The transformation of the green coffee into a treasured delight is a
delicate process. Green coffees last for years, but roasted coffees
lose their flavor in seven days, ground coffee within hours after
grinding, and brewed coffee last only minutes. The best solution is to
roast, grind, brew, and serve the beverage in short order. Let
someone else roast the coffee, storing the result in an airtight and dry
container, awaiting only the grinding process. Once ground, the coffee
must be brewed or the coffee will become stale, as the delicate oils,
once exposed, immediately begin evaporating. Even an airtight container
does not help. When coffee is ground and canned, the artificial package
of the can does not match the natural packaging of the bean itself, so
the best solution is to brew it yourself.
Coffee grinders
are inexpensive and range from the old hand grinders to the electric
choppers. There are four ways to grind, the oldest being with a mortar
and pestle which is cheap method that will certainly exercise your muscles.
Next is the millstone which early in its history was used to reduce
grains to flour. Smaller models with a hand crank are a natural
solution. The contain two corrugated steel disks which systematically
crush the bean to a strict size before dropping the grounds to the
bottom of the machine. This results in uniform grinding and allows the
operator to adjust the fineness by changing the distance between the
plates. The cheapest hand grinders are wooden hand-held units, but the
problem with these box grinders is that you cannot get a grind
that is fine enough for many coffee brewers. Also, the plates can be
inefficient and the hold thing is hard to manage. Mounted grinders are
easier to use and to adjust for a finer grain. Lastly, come the
electric grinders that at least get the job done. The electric blade
grinders spin at such a high speed that they often grind most of the
beans to dust, creating a grind that is not uniform and often hard to
get out. If you do settle for these units, grind the beans in small
spurts of about five seconds for a more uniform chopping and without
pulverizing the entire mixture of beans. You will otherwise destroy the
essential oils, causing the heat and friction of the high-speed plates
to vaporize the flavorful oils.
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