Grinds for your Coffee

Welcome to our very first Coffee 101 session!

Our aim is to provide a fun and new way to explore your Coffee.

For this week’s Coffee 101 we will talk about the coffee grounds which is the most overlooked tool in brewing a great coffee.

Yes, you read it right

COFFEE GROUNDS!

Always remember this...

Great coffee = Great coffee grounds

First off, lets talk about the difference between blade grinders and Burr grinders

If you have been using blade grinders for grinding your coffee then STOP!

This is the most common mistake when grinding your coffee beans and doing so is worse than buying pre-ground coffee.

Here’s why…

The key to brewing a great cup of coffee is consistency, and if your grounds are not the same size then some will be over extracted and some are under extracted and the result will be…

You guessed it, Crappy Coffee!

Aside from the lack of consistency, blade grinders work by spinning very fast which causes heat and friction. This means that your coffee is already heating up so it won’t stay fresh and your coffee will be overcooked.

Now, burr grinder on the other hand uses uniform pressure and rotation. Essentially crushing your beans consistently. It can be done at low speed and maintain a consistent uniform grind. The end result?

Yup, fresh Coffee!

So the next time you think about grinding your beans using a blade grinder, remember this

1. Blade grinders use heat and make your grounds overcooked

2. It can only produce uneven and inconsistent grinds

While the Burr grinder gives you…

1. Both electric and manual burr grinders crush your beans in a uniform consistent size

2. Consistent grounds = easy extraction

3. No heat = fresh coffee

COFFEE GRINDS AND WHAT THEY ARE USED FOR

Below are your grind sizes and brewing methods

Lets take a look at each grind sizes

1. Extra Coarse Grind or The Cold Brew Grind

· This is the largest option in your burr grinders, it looks like ground peppercorns (Pamintang buo from your suking palengke, talipapa or sari-sari store)

2. Coarse Grind or The French Press Grind

· If you use a French press (yung kamukha ng beaker sa chemistry class mo nung college), then this is the correct grind for you. This looks similar to sea salt.

3. Medium Coarse

· Not that medium but not quite coarse, similar to rough sand (buhangin na pang halo sa semento)

4. Medium Grind

· This is a great starting point when testing your grounds. It looks like regular sand (buhangin sa mga not so sosyal na beach, uy d niya alam RK ka kasi. Charot!)

5. Medium Fine Grind or The Pour-Over Grind

· This is finer than sand, but not as fine as the espresso grind (Buhangin sa station 1 ng Boracay)

6. Fine Grind or the Espresso Grind

· This is the most common grind available when you purchase pre-ground coffee. This is a little finer than table salt (if tambay ka ng SBX, eto ang gamit nila sa kape mo)

7. Extra Fine or The Turkish Coffee Grind

· For you to achieve consistent type of grind you will need a Turkish coffee grinder. This is similar to flour or powder (parang Maya pancake mix or Johnson and Johnson baby powder na gamit mo nun hindi pa uso ang pag contour)

To wrap things up…

There are a lot of Burr grinders available in the market but I would suggest for you to purchase a manual grinder first (Shopee and Lazada is waving at you, add to cart na mga besh!) since its cheaper and to help familiarize yourself with the different grinds available.

When you pay attention to the little things, then you reap the rewards of a great coffee. The next step is to choose your grinder, a bag of quality coffee beans (ehem, KaPrehan coffee at your service) and start brewing the perfect cup of coffee at the comforts of your home.

Last but not the least, please don’t forget to like and follow our Social media page for more Coffee 101 sesh (yes! Parang inuman sesh lang :P)