Everyone in our country can make a pot of coffee. A filter in the machine, a few scoops of coffee in, some hot water added, a push of the button and a few minutes later you have a pot. We all drink this homemade coffee every day at the office, at breakfast or with the 8 o’clock news. Making a pot of filter coffee is in our genes, so to speak.
The importance of freshly ground beans
Yet it is different when you start grinding your own coffee beans. It has been calculated by experts that ground coffee loses 60 per cent of its properties within 10 minutes. By grinding your own coffee, you get rid of that problem and can brew an espresso with great flavour and aroma, exactly as it is meant to be. Even the normally so ordinary filter coffee suddenly becomes much more flavourful.
Which coffee grinders stand out?
For grinding coffee, you need a bean grinder. It is a small investment, but you will find that your coffee will definitely improve. If you are going to buy a bean grinder, then of course the device should meet your criteria. Do you have a lot of money to invest or do you want an inexpensive version? Do you want a nifty automatic where you can set how coarse or how fine you want the beans to be or will you stick to a simple grinder? Here are some options you could choose from.
The Quick Mill bean grinders
The Quick Mill brand has been making all the appliances needed to brew the perfect espressos for years. This Italian manufacturer now also makes a bean grinder that can grind the beans deliciously fresh. You can set it either manually or automatically, and you can also adjust the coarseness and fineness of the beans. The only downside is that it doesn’t come with a dispenser.
Sage and its coffee grinders
The Sage brand has some very beautiful but very expensive appliances that can grind coffee. The advantage of these beautiful and nostalgic-looking devices is not only the stainless steel housing, but also the large bean container. So you can put all your beans in there and just grind out a small amount of powder or grains daily. This grinding is particularly quiet, by the way – the machine hardly makes any noise at all. This is partly due to the special discs that can determine the coarseness of the beans very precisely.
The slightly cheaper Baratza
If you are a beginner and do not yet want to spend too much money on a coffee grinder, the Baratza Encore is a good idea. You can buy this device at a not too high price, while it does its job – grinding coffee. The problem, however, is that the device produces quite a bit of noise. Also, it does not have a fancy LCD screen where you can set the coarseness.
The simple versions
Other brands have come out with much simpler ones. Think for example of Bosch’s simple coffee grinder, or Solis’ user-friendly device – here you can grind the beans at 22 different settings. You can also go for Hario’s manual coffee grinder. This is not only good for making a nice cup of coffee, but also good for your muscles.
There are different grinding discs
Bean grinders come with different ways of getting beans small. For instance, some use large discs, others use flat grinding discs and yet others use blades. These flat grinding discs ensure a consistent and even powder, while with blades the coffee grinds come in different sizes. Consistency is necessary when brewing an espresso, but again not at all with a French Press.
Which coffee grinder suits you now?
It is not easy to buy the coffee grinder that suits you. Say you are someone who is simply looking to improve the taste of coffee at home, then it is enough to buy a simple coffee grinder of under thirty euros. That alone can improve the taste of your filter coffee many times over. If you often have guests or have a ‘home bar’, then you can already look a bit more towards the more expensive versions. If you own a café – then you really do need a professional machine.