S2: Episode 9: The Daily Grind(er)
In this episode we explore the part the often overlooked coffee grinder plays in brewing great coffee. I make the case for getting a grinder for the home and explain why, if you can afford it, it really should be a burr grinder. In this week’s FACQ answer we dig into how to look after your grinder to keep it in tip top condition.
Key features to look for when buying a burr grinder are:
the evenness of the grinds it produces,
that it can grind a useful range of grind sizes
a heavy duty motor to cope with the hardness of the beans.
Shout out to the podcast Happier in Hollywood who recommended The Coffee Drinker’s Guide on their show. You can check out that episode here and I also recommend listening to Happier in Hollywood to follow hosts Liz and Sarah as they navigate the world of show running and TV writing in the fundamentally insane world that is Hollywood.
Get in touch!
Please note that although I read all texts, I don’t have the facility to reply to them, but you can also get in touch via Instagram and email.
Email: thecoffeedrinkersguide@gmail.com
Instagram: @thecoffeedrinkersguide
Lusona Publishing and Media Limited website: https://www.lusonapub.co.uk
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Hello and welcome to The Coffee Drinker’s Guide, a podcast for the coffee curious where I explore and explain the world of specialty coffee to make your daily coffee better and more satisfying.
I’m Angela Holder a coffee roaster and writer on a mission to fight back against bad coffee by giving you the knowledge you need to help you get good coffee and a happier (coffee) life in coffee-break sized episodes. So grab your coffee, pull up a chair and take a break…
This week's episode is a deep dive into the unsung hero of the coffee brewing process: the coffee grinder …and later I’ll be answering a question about how to keep your grinder in good working order so be sure to stay tuned for that…
Before I get started if you are a listener who came to the show recently via the recommendation by Liz and Sarah in their Happier in Hollywood podcast I’d just like to say welcome and its lovely to have you here! I hope I can help take you to the next coffee level too. And if you are one of my older listeners, I highly recommend Happier in Hollywood where Liz and Sarah who are both friends and TV writing partners talk about how they balance their careers and friendship in the back biting, superficial, chaotic, unpredictable and fundamentally insane world that is Hollywood. As you may have gathered it’s not a coffee podcast but it is one of my favourite podcasts and I hope you enjoy it too. So, back to coffee grinders….Given how easy it is to buy pre-ground coffee these days, honestly there is absolutely no need to buy a coffee grinder for home use. But from a flavour point of view I’d argue that every coffee drinking home should have one since as soon as coffee is ground it begins to go stale. So buying a grinder for home use is a no-brainer for me - and once you’ve had one there is really no going back. Whether you do or don’t have a grinder at home there are a few things you need to know about grinding coffee and coffee grinders in particular so lets get into it…
So firstly the grinder and the brew
When it comes to getting the very best out of your beans two things matter most: that the coffee is freshly ground and the evenness of the grind. Grinding only as much as you need for each brew means that you will experience the full flavour of the coffee each time while the rest of the beans stay fresher for longer. Or in other words, the last brew out of the packet should taste as good as the first. This is a great reason to get a grinder for your home brewing set up and why for me, its a no-brainer. But also since its impossible to achieve a great brew if your coffee is not ground properly, its worth investing in a good quality grinder that grinds the coffee evenly. Regardless of the brewing method to get the best flavour from the coffee, the grounds need to be as even in particle size as possible so the coffee flavours are extracted at the same rate. In an unevenly ground coffee there will be both very small particles (known as ‘fines’) from which flavour is extracted quickly and very large particles (known as ‘boulders’) which take longer to extract the flavour from. Unsurprisingly this leads to both under-extraction and over-extraction of the coffee in the same brew and a disappointing, muddy flavour. Plus the finer fines could pass through whatever filtration screen your brewing method uses and end up in the cup which can make the texture of the drink unpleasantly gritty. Yeah, not nice.
Next the grinder and the taste
The importance of the quality of your grinder and grinder burrs on the flavour of your coffee can’t really be overstated. Both affect the evenness of the grinds - and the more even the grind, the more clarity of flavour in the cup. Coffee which is evenly ground is more likely to taste smooth, sweet and pleasing. Unevenly ground coffee will taste muddy, harsh and unbalanced, emphasising sour and bitter flavours in the brew. I think we can agree that no-one wants that! The coffee’s flavour will also be affected by your grinder cleaning regime - or lack of one! If a grinder is not cleaned regularly coffee oil will build up on all internal surfaces. Over time this will react with the air and become rancid leading to contamination of any subsequent coffee that you put through the grinder. If you don’t believe me and are curious, try running your finger along the inside of your coffee hopper to see if any coffee oil has built up there - and if it has, I dare you to lick your finger!
Finally in a change from my usual bean segment, the grinder and the grinder
People often have romantic notions of serenely hand grinding their coffee as part of their daily coffee ritual, but in reality hand grinders are a pain in the proverbial for most people and usually end up ditched for an electric model pretty quickly. There are two basic types of electric coffee grinders, blade grinders which, like spice grinders, hold the coffee in a chamber while blades whizz around at high speed chopping up the beans, and burr grinders where coffee beans pass between two grinding plates and are collected in a separate container. Of these two, burr grinders produce the better quality grinds because the coffee passes through the grinding plates just once to create an even grind. They are also much easier to adjust to get different grind sizes for the different brewing methods. If your budget does not stretch to buying an admittedly pricey burr grinder, the best coffee specificblade grinder you can afford is definitely better than ground coffee sitting in your cupboard for weeks. But I would suggest upgrading to a burr grinder when your situation allows. Key things to look for in a burr grinder are that it grinds as evenly as possible, has a range of useful grind sizes and a heavy duty motor to cope with the hardness of coffee beans. Once you have figured out the grind size you need to use for your usual brew method, a grinder can fall into the ‘set it and forget it’ category of kitchen items. But it is an expensive bit of kit to treat so cavalierly. Coffee beans are extremely hard and will wear burrs down over time, requiring that they be replaced. Grinds will collect in nooks and crannies in the machine building up into a gummy paste which can block the exit chute and even cause burrs to seize up. To prevent this and also stop this old coffee affecting the taste of new grounds, clean and maintain your grinder regularly. Your wallet and taste buds will thank you!
And now its time for a Frequently Asked Coffee Question…
And this episode’s question is…
So how do I maintain my grinder?
A little regular attention will go a very long way to keeping your grinder in good working condition. Blade grinders don’t generally come apart for maintenance. But a popular way to clean the grinding chamber is to occasionally grind a few batches of raw white rice until the blades look clean again. With burr grinders it is a bit more involved. It doesn’t necessarily involve using water and often a paper towel and a small brush is all you need to remove coffee residue. Get in the habit of using a dry paper towel to wipe the oils off the bean hopper at least weekly. Wash any parts that the manual says you can wash at least monthly with a mild detergent, making sure that you rinse all detergent off throughly and that the parts are dry before reassembly. Ideally also on a monthly basis use grinder cleaning tablets to remove coffee oils and grinds that may be building up inside the grinder. On at least a yearly basis, and following the manual’s instructions, dismantle, clean and inspect the burrs and the inner parts of the grinder to remove built up coffee oils and grinds. If you can, replace burrs according to the manufacturer’s recommendation as they do wear out with use. This is all based on using the grinder daily for one or two cups of coffee. If you regularly use it for more than a couple of cups of coffee a day then you need to undertake these actions more often. Remember the grinder is a piece of electrical equipment so for safety reasons always follow the manual’s instructions and never ever, ever submerge it in water!
Thank you for listening to this episode of The Coffee Drinker’s Guide and that was all about the coffee grinder. Did it prompt you to check the condition of your grinder - and if so, what did you find? Let me know using the ‘send me a text’ link in the show notes. I should mention that if you use this link, unfortunately I am not able to text back which is something to bear in mind. If you have a question about coffee please get in touch via Instagram @thecoffeedrinkersguide or email me at thecoffeedrinkersguide@gmail.com. In the next episode we are taking a good look at cafetière brewing, or French press as it is also known. I’ll be sharing tips on how to get the best out of your cafetière - hit follow so that you don’t miss it. Also tell a coffee friend about the show and rate and review this podcast wherever you listen to your podcasts to help other coffee curious people find the show too. Remember to check out the Happier in Hollywood podcast for a peek behind the scenes of writing for TV in Hollywood. Thanks to my executive producer Viel Richardson at Lusona Publishing and Media Limited. You can find him at lusonapub.co.uk. Until next time I’m Angela Holder thanks for sharing your coffee break with me - the best way to tackle life is one coffee at a time and here’s to better coffee!
The Coffee Drinker’s Guide is a Blue Sky Coffee Project