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| Art of Grinding |
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| In the beginning, the hammer and even Flat rocks were used too. Smashing the coffee bean was easy. However, smashing did not that get a uniform grind size. |
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In the olden days, a person sat at a table and smashed the roasted coffee beans in a roll grinder. Electric powered stone roller roasted coffee bean grinders (using dressed stone) are used in Greece and Turkey today for making powder coffee generally referred to as "Turkish Coffee." The fact is, Turkish coffee grinds cannot be made in any other way as yet.
Mortar and pestle coffee grinders, typically made from wood or rock were used for a longer time. Again, the coffee grind size was not taken into consideration in the old days. All that was needed at the time was ground coffee beans which were relatively fine. One major characteristic that roller and mortar and pestle grinders have in common which make them not so popular is that it takes a lot of hard work and time to laboriously hand grind lots of coffee bean.
Coffee grind became commercial in the 1800’s. Around this time, coffee grinders were made adjustable. One could bring the grinding blades closer together by tightening a nut. As the nut was tightened, the coffee grind got finer. Among other things, this adjustment allowed people to experiment with coffee grind so they could find out what worked best in their coffee brewer. Such things as coffee grind size started to be standardized .Soon small coffee grinders began to be made for home use.
Finely ground coffee and correct brewing are synonymous with achieving a flavorful cup of coffee. There are certain principles which must be acknowledged and understood because they are the cornerstone of successful grinding.
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The greater the friction in grinding, the hotter the coffee bean gets while grinding, changing its flavor. |
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The more uniform the particle size, the more control the brewer has. |
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The finer the grind, the greater the brewing area. Therefore the more flavor extracted from the bean. |
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| The four major types of grinds are roughly classified as : |
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Coarse: 5-10 seconds, used for percolators and the cold water brewing method. This is the least popular grind used today.
Medium : 10 seconds, used for electric drip/manual drip and French press methods. A medium grind is similar to the consistency of granulated sugar.
Fine: 15 seconds, used for Vacuum and Neapolitan flip methods.
Extra fine: 25-30 seconds, used specially by espresso machines.
Pulverized : It is finer than Extra fine. This grind is used for Turkish coffee. Most home grinders cannot achieve this powder like coffee but it can be found commercially. |
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