Why You Should Buy a Coffee Grinder

If you are a true lover of coffee, then you always want to be able to brew the best. While the quality of the coffee beans matter, you might be surprised to learn that having a good coffee grinder is the main difference between good and bad coffee.

“But I really need a coffee grinder?” you may often ask yourself.

“Why don’t I just upgrade my coffee maker instead?”

I know that it may sound surprising, but people like you find owning a coffee grinder a lot more rewarding than owning the best coffee makers. You can own the most expensive coffee machines, perfectly customized cups and even the highest quality beans, but it would all mean nothing if you don’t have a good grinder.

Here are some of the reasons why having a grinder is a must.

The best coffee is always freshly ground

We both know that it is nearly impossible to find good coffee that is sold ground. Good coffee only comes in beans. All those bags and packets of pre-ground coffee you see everywhere typically contain low quality coffee, or just stale coffee that hardly contains any real flavor; it is either more bitter than necessary, or simply feels thin across the tongue- or in some cases, tastes like nuts, chocolate or ash.

Freshly ground coffee usually features rich, wild and incredible flavors- especially without added sugars, and you can only get them if you grind your own coffee just before you brew.

Coffee is very minimalist

Coffee only contains two primary ingredients: water and the coffee itself. This means that a lot of the flavor comes from the way the two ingredients interact. The duration the coffee is exposed to the water, the temperature of the water and the grind’s consistency are important factors influencing the taste of the coffee. Owning a good grinder ensures your coffee is ground to the level that suits your taste for the perfect brewing. That leads me to the next point below.

You get to use a variety of coffee brewers

One of the biggest problems with pre-ground coffee is the fact that it only comes as a one grind size, which is fine. Not many coffee makers can be able to handle such tiny coffee particles, since, in most cases, the coffee particles clog the metal filter, resulting in bad coffee, or a malfunction. Popular brewers such as the French press work best when the coffee beans are coarse. A good grinder allows you to set the grind size so that it corresponds to your brewer. So, if you want to brew drip coffee, espresso, Aeropress or any other type of coffee, all you need is to get the right size of the coffee particles depending on the method or type of brewer in use. Remember that some grinders are versatile, while others are specially built for espresso, which means that a grinder helps you meet your brewing requirements.

You save time

Once you get your huge bag of beans, you will never have to go to the store to get the freshest coffee urgently. You will always get fresh coffee within the shortest time possible without walking out of your kitchen. A grinder is obviously the best kitchen appliance anyone can have in their home or even on the go.

You stop worrying about contamination

Owning a grinder means that you have to purchase fresh beans. A roasted coffee bean is not only beautiful, but serves as a protective package that ensures the coffee oils stay exactly where you want them- inside the bean. If you successfully keep yourself from messing up with the beans, their flavor components- which are highly volatile, delicate and soluble in water- will remain safe. Breaking the protective shell spoils everything; all the bets will be off. The coffee oils are prone to contamination due to their delicate nature. The odors around ground coffee also tend to taint the coffee, thus distorting its taste

What’s more, cells housed within a roasted coffee bean have about 1,000 different volatile flavors and aromas. When the coffee is ground, these aromas are released immediately, and they react with oxygen. Within about 15 minutes, the ground coffee loses roughly 60 percent of its original aroma.

What to get

Now that we both agree that owning your own grinder is the way to go, you may be left wondering what type of grinder to get. Don’t worry, here’s what you need to know.

Do you hate when your coffee is bitter or sour? If you do, then you may want to get what is referred to as a burr grinder. A burr grinder basically produces greater consistent grind than the blade grinders. Depending on your grind setting, burr grinders chop the beans into even grind sizes. On the other hand, blade grinders whizz through the beans randomly, producing uneven bean sizes. Expectedly, their fineness of the coffee depends on the amount of time you spend grinding the beans. They often create bitter-tasting coffee, and sometimes, a drink that is a bit less consistent in terms of quality. As you can imagine, that’s definitely not the best coffee grinder in Australia.

Here’s an example of a burr grinder and a blade grinder respectively:

Burr Grinder

Blade Grinder

The burr grinders being produced today are mainly electrically powered, but you may choose to go for manual grinders, which have very good coffee grinder reviews. With a manual grinder, you basically have to turn a crank and, depending on how long you do it, produce the desired size of coffee.

Furthermore, you will have the option of choosing a manual dose or an auto timer. If you want to grind by pressing a manual button, or would prefer to enjoy more convenience of using a machine with a programmed timer or sensor button, then you may want to consider selecting one of these two options, as each one makes a good coffee grinder for home use.

Coffee does have its health benefits, but I find it mentally stimulating to be able to enjoy my coffee every time. So get your machine today and start grinding!