee depends on how you grind it. The grind size plays a significant role in distinguishing the types of coffee. For example;
Coarse ground coffee: Coffee that has chunky particles.
Medium ground coffee: Gritty particles of coffee that look like coarse sand.
Fine: Coffee that has a smooth texture, particles size resembles the grains of table salt or sugar.
Extra fine: Coffee with extremely fine particles, smaller in size than grains of table salt or sugar.
Turkish: It’s a fine powder that bears a resemblance to flour.
These are all the more reasons why you should be grinding your own coffee. One might think that it’s a challenging task that may be time-consuming.
That is a misconception; in reality, once you’ve familiarized yourself with the basic process of grinding beans, then doing it regularly to brew your morning coffee can be a fulfilling task.
Here we have mentioned in detail the eight outrageous benefits of grinding your own coffee.
Better Quality Coffee
When you buy your own coffee beans to grind instead of pre-ground coffee, you are stepping in the right direction.
Whole coffee beans offer more quality as compared to pre-ground coffee beans. The quality of ground beans fades when it comes in contact with other elements and components such as oxygen.
From the time between buying and brewing coffee, the quality of ground beans keeps lowering.
In contrast, whole beans provide more quality as they have not been processed in coffee machines the same way as ground beans.
The process of oxidation is what separates the ground beans and whole beans. After coming in contact with oxygen, the breakdown of organic molecules leads to the destruction of fresh, tasty flavors and textures is known as oxidation.
Better Flavor
The prominent flavor in coffee beans comes from coffee oils present within. These oils are soluble in water, and removing them drives the brewing process.
However, moisture in the air can damage the flavor of the coffee. Whole beans are better at preserving the flavor than ground beans.
Ground beans are already ground that makes them lose flavor over time, whereas when you freshly grind your own coffee beans, the intact oils in whole beans allow you to make a flavorful cup of coffee.
To make sure that the best flavor of coffee can be consumed then you should brew the coffee immediately after the coffee beans are ground.
Coffee Is Fresher
After coffee goes through the grinding process, it remains fresh for up to thirty minutes.
Therefore, it’s clear that grinding whole beans to get fresh ground rather than pre-ground coffee allows you to have fresher coffee.
Coffee tends to absorb smells, taste, and moisture from things around it, which can make it stale. This is the very reason why pre-ground coffee goes stale way before whole beans do
Whole beans preserve their freshness for at least two weeks after they have been roasted.
Furthermore, you can protect your roasted whole beans by storing them in air-tight containers at room temperature and avoiding heat, moisture, oxygen, light.
Incredible Fragrance And Aroma
The fragrance and aroma that freshly ground coffee gives can’t be compared with the smell of instant coffee or pre-ground coffee.
As mentioned above, the process of oxidation makes coffee lose its freshness, quality, fragrance, and taste.
However, when you grind coffee beans, this process is slowed down. Freshly ground coffee contains a rich fragrance and aroma that makes drinking coffee a joyous occasion.
Essence Of Coffee Is Preserved
When you grind the coffee, it is reduced to tiny fragments; therefore, when you grind whole beans at home, you can observe the amount of coffee it produces and not lose any of its essences in the process.
When you buy pre-ground coffee, it loses its flavor every passing second and does not preserve the essence quite the same. This can be not very pleasant if you buy specialty coffee from a coffee roaster.
Cleaner Coffee
Coffee consists of extremely porous particles and contains a risk of contamination from air particles like smells and taste.
When you buy ground coffee, you increase the risk of it being contaminated by everything that’s present in the kitchen.
Similarly, storing ground coffee inside a refrigerator is also not ideal. It will absorb the scent and taste of everything present in the fridge, whether it is cooked food or just herbs.
When coffee absorbs the aroma of other things, it alters the fragrance of coffee and the taste
By grinding whole beans and instantly brewing coffee, you can get a clean, flavorful cup of fresh coffee.
Gives Brain Stimulation and Antioxidants Boost
Coffee consists of caffeine that helps boost brain function by blocking adenosine receptors and by releasing neurotransmitters like norepinephrine and dopamine that diminish the feeling of tiredness.
Caffeine is a stimulant that improves brain function and helps you stay more alert and focused. Caffeine is the main reason why coffee helps you pull of long hours and all-nighters.
Coffee consists of antioxidants that help your body fight against free radicals. Antioxidants are compounds that hinder the oxidation process and prevent it from damaging cell organisms.
This can help lower the risk of Type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and heart issues. You can ensure receiving this health benefit by grinding your own beans.
You can receive all these benefits even if you take small doses of coffee. However, use a minute amount of milk and no sweeteners to gain the full effect.
If you want, you can add turmeric, cacao, maca powder, cinnamon, or ginger to give it a power boost and still be able to drink flavored coffee.
You Have Grind Control
As we know that the grind size of coffee grounds plays a major role in bringing out the best flavor and aroma of coffee; therefore, having control over what size of particles you want is a major benefit of grinding your own coffee.
What makes coffee good and balanced is uniform grounds as consistent, uniform coffee grounds extract at the same rate, whereas different sized coffee grounds extract at different rates.
You can grind coffee as per your preference with the help of coffee grinders.
There are different types of coffee grinders and coffee brewers. You have to select the one that caters to your needs.
Firstly, the most important thing is to select a coffee grinder. The two most common types are blade grinders and burr grinders.
Blade grinders are easily available at stores and are also easy to use. Burr grinders are of two types; manual and electric burr grinders.
When you can control the making of grind size, you open yourself up to several options for coffee brewing.
Whereas, in the opposite situation, you would always have to look out to guarantee that you buy specific pre-ground coffee for your chosen brewer.
By grinding your coffee and controlling the grind size, you have a clear picture of what your coffee looks like.
To guarantee that you are able to extract the full flavor and aroma, here’s a guide to which type of coffee equipment and technique can be used for coffee brewing.
- You can use Percolators, Vacuum coffee pots, Plunger pots, and French presses for coarse ground coffee
- Drip coffee makers that have flat borrowed filters can be used for medium ground coffee, whereas drip coffee makers that have cone borrowed filters can be used for fine ground coffee
- You can also use Espresso mocha pots for fine ground coffee, while espresso machines can be used for extra fine ground coffee
- Ibriks can be used to make Turkish ground coffee
FAQS
What is the difference between ground coffee beans and whole coffee beans?
All coffee comes from coffee trees; the tiny seeds that are picked are called green coffee beans, which are then roasted to prepare for consumption.
These roasted beans are then called whole coffee beans that produce fresh and flavorful coffee.
Coffee beans are ground into smaller particles using different tools such as electric coffee grinders, blenders, or food processors. After being ground in these machines, whole beans are now known as ground coffee beans.
How is manual and electric burr grinder different from each other?
Manual burr grinders obviously require manpower. You have to use your hands to grind the coffee.
However, the benefit is that manual burr grinders are lightweight, durable, and easy to travel with.
On the other hand, electric grinders can get the same job done in much less time. The setback is they can be loud.
What option is better between ceramic burrs and steel burrs?
Ceramic burrs are a better option for you if you like espresso whereas Steel burrs are best for manual brewing methods.
Does grinding coffee fresh make a difference?
It makes a huge difference as fresh grounds better preserve the quality, freshness, flavor, fragrance, and aroma of coffee compared to pre-ground coffee that loses all these elements every passing second.
Is grinding your own coffee cheaper?
No, it’s not. Buying pre-ground coffee is a lot cheaper than buying whole coffee beans. Firstly, you need to find a roaster or place to purchase whole beans.
Then you also need to purchase a coffee grinder along with a coffee brewer.
Should you grind your coffee daily?
Yes. It is the best option for you in order to gain the full effect of its benefits because when coffee grounds come in contact with moisture, they start losing flavor and fragrance.
Coffee after being ground remains fresh for about thirty minutes only; that is why it’s better to grind fresh coffee daily.
Is fresh ground coffee healthier?
Yes, fresh ground coffee is healthier as it contains antioxidants, whereas pre-ground coffee has more free radicals, which can cause inflammation of the body and oxidative stress.
Freshly ground coffee also has a much stronger taste and aroma than pre-ground coffee.
Do you get more coffee with whole beans or ground?
You get more coffee from ground beans than whole beans.
Can you use pre-ground coffee in an espresso machine?
Yes, pre-ground coffee can be used in an espresso machine but keep in mind that the grind size of pre-ground coffee might not be fine enough, which can make your espresso taste a bit sour.
Can you use pre-ground coffee for pour-over?
The grind size of pre-ground coffee is too coarse for pour-over coffee. You can use medium-sized coffee grounds or a burr grinder to bring your coffee grounds to a size perfect for pour-over.
Is pre-ground coffee bad?
Coffee that loses its gases and oils isn’t that tasty. Pre-ground coffee is more sensitive to moisture in the air, making it lose its qualities such as freshness, taste, and smell. Ground coffee becomes stale and tastes bitter.
This is the reason why pre-ground coffee has a bad reputation compared to freshly ground coffee.
Conclusion
Coffee made from fresh ground whole beans is fresh, rich in flavor and has a strong fragrance that can have a soothing effect on your mood.
If you are an honest coffee lover and not necessarily interested in consuming it for the caffeine boost, grinding your own coffee beans is a good idea.
