grinding: the basics
Nailing your grind is fundamental to a great tasting brew and although we offer pre-ground options for all our coffees (online and at the café), we recommend grinding fresh to get the most out of your cup – there’s a whole flavour wheel of tastes to enjoy after all!
BUT FIRST, THE ROASTING
To understand why grinding is important, you need to understand what happens when coffee is roasted. When coffee beans come into contact with the heat of the roaster, amino acids and sugars combine and begin a series of reactions that ultimately create the aromas and flavours of the coffee.
WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH ‘FRESHLY ROASTED’?
Once coffee has been roasted, the process of oxidising begins. Gases (mostly carbon dioxide) start to emerge from the bean. We call this degassing and that’s why our coffee bags are designed with the one-way valve – this lets the gas escape, without letting any oxygen in. Degassing occurs up to 10 days after roast, which is why we recommend resting our coffee before brewing.
Espresso: Rest 7-10 days after roast
Filter: Rest 3-5 days after roast
Note: If you do brew with coffee that’s too fresh, you’ll come up against uneven extraction because of all the CO2 escaping during the brew process.
OXIDISATION
After degassing, oxygen will start to make its way into the beans. This is called oxidisation and essentially is the staling of the coffee. It’s best to use our coffee within 3 weeks of the roast date, so you’re brewing within that sweet spot between “freshly roasted” and stale.
Oxidisation affects ground coffee much quicker than whole beans because more surface areas are exposed to oxygen. When coffee oxidizes or stales, you lose the fruity notes of the coffee, giving you a less flavour-full cup.
KEYS TO A BETTER BREW
• Use freshly roasted coffee, but allow to rest before brewing
• Grind immediately before brewing to bring out the most flavour notes
• Use a grinder that will allow you to grind as consistently as possible
(eg. ceramic burrs give you a more consistent size than steel)
You can level up your home brew now by getting your hands on our recommended bits of grinding kit.
PORLEX HAND GRINDER
This little pocket rocket has ceramic burrs that will stay sharper for longer than regular steel ones & a grind size ranging from coarse to fine. Perfect for home or travel (it even fits inside the barrel of an Aeropress), it brews 1-2 cups with a capacity of 28g whole beans.
BREVILLE SMART GRINDER PRO
A serious home-brewer’s dream, this grinder boasts a whole lot of smarts including over 60 unique grind settings, a crisp LCD display & dosing IQ. Its consistent performance gives the café favourite EK a run for its money, but it’s built to deck out your kitchen bench (and at a fraction of the cost of its commercial equivalent).
