Food & Drink How To

The ultimate guide to grinding your own coffee

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Written by Tim Barnes-Clay

From the perfect grinder to storing your grounds, this is all you need to know about grinding coffee at home.

What is the point in grinding coffee? It’s much faster to just buy ground rather than coffee make it at home yourself, right? But there is something to be said for grinding your own beans…

Savour the flavour

Once the coffee beans are ground they will quickly lose their aromatic flavours and compounds. By the time you buy them from the store, the grounds have already been exposed to sunlight and oxygen.

The longer the beans are kept whole, the longer they will hold those bold flavours you want.

How to grind the right way

Depending on the type of coffee machine you use, you will want to grind your beans differently.

We recommend the Calibra Coffee Grinder from Melitta for grinding your own coffee. This grinder has three different adjustable grinder settings to ensure you have perfectly ground beans.

Calibra helps you grind your own coffee.
Calibra Coffee Grinder | £124.99

Additionally, this grinder has an integrated weight scale to help you know exactly how many beans to grind.

Rule of thumb:

  • Coarse grind- This is best for French Press models.
  • Medium grind- If you’re using a drip coffee machine this is the grind you want.
  • Fine grind- Mostly used for filter coffee machines

How to store your grounds

If you’re only storing your grounds for the short term, say a maximum of two to three weeks, keep them away from direct sunlight in a cool, dry place. Also, make sure to keep them in an airtight container.

Different ground coffee

If you are planning to ground in bulk, you can freeze them. However, make sure to follow two important rules. The first being, do not defrost and refreeze. Secondly, make sure to separate the grounds into smaller portions. This will limit the amount of moisture from condensation getting into your grounds.

Main image credit: coffeegeek.tv

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