How to grind coffee beans

Coffee beans are very hard when they are raw, but the roasting process makes them brittle and much easier to break or grind. For best results, a purpose-designed coffee grinder is a good investment for any coffee aficionado, but you can grind coffee beans in a number of other ways too.

The finer your coffee is ground, the stronger the coffee will be, and the quicker it will brew. Most grinders have settings so you can choose between a fine grind and a coarser one. The key to good grinding does not take the fineness or coarseness of the grind into as much account as it does the regularity of that grind.

Trying to brew coffee that has some fine particles and some coarse particles is a nightmare, as the fine particles will be stewed and bitter, while the larger pieces will produce a weak and sour brew – and a mix of the two is as unpleasant as it sounds!

Coffee beans can be ground with a pestle and mortar, but this requires a delicate touch to end up with an even grind, so you may instead choose to use a blender. While these household appliances are designed for use with liquids, coffee beans are brittle enough that blenders can easily cope with them. Put in just as many beans as you need for coffee, and use the blender's pulse setting only. This is a vigorous action of short duration, which allows you to temper the grind more delicately than using the blend features which run for longer periods of time.

If this all seems too much for you, we offer pre-ground coffee to suit Espresso, Percolator, Filter, Cafetiere and Turkish Coffee.