Almost all baristas will agree that if you want the best tasting coffee, you should grind it yourself before you brew it. This means if you insist on only the best coffee, you will need to think about the best way to grind coffee beans at home yourself.
The issue is there are several ways to grind coffee at home. Which is the best way?
It can be assumed that an electric burr grinder produces the best coffee grounds for you at home. It produces fine, consistent coffee grounds that result in great tasting coffee. The Burr grinder also does not need much effort from you since it runs on electricity.
This article explores the ways to grind coffee. We start by looking at several aspects of what makes the best way to grind the coffee before deciding which is the best way to do so.
What Determines The Best Way To Grind Coffee Beans?
There are several ways to determine the best way to grind coffee beans: effort needed, grind consistency, coffee taste, and cost. The most optimum way to grind coffee beans would take the least effort and cost while producing the best grind consistency and taste.
When it comes to deciding the best way to grind coffee beans, there are several aspects to look at. These are:
Effort Needed: Effort refers to the amount of elbow grease and energy required to produce the coffee grounds. Most manual methods tend to require more human effort and muscle than electric grinders, which only need you to press a switch.
Grind Consistency: Grind consistency refers to the similarity of the ground, whether the ground coffee keeps to a consistent size. This is important as a consistent ground will help the coffee to brew better.
Coffee Taste: The best way to grind coffee should produce the best-tasting coffee. This is because it allows the brewing process to work perfectly by minimizing potential issues such as ground consistency.
Cost: The best way to grind coffee beans can also be seen from cost. You may want to know the cheapest way to get your beans processed into ground coffee and not spend too much money.
Let’s look at the list of aspects here. We can assume that the best way to grind coffee would be to use the least effort and cost while producing the most consistency and taste.
However, this is rather impossible to achieve, as all major grinding methods seem to trade off one aspect to achieve more on the other.
What Are The Ways To Grind Coffee?
The most common ways to grind coffee beans at home are using a hand grinder, blade grinder, burr grinder, or buying pre-ground coffee. Each way may have its own strengths, weaknesses, and tradeoffs that you need to consider.
| Method | Pros | Cons |
| Pre Ground Coffee | – Least effort – Consistent ground | – It may not taste as great as freshly ground coffee |
| Hand Grind | – Cheapest method | – Most effort – Inconsistent ground – It may not taste good |
| Blade Grinder | – Very low effort – Rather affordable – Better consistency – Good tasting coffee | – Neither here nor there |
| Burr Grinder | – Very low effort – Best consistency – Best tasting coffee | – Most expensive |
Pre Ground
One option you can consider for grinding your coffee bean down is simply having the coffee roasters grind it down. This may be a good option since it basically spares you from thinking about the grinding work.
The roasters would also operate the best grinding machines, so you will get coffee grounds with consistent fineness. On top of that, prices for ground coffee packs are usually the same as buying beans.
However, the tradeoff you have to consider is your coffee’s quality or taste. This is because coffee beans, once roasted, have a lot of volatile oils that help to give them a unique, great taste.
When you grind the beans up, these volatile oils dry up faster. In fact, baristas claim that coffee grounds may lose their best taste within 30 minutes of being grounded.
Keeping in airtight containers may slow the process, but you still lose some flavor.
Assuming your ground coffee packet takes several days to reach you, chances are you may have lost a lot of the flavor from your coffee.
Hand Grind
Suppose you want the best flavor for your coffee, buy beans, and grind it yourself. However, you want to do it in the cheapest way possible. In this case, consider using the hand grind.
Hand coffee grinders are the cheapest grinders you can get, and decent hand grinders may start in the teens in price. More advanced hand burr grinders such as the Javapresse from Amazon are also available, though at a higher price.
Hand burr grinders differ from regular hand grinders because they also have a pulverizer inside to pound on the beans as they get ground down.
The main issues with hand grinders are consistency, flavor, and effort. If you are having a lazy morning, the last thing you want is to hand grind your coffee, which can require a large expense of effort and energy.
You may need to grind non-stop for 3-4 minutes to make up 2-3 tablespoons of ground coffee.
Depending on your hand grind, your coffee ground may vary in consistency. This means if you use a cheap grinder, your coffee may not be grounded up well, which may finally affect the taste.
As a result, if you prefer to hand grind, invest in better quality hand grind, such as this hand burr grinder by JavaPresse. Spare the cheap hand grinder for things such as camping or road trips.
Blade Grinder
A blade grinder is an electric blender designed strictly to grind down coffee. You place your beans inside, close the lid, turn on the switch, and the grinder will go to work. They are usually not too big, with some even USB-powered and charged.
This means blade grinders will save you a lot of effort compared to using a hand grinder. On top of that, hand grinders are generally not too expensive, with decent models often in a two-figure range. For example, the coffee grinder from Black & Decker is priced in the teen range.
Blade grinders also generally give you a consistently sized ground coffee, meaning you may be able to produce a good brew out of your beans.
As a result, your coffee may taste better than those from the hand grinder. It should taste better than pre-ground coffee since they are freshly ground.
The only issue with the blade grinder is neither here nor there. You save effort, but other options save a lot of effort too. Blade grinders are affordable, but there are even more affordable options.
Ground coffee made from blade grinders tastes good, but there are ways to grind even better coffee beans.
As a result, a blade grinder should be considered if you prefer an all-rounder option without a focus on any area. It may also be a starting point before considering investing more in a proper electric burr grinder.
Burr Grinder
The ultimate solution for grinding coffee that professionals trust is the burr grinder. You may consider burr grinders as a significant upgrade from a blade grinder. Add your coffee beans, turn on the switch, and watch the machine make up some ground coffee in no time.
It still operates with blades but often comes with some pulverizer inside. As a result, during grinding, the beans get grounded and pounded. Your beans should be well consistent in size, which helps with brewing. The pounding helps to release the oils inside the coffee beans, helping your coffee to taste even better.
As a result, most professional baristas use burr grinders. In fact, you may see a burr grinder standing right beside their espresso makers.
However, the downside of using a burr grinder is the price. It is the most expensive way to grind coffee beans. Prices usually start from the mid-two figures, with three figures common. Take, for example, this burr grinder from Bodum.
However, despite the price, it undoubtedly produces the best-tasting coffee of all the other grinding methods. If quality and good taste matters most to you, get a burr grinder.
Final Thoughts
Grinding your own coffee beans is a great way to get the most out of your coffee. With the right tools and knowledge, you can create the perfect cup of coffee every time.
Whether you use a manual or electric grinder, a burr or blade grinder, or any other type of grinder, the best way to grind coffee beans is to do it with care and precision.
By following the tips outlined in this article, you’ll be able to enjoy the best cup of coffee in no time.
Alex is a self confessed coffee addict – but he takes his love of caffeine seriously in a completely responsible way. He loves trying new coffees and testing the latest machines and is not usually fan of one button pod machines. Alex is happiest when he is tinkering with settings and milk temperatures to create the perfect cup. When not obsessing over coffee, Alex is a keen musician and plays weddings and other social events (usually fuelled by… yes, you guessed it… coffee).
