How Grinding Affects Coffee Taste

Coffee drink is appreciated for its excellent aroma and intensity of taste. However, these two indicators are greatly influenced by some factors. One of them is the grinding of the coffee bean. The size of the beans depends on how the drink is brewed. The choice of the size of the raw material largely depends on the method of preparing coffee. Coffee grounds can brew quickly, while large fractions require long extraction. We will tell you how grinding affects coffee in this article.

The Effect of Grinding on Coffee Taste

Not everyone who drinks an invigorating drink in the morning knows how to prepare the drink correctly. The main mistakes are related not only to the choice of the preparation method, but also to the wrong grinding. Due to the incorrectly chosen size of the raw material, you can spoil the taste of even the most expensive beans. Why is this important? The fact is that the extraction time - the period of contact of the beans with water - depends on the size of the ground beans. If the size is chosen incorrectly, the coffee may not have time to give its taste and aroma to the water. Thus, the drink will be weak and not very pronounced.

General rules for grinding coffee

• The longer the beans are in contact with the liquid, the coarser the grind should be. If the drink is to be steeped for 12 hours, you can choose the coarsest possible. The grounds are ideal for quickly passing the raw material through water, for example in a geyser coffee maker.
• If you need to prepare many portions of the drink at once, you need to grind the beans larger. The fact is that in this case, a long extraction is required, so the raw material must be large enough.
• Different substances are extracted from the beans at different rates. Caffeine is released quickly, while sweet flavors take a little longer.
• The smaller the size of the raw material, the more difficult it is for water to pass through the grounds. In some situations, the grounds clog the filter very much, making it impossible to make coffee. In this case, the drink will have to be made again.
• How Grinding Affects Coffee: Choosing a Coffee Grinder

A coffee grinder is a device that ensures correct and uniform grinding. There are manual and electric devices. It is important to use a coffee grinder. The fact is that blender attachments with flat blades will not be able to provide the required size.

Burr grinders are the best equipment for processing beans. The blades are designed in a cone shape with a downward taper. This ensures fairly close rotation to each other and uniform crushing of the beans. The blades are usually made of stainless steel, which reduces the risk of rust or other defects that can affect the taste of the finished drink.

Note that you can use either a manual or an electric coffee grinder. The first one will do the job just as well.

How grinding affects the taste of coffee: choosing the degree

Coffee lovers or professional baristas distinguish 7 types of grinding, which differ in the size of the resulting fractions. What types can be distinguished?

• Very coarse. Ideal for making cold drinks that require long extraction times of over 12 hours. Required for brewing hot coffee, such as in a French press.
• Coarse. Such fractions have a size. Which can be compared to particles of sea salt. They are used mainly for brewing.
• Less coarse. Here the beans are ground to the size of coarse sand. Can be used for both brewing and cooking, for example in geyser coffee makers.
• Medium. The most commonly used in beverage preparation. Suitable for automatic coffee machines, as well as drip coffee makers and other devices. The consistency resembles sand.
• Medium-fine. Finer, but not yet dust. Particles of this size are usually used to make espresso with an extraction time of 2-3 minutes.
• Thin. Another one called "espresso". One of the most common in the world. Raw materials of this grind can be bought in the store in pre-packaged packs. The consistency resembles fine salt.
• Extra fine. Reminds me of dust. Ideal for a Turk.
• Home coffee grinders can grind coffee beans to any size. This is affected by the speed of the blades and the grinding time. You can adjust these two parameters yourself.

How does grind size affect coffee strength?

Grinding does not affect the strength of the finished drink. Only the percentage of caffeine and the degree of roasting have a direct impact on this factor. Thus, if you want to drink strong coffee, you need to choose beans of the appropriate quality.

In any case, it is important to experiment. You may find the perfect ratio of water, grinding degree and preparation method.

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