The Perfect Grinder For The Perfect Coffee

If you want to make a perfect cup of coffee, you need to know a little about coffee beans. Coffee beans, when exposed to air will oxidize (actually, all food products do). If a coffee bean is ground, the oxidizing effect is even greater, since there is so much more surface to be exposed to the air. If you can keep the beans unground until just before use, you will risk the least oxidation and have a better tasting cup of coffee. Using a coffee grinder in your kitchen will do this.

You need to take the time and trouble to grind your coffee properly. Yes, it is messier than just buying ground coffee in a bag, but well worth the effort. Use the best coffee grinder you can to make this effort worthwhile.

There are three types of coffee grinders, burr, blade and crusher.

A blade grinder is a misnomer, since they do not really grind, but chop the beans. A blade will chop the bean into smaller and smaller pieces, but they are never really chopped into a fine grind. These pieces remain too large and are not uniform in size. This results in different levels of flavor being released from the beans when the coffee is brewed. Another disadvantage of the blade grinder is that this chopping heats up the bean, and releases some of the aroma too soon before brewing.

Burr grinders are the epitome of a good coffee grinder. A pair of small plates, driven by a motor turn pyramid shaped teeth that grind the bean into a granular consistency. This is a perfect consistency, neither too fine nor too course. In addition, you can fine tune the grind to the level that you like; after experimentation, you will learn how fine or coarse your grind should be.

Among burr grinders, the conical burr grinder is the best. This grinder allows for the most fine tuning of the size of the grinds since the speed can be adjusted very variably. A good conical grinder can grind as low as 500 rpm. In contrast, other grinders grind at speeds more like 10,000 to 30,000 rpm. This slower grind allows for more control of the the speed and the heat of the beans. A really good burr grinder will have as many as forty adjustment steps to determine granule size.

The other important features that you will want to look for in a coffee grinder is solid construction, easy clean up and a low noise level. You have to make sure it has a cleaning brush and removable burrs. No sense having fresh brewed coffee with old coffee mixed in. Make sure you get a model that does not produce static electricity that will cause the coffee grains to stick to the burrs.

If you can, have a timer switch and a cutoff switch in your coffee grinder, as well as a clear container so you can watch as the grinding takes place and pick your fineness. Study about different grinders and look for these important features, and you will be sure to make a perfect cup of coffee each time.