How to Grind Your Own Coffee at Home

Grinding coffee beans moments before brewing creates the freshest and most flavorful cup of coffee. Grinding your own coffee beans at home requires only a few seconds of time and a bean grinder, which makes the process just as convenient as buying pre-ground coffee at the store.

Things you will need:

• Whole Coffee Beans

• Coffee Grinder (either blade or Burr)

Buy whole coffee beans: Select the type of coffee beans that suit your taste. Some blends offer a mild flavor, while others pack a bolder taste. The package of coffee beans typically identifies the beans flavor intensity.

There are two types of coffee grinders on the market to grind your coffee beans. The blade grinder has metal blades that rotate at high speed to grind the beans. The more expensive burr grinder crushes beans between a immobile surface and rotating grinding wheel. The burrs, which can either be flat or cone-shaped, produce a more consistent grind, then blades. Burr grinders often offer up to 16 grind sizes from which to choose.

Determine grind coarseness based on coffee maker type. If using a french press, grind beans coarsely or grinds will disperse into the water. If using a drip coffee maker or espresso machine, grind beans more finely. The more fine the grind, the stronger the flavor.

Grinding
Grind beans, If using a blade grinder, press the start button. Continue pressing the button for the duration of the grinding. To create coarsely ground beans, grind for approximately 30 seconds. For more finely ground beans, grind for a bout a minute. If using a burr grinder, set the desired grind consistency. Press the start button and allow beans to grind to the selected size.
Remove grounded beans from grinder and place in coffee maker if brewing coffee immediately. Store ground beans in a tightly sealed container if using at a latter time. You can freeze your coffee for up to two weeks, but once it has been taken out of the freezer don’t place it back in. Never store your coffee in the fridge, unless you are conducting a science experiment on how long it takes to ruin perfectly good coffee. The fridge is one of the worst places to put coffee.

Remember grinding your whole bean coffee is easy, and just as convenient as getting it done at the store. Only when doing it at home you get a great cup of coffee from the freshly ground beans.