Some Ideas About Grinding Coffee? Although many of my ideas and assumptions about grinding coffee are incomplete, I still want to share them with you. This is the most open and conversational piece I’ve ever written, and I hope many of you will test it out in the comments section.
PARTICLES THAT ARE SMOOTH
When coffee is ground to an excellent level, it is referred to as fine powder. Coffee powder with a diameter of less than 0.1mm is considered fine by many coffee experts, and I agree. These microscopic particles are small enough to fit within your pores.
These tiny particles, in reality, have a huge surface area but a minimal volume. When it comes into contact with water, the stuff inside it can entirely disintegrate. Compared to coarser beans, these coffee beans dissolve a significant amount of taste in the shortest time in the Water.
Many individuals consider this fine grain to be a nightmare. One of the fine-grain remarks I frequently hear is, “Fine beans can easily lead to over-extraction, causing your coffee to go bad.” However, I believe that this is not always the case and can even be the case in some instances.
In 2013, I travelled to Mahlkonig to evaluate the EK43’s effectiveness and determine why coffee prepared with EK43 ground coffee beans taste better than coffee made with other types. I observed that coffee beans ground with EK43 has a more OK grind size than others, which prompted me to seek out the reason and piqued my interest.
I removed particles smaller than 25 microns from my coffee for the 2012 World Brewers Cup and increased the brewing duration to boost the extraction rate. The coffee with a high extraction ratio is quite tasty, with a black hue as if it had been over-extracted but not to the point of being bitter. On the other hand, why do so many people dislike the taste of fine coffee powder that has been over-extracted?
Temperature, extraction time, and roasting may be blamed for the effects rather than the fine grain.
“Fine particles are included in almost every mixture.”
It appears that fine particles are present in all concoctions; imagine the outer part of the coarse particles being refined, so the smell of micro in coffee can easily dissolve in water if the roasting level, extraction temperature, and time are all correct, then it is a good cup of coffee; why is it over-extracted?
PARTIES ARE ESSENTIAL
To function correctly, the two grinding plates must be parallel and aligned. The quality of ground coffee beans is affected by a variation of roughly 0.05mm.
Many baristas have been experimenting with grinding disc alignment and observing the outcomes. In a Versalab grinder, I once purposefully misplaced the grinding disc to examine how the coffee beans would turn out after grinding. Experiments with the Versalab blender to improve the alignment and surface of the grinding disc are also shared.
EK43 contains many tiny components, and it’s easy to make mistakes when installing them if you’re not careful. The EK43 is incredibly user-friendly if correctly set up. (I’ve been working on a schematic showing how to install the blender disc; if you’re interested, please let me know.)
I often remark that the VST filter basket is the most critical component in making a decent cup of coffee, but I believe that the alignment might be overlooked.
STRUCTURAL CONSTRAINTS
The non-linear relationship between extraction and ground coffee bean size is problematic for many baristas. For instance, a medium mill produces a low extraction rate, a fine grind produces a high extraction rate, and an ultrafine task produces a low extraction rate because excellent coffee beans have impermeability, which results in reduced extraction rates and micron-channelling.
Maybe dry granules will help prevent the water-repelling ultrafine particle problem; I’ve always wanted to try this experiment: combine ultrafine and coarse granules, then extract the results.
“Alignment is a pretty simple, low-cost thing, but it has a lot of diverse impacts.”
THE TEMPERATURE OF THE COFFEE HAS BENEFITS AS WELL
I have collaborated with a few professionals to put together an article regarding coffee grinding. The two key participants were Christopher Hendon and Maxwell Colonna Dashwood (authors of Water for coffee). A more interpretive analysis will be carried out.
Once it’s out, I’ll save the most basic and easy-to-understand words to share with everyone and have a discussion. Grinding procedures are a fascinating subject to research.