Calling all connoisseurs - Coffee Grinders

I bought a Moka Pot the other day and have since made 3 cups of coffee with it using Cuban - dark roast beans. Also purchased a cheap burr grinder and grind the beans on each use.

The coffee is immense but the grinds are quite uneven.

What I would love it to buy an old burr grinder and fix it up as a project in order to grind some fantastic fine grind beans.

1) Where could I purchase such an old burr grinder at a cheap price.

2) I also store the beans in the freezer and grind them straight from the freezer (as I was told to do for freshness) do you agree with this?

I guess down the line I could get an espresso machine but at the minute I'm more than happy to experiment around with my Moka Pot. It's just the grinder which I feel is most important.

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Originally Posted by poona

1) Where could I purchase such an old burr grinder at a cheap price.

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In an online shop, possibly from the US, given the current exchange rate. Check CoffeeGeek - Coffee & Espresso Grinder Reviews for reviews. If you want a hand grinder, you will most likely want a Zassenhaus.

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Originally Posted by poona

2) I also store the beans in the freezer and grind them straight from the freezer (as I was told to do for freshness) do you agree with this?

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Yes, absolutely.

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Originally Posted by poona

I guess down the line I could get an espresso machine but at the minute I'm more than happy to experiment around with my Moka Pot. It's just the grinder which I feel is most important.

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Thing is, if you have a machine, you will also want an automatic grinder. I have a Rancilio Silvia (highly recommended, and arguably the best semi automatic home espresso machine money can buy) with a Demoka grinder I got on the cheap. Cannot be beat unless you go for a semi-pro machine (we'd be talking USD 2,000 and upwards, then).

As always, your mileage may vary.

I have a solis maestro and as far as I'm concerned it does everything I need. To me as long as it has sufficient control for the fineness of the grounds you need, it has a conical burr grinder of heavy duty metal, has a gear reduction motor and the grinder ring easily comes out for cleaning that's all you need. You can spends hundreds for a machine that looks like it belongs on the starship enterprise or in a commercial coffee house and I guess if your really into this its worth it to you but its not to me.

As far as freezing the beans I get green beans and roast my own and only roast about 8oz at a time and grind as I use them so freshness is not a problem for me. if you buy already roasted beans unless you know the exact date the beans were roasted they are probably half stale when you get them since you only have a 30 day window at max and many feel two weeks is all you should keep them. So if they are marginal when you get them or you buy alot (which you shouldn't do) freezing will help extend them to a point. I know many say once they go into those valved bags after roasting they stay fresh for months but not in my book.

On the freezing beans thing, I pumped my local roaster (who has forgotten more about coffee than I'll ever know) on this issue and he flat out said that unless you need to keep the beans past 3 weeks, don't freeze them as the freezing tends to force the oils out of the beans and every time you open the package to take some out, you're introducing more air/moisture into the mix. He strongly recommended to keep the fresh beans in an airtight container but if I should have a bag that I realize I won't get to before at least 3 weeks to then toss the unopened bag in the freezer until I can use it and then take it out, allow it to return to room temperature before opening and then transfer to the airtight container and use as soon as possible.

I know I'm spoiled rotten as I get to pick up my beans with the knowledge of their exact roast time... and it's rarely more than 24hrs old when I take it home. Of course, at 24 hrs they're still not ready for consumption.... I like to give them at least 48hrs of resting time before I start to use them... anything earlier usually tastes harsh and burnt but after 48 hrs it's a few days of absolute bliss and then a slow but steady decline in quality towards the 14 day mark but varies a bit depending on the actual beans... I find beans from around South America to suit me the most but I'm pretty picky and one years crop to the next can be enough to force me to search for something from a different region or even just a plantation or two down the road.


Regards

Christian

The beans I have were roasted the morning I bought them :-)

The guy was also serving other customer who were requesting freshly ground beans and he was telling me that the grinder he is using is about 20 years old. lol The grind were so find and even from this big bulky metal machine.

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Originally Posted by poona

The beans I have were roasted the morning I bought them :-)

The guy was also serving other customer who were requesting freshly ground beans and he was telling me that the grinder he is using is about 20 years old. lol The grind were so find and even from this big bulky metal machine.

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As was said, after the beans are roasted they should sit at least 12 hours and 24 is better before use or grinding and once ground no matter how freshly roasted the beans are the the freshness of ground coffee is measured in hours.

I've been grinding them as I need them. Just grinding little dosing sizes at a time whilst keeping the rest in the freezer. It's weird how they don't freeze and become too hard to grind. Must be the oils in the beans.

My wife emphatically says NO to putting beans in the freezer. Freezing coffee beans destroys the aromatic oils within them. They arent frozen on the way over so why would you need to now? She says- airtight container at room temperature. Thats the way to best preserve your coffee.

So says SWMBO... :o

I'm not an expert but I've been drinking espresso for at least 55 tears,

Speed is very important when grinding coffee beans. You should try to find one of this:

http://www.antiguedadesroland.com/im...lata%20003.jpg

This one made by Krupps, uses the burr milling system to avoid overheating. It's around $60.

At home we use Cafe Bustelo, and we get excellent results. YMHO




http://www.krups.com.mx/NR/rdonlyres.../gvx2_main.jpg

Ken did a very detailed study on coffee freezing on Home-Barista. Coffee: To freeze or Not to Freeze with some surprising results. There is also a thread floating around on the subject where stated my observations. My opinion, freezing freshly roasted beans does no harm provided they are frozen properly. However, the freezing process does not stop out gassing, it only slows it so use it all up in 3 months. Freeing greens is another subject all together. I vac pack and deep freeze all my greens; they will keep much better that way.

Coffee is truly a blessing. For the poor unfortunate ones with diabetes it truly is a Godsend. My cousin Mary has this. She found great relief from the curse by drinking plenty of black coffee! For some reason, coffee, like onions , comforts this terrible affliction. She is a very frugal lady and only spends for good coffee. She imports some speciality coffees from San Francisco ( I do not know the brands, etc.). My contributiion to this humble yet noble thread is that sometimes less than gourmet coffee can be made to be quite enjoyable. Here is what I do. Firstly, I purchased from ebay a Cory vacuum cofee maker. It was popular up until the 1950's or so. You have seen them. They consist of two vessels atop each other. Utilizing Boyle's Law- water is heated in the lower vessel and it is forced upward to the top vessel which contains the coffee. After a slight boiling, the thermostat shuts off and the reduced temperature causes a vacuum which sucks the now brewed coffee through a strainer back into the lower vessel. Bottom Line: Even cheap store-bought coffee brewed in this manner is very good to drink. Mary is impressed and is getting her own vacuum coffee maker. Try one of these wonderful appliances. There are some modern versions available. You will be pleasantly surprised at the result. Secondly I brew my coffee in my shop. It makes the place seem like a proper Bed & Breakfast establishment. Coffee surely makes a good life better. Are you ready for a cup? Ain't this all a lot of fun!...Robert

That was a very interesting read on Home-barista, pretty much agrees with what I learned from my local roaster. Unfortunately, I'd have to time my visit quite carefully to obtain beans roasted within the hour, not to mention make it home in time to freeze them... then again, why bother if I can just pick up another bag the next weekend. :D This of course brings us to the question of why.... why freeze if you can obtain beans freshly roasted without much trouble... I for one can't think of a reason why but for those who roast their own I can see the benefit especially if ones roaster leans to the larger size and you end up with 3 lbs or more of fresh roasted beans. We use about 1lb a week here so that third pound would be getting slightly stale by the time I'd open it so freezing would make sense for that last bag. Lucky for me, I'm too lazy to roast my own.... :roflmao

It's also worth noting that while no significant loss in taste was detected, freezing did not add anything to the taste either... it didn't make the coffee/espresso taste any better than non-frozen beans so the conclusion for me is that unless I need to keep beans past the 3 week mark, there is simply no point in freezing them.

Regards

Christian

"Life is too short to drink bad coffee... after all, there's plenty of time to sleep after you are dead!" --Unknown

I usually buy decent beans, grind them by hand and store the ground coffee in a sealed jar.
The coffe is then used at work during the week where I brew my own coffee.

Even though this is probably not the 100% best way to make coffee, it is till lightyears better than what we get here. Some machines are sort of okish, but the one in my building is horrible.
Today I forgot my ground coffee so I had no choice but to drink this swill to get my morning shot of caffeine.

:cen:rant::gth

I buy a big bag of beans so freezing them makes sense for me. If I was to buy them more frequently (which I cant be arsed to do lol) I'd probably just store them in the fridge. Drinking loads of coffee seems to upset my bowel movements somewhat so I just enjoy maybe 1 cup a day.

Bliss.

When I am working on a new machine review I will burn through 5 pounds in the first week. Thank goodness for website sponsors. I blend/roast most of my coffee and do it in 1-2 pound batches. I will drop half of it in the freezer while the other half degasses for a few days. When I drop the half pound in the grinder I will pull out the second batch. By the time I have finished that first half pound, the second has degassed and if falling in its prime flavor window. When I get the batch out of the freezer I will roast my next blend.

If I had a good roaster local, I may be tempted to just get my supply local and forgo the roasting, or at least not do as much. Unfortunately there are no good roasters within an hour’s drive. So I will sneak half a batch into the freezer to assure I have a steady supply that falls into that prime 5-10 day post roast flavor window although some coffees come into prime a day or two earlier, and some a day or two later.

Check this sight: Home Coffee Roasting Supplies -Sweet Maria's Also, green beans can be kept for a few months without issue. Once they are roasted they deteriorate much more quickly. I roast mine,and once cooled, keep them in an air sealed container for 3-4 days to rest and offgas. Then they are ready to grind. I usually grind enough for 7-10 days. Unfortunatley, I don't have unlimited resources with the coast of good roasters, burr grinders, and of course our beloved razors, that I have a $20 whirly style grinder.

Dan

Have you considered roasting your own beans? If there's interest, I'll post more. That way you can roast a small amount, let it breath and grind them when they're really fresh.

Chem Fun - there is most certainly interest for more info re that. (if its cheap) lol

Dave, I think you have that down to a fine art mate.

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Originally Posted by poona

Chem Fun - there is most certainly interest for more info re that. (if its cheap) lol

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Just got done with a party for my 6yo. Going to take a nap. I'll post stuff later. You'll be amazed how easy it is. All it takes is e-bay and a second hand store.

I roast and grind my beans myself. Wow what a differance. I also perk it on the stove, I myself feel this makes it a notch better than a drip coffee. French press is good too but alot stronger.:D I use a 1920 coffee grinder, you can adjust it to the grind you want works good:)