The importance of properly grinding coffee cannot be overstated. The grind must match the extraction time which is determined by the brewing method.
Grind also greatly affects flavour and strength; fresh ground coffee should be strong, sweet and clean. If coffee is ground too coarse the cup will be insipid and weak, if too fine the cup will be excessively bitter.
It is best, if possible, to grind coffee yourself, just before brewing. Order whole beans or you can have us custom grind the coffee to suit your brewing method: Turkish, espresso, Keurig/K-Cup, Mocha Pot, Aeropress, cone filter, flat filter, french press.
ESPRESSO is made when a pressure of 130 lb, produced by a pump or lever, forces hot water around 200°F to flow through a finely ground, packed coffee. Temperature and extraction time are extremely important for proper espresso. Seven or eight grams of medium dark roasted, tamped coffee should be extracted to 1 to 1¼ ounce within 20 to 30 seconds. To attain the right time, simply adjust your grinder finer to increase the time or coarser to reduce the time so that the complete pour is within those parameters. It should feel like fine cornmeal. Or, you may leave it to us by simply choosing espresso ground when ordering.
MOKA POTS also known as “Italian Espresso Pots”, usually sit directly on a heater or stove and make a cup of very strong coffee. The grind cannot be as fine as used for espresso or the coffee will plug up the pot as steam pressure of only 15 lb forces the boiling 212F water through the coffee grounds held in a middle section and upwards into the top chamber. Mocha coffee is wonderful but it is different than espresso.
MELITTA COFFEEMAKER is the precursor to the modern automatic drip coffeemaker and is still commonly used today. The pour over method is popular because it is easy, quick, and manually controlled. Essentially, boiling water is poured over coffee in a cone shaped filter found on top and connected to a pot ready to catch the coffee as it flows down. The grind needed is known as cone and has the consistency of salt. It is also the proper grind for electric Vacuum Pot machines and V-shaped basket of drip machines.
AUTOMATIC DRIP coffee machines are very popular and convenient. Hot water drips onto coffee grounds which are held in a flat bottom filter basket or wire mesh filter and into a holding pot. Strength will depend upon the type of grind used and will vary according to the ration of water of coffee used. Typically, flat filter basket grind is the consistency of granulated sugar, Baskets may also be cone shaped. In this case, the grind should be cone and not flat bottom.
FRENCH PRESS, also known as press pot or piston, is a low tech cafetière which produces excellent results. Steeped in boiling water for 4 minutes or so, the grind must be coarse enough to unleash all the flavours. If it is too fine, the coffee will be over extracted and result in a bitter flavour.
PERCOLATORS were greatly used in households prior to 1970s and are still in use today. More universal are their use in community hall kitchens and at social clubs. Boiling forces water into a chamber above the grounds and gravity moves it down through the grounds. This process is repeated until shut off by an internal sensor. For this multiple pass process to result in a rich cup the coffee should be ground very coarse and preferably a brown roast.
AEROPRESS was invented in 2005 by Aerobie president Alan Adler. Coffee is steeped for 10–50 seconds (depending on grind and preferred strength) and then forced through a filter by pressing the plunger through the tube. A low acidity, smooth and rich coffee is the result.