Is It Better To Buy Ground Coffee Or Beans

Why Do We Love French Press Coffee

There are so many reasons. We gravitate towards making French press coffee most mornings at Fit Foodie HQ because it is a way to brew really good coffee for more than one person at a time.

We prefer a pot of French press coffee over a coffee machine because we have a bit more control over water temperature, how long the coffee brews, and it is usually the perfect amount of coffee for 3-4 people.

What Is Coffee Bloom

When your coffee is fresh, it will make a sort of foam when hot water touches the ground coffee. This is because the coffee suddenly expands and releases some CO2, which interacts with the natural fats in the coffee, and produces that foam.

Its a good and reliable sign that the coffee youre using is fresh. Youll mostly be able to see this with pour-over coffee, and with French press, since other brewing methods wont show you the coffee itself, only the brew.

The best version is freshly ground coffee, and that usually means making it yourself.

Its All About The Grind

The grind of coffee beans is one of the most important variables when preparing French press coffee. If you grind your coffee beans too much, you will have a muddy and thick cup of coffee. If you dont grind your coffee beans enough, you will have a flavorless and watery cup of coffee.

Heres how to get the perfect coffee grind for French Pressed Coffee:

• If you have a preprogrammed coffee grinder, set it to a medium grind.
• When using a manual electric grinder or a hand grinder, grind your coffee until it is uniform and ground into large sand crystals.

Quick tip: If you do buy pre-ground coffee beans, use a heaping half cup per 4 cups of water. 1/2 cup of whole beans coarsely ground is a little more than 1/2 cup ground, unpacked.

You May Like: Snapple Raspberry Tea Caffeine

Why We Love Ground Coffee

One of the best parts about pre-ground coffee is that it takes the guesswork out of the grinding process. Most companies pre-grind the beans to the ideal size for a drip brewer, like a pour over or standard coffeemaker. You usually dont have to run experiments to see which size grinds will work best for your coffee maker.

Plus, you save time by not having to grind the beans yourself.

Brew The Coffee That Makes You Happy

Richer, fresher, more flavorful coffee doesnt just taste greatit infuses your morning with something you love. It gives you a chance to make something youre proud of something just for you.

It turns your daily coffee ritual into a moment that fuels the rest of your day, not just with caffeine, but also with peace, focus, and happiness.

Its why were so into coffee grinders and whole bean coffeetheres no better way to start your day off on the right foot.

Its also why we help coffee lovers find the BEST beans to make at home.

Sourced from award-winning sustainable farms, roasted with passion in a way that highlights each beans unique flavor, and shipped within two hours of being roasted, the JavaPresse Coffee Club is designed to give you everything you need to make every morning special.

We think youll love it 🙂

Don’t Miss: Mug Root Beer Have Caffeine

You Get To Control The Grind Of Whole Coffee Beans

One of the reasons we choose to buy coffee beans and grind them ourselves is because we get to control the grind of the coffee. Yes the size of the grind can change the flavour of your cup of coffee all the way around!

Here is a small breakdown of what the grinds look like. These can be accomplished simply by changing the size on your grinder.

The amount of time that water and coffee need to be in contact with each other is directly related to the particle size of the grind. The finer the grind, the more surface area of the bean is exposed to water. The more surface area, the less dwell time is needed.

If you grind it yourself, you can make up a batch of coarse coffee for your French press. Or, you can also make some fine grinds for an espresso machine.

Even the simplest coffee bean grinder will give you the control over your grounds. Since youll only be grinding small amounts right before you brew, you can change the fineness whenever you want.

So What Is Ground Coffee

Ground coffee is what brewed coffee is made of. Its made up of ground coffee beans, much like flour is made of wheat and maize is made of corn.

You use ground coffee like you would use a tea bag: add hot water to it, let it steep for a few minutes, then strain and drink. The resulting brew is what we all know as coffee.

Ground coffee comes in several sizes, depending on what kind of coffee youre planning to make. Well get tot hat in a bit.

Until then though, we need to stress that ground coffee is not instant coffee. It looks very similar, and they might even smell the same. But there is a big difference, and trying to make an espresso with instant coffee instead of ground coffee will be a failure.

If you want to make the best coffee at home, you absolutely need to check my article on the best coffee gear.

Don’t Miss: How Much Caffeine Does Folgers Coffee Have

Ground Coffee Is Ready

If convenience is more your thing, then pre-ground coffee is going to be much better for you.

Its easier to work with, as in its already ground, and its also very convenient since nearly all coffee companies offer pre-ground coffee.

So if youre ever in a rush and absolutely need your specific brand of coffee, youre going to easily find it if its pre-ground.

There are several grind sizes though, and depending on what kind of brewing method youre using, you may need one size or another.

Most folks use espresso machines, drip-filters, or Aeropress. All of which use very fine to medium-fine grinds, which are all available in stores as pre-ground coffee.

For those who would like to use coarse ground coffee, or medium-coarse like for cold brew or French press the search is a little difficult, but even then you may find what youre looking for.

If you were to buy whole bean coffee, youd have to grind it to the specific size you want. Depending on your disposition and the amount of time you have on your hands, that might be a good or bad thing.

How Do You Keep Ground Coffee Fresh

You really cant keep ground coffee fresh it begins to deteriorate after about half an hour. If you absolutely must keep ground coffee, for instance if you are traveling and dont have access to a grinder , pack it in an airtight container and keep it away from light and heat. But once youre accustomed to truly fresh coffee, youll find that ground coffee even in an airtight package kept in the dark loses a portion of its flavor every day.

Read Also: Where To Buy Verismo Coffee Pods

Dont Freeze Your Beans

At the absolute most, if youre looking to preserve beans in their original packaging, you can refrigerate your beans, but never freeze them. Coffee beans are naturally oily, even the dryer roasts. Its part of what keeps the flavor going strong. When the oils freeze to the beans, they become stale-tasting, even though youll be defrosting them. It changes the beans entirely.

How To Store Whole Bean Coffee

Air is the enemy of fresh coffee. The best way to store your beans is in an airtight canister with a gasket seal. Metal, glass, and ceramic containers are best. Plastic is more likely to absorb flavors and may allow some air to seep in.

Where you keep your canister is important, too. Avoid having it in direct sunlight, which can also contribute to staleness. The best place to keep it is in a cool, dry cabinet, or a darker area of your counter.

Don’t Miss: How To Clean My Mr Coffee Maker

How To Use A French Press

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Start the day off right with the perfect cup of French press coffee! Making French press coffee is a lot easier than you think. You dont have to be a coffee genius to produce the perfect cup of coffee in under 15 minutes.

We love starting the day off with a cup of coffee and a little something sweet, too! Check out some of our favorite morning sweets like these Oatmeal Banana Cookies or Healthy Chocolate Muffins!

Do I Buy Coffee Beans Or Ground Coffee And Why

Should I buy coffee beans or ground coffee? That is a question that gets asked a lot these days and today, we are going to do our best to break it down so that you will have better knowledge about both.

For starters, let me just go ahead and say that you should buy coffee beans and grind your own. Why? Thats a great question. Lets look at the facts, shall we?

Read Also: Is Decaf Coffee Good For Constipation

Freshness And Roast Dates

Coffee is best enjoyed fresh. Just after beans are roasted is when flavour is at its peak, with sugars, oils, acids and aromas existing together in perfect balance.

As time goes on, this harmony starts to fade and several things happen to your coffee that impact flavour. Sugars will disappear oils and aromatics will evaporate and, certain unpleasant flavours might start to appear, such as added bitterness.

While coffee continues to be safe to drink for quite a while, the loss of flavour and its overall vitality means youre not going to enjoy a coffee in the same way 12 months after its roasted, compared to a recommended 2-6 weeks.

Tip: Supermarkets, where stock will sit inside shops for extensive periods, will show you a best before date rather than a roasted on date. This could be up to 18-24 months after its been roasted in some cases. Obviously, this isnt ideal, so when possible, look for the roast date to understand exactly how old your coffee is.

Whole Bean Coffee Vs Ground Coffee

Just so you know, if you click on a product on RoastyCoffee.com and decide to buy it, we may earn a small commission.

To many coffee lovers out there, a cup of coffee is just that: a cup of coffee. They dont take the time to consider what the process of getting the beans to the cup was they just know the result is delicious.

But theres more to your coffee than meets the eye. No matter where your coffee beans hail from, they underwent a process that included harvesting, processing, and roasting before they were packaged and sold in one of two forms: whole beans or ground beans.

Whether youre a connoisseur or a casual coffee drinker, deciding between whole and pre-ground beans is an important part of your coffee experience.

Why is that, you ask? Dont worry. Weve got all the information you need about whole bean versus ground coffee.

You May Like: Where To Buy Verismo Coffee Pods

Some Facts About Coffee Grinding

Grinding coffee – it smells wonderful, nothing in the world like it. It is a wonderful aroma to spread in your home or office.

Grinding the beans is the single most important task to achieve a perfect coffee.

It is so easy to get wrong. Rarely is it right, particularly when attempting a shot on an espresso coffee machine.

Always just a fraction too fine or too coarse.

Even the pro baristas can struggle to get the grind correct. That is why you may always see them fiddling and adjusting the grind.

Some brewing or extraction methods are more forgiving than the science required for great espresso extraction.

Plungers, percolators, drip filters, etc. can still make a decent coffee if the grind is close to the required setting, but Mr Espresso is quite a tempermental beast.

Pre-ground coffee

I’ll be honest here and say I hate pre ground coffee. It goes stale so quickly – faster than you think. But it is better to buy well roasted ground coffee beans, then prepacked supermarket coffee. That is for sure. And it is usually not more expensive, delivered to your door.

Even the most sophisticated packaging systems with nitrogen-flush technology can’t save you when you pre-ground coffee. You see how into freshness we are.

So, now you might be outraged that ground coffee is going stale in an hour. Well, yes that’s what happens…….it starts to lose the flavour and aromatics within 15 minutes of grinding.

What happens when you open a new bag of coffee beans

Our tips for grinding coffee

How Long Can You Store It For

You should realize with all these chemical reactions that happen automatically your grind will never stay fresh for long.

Whole beans may keep for up to a month if stored correctly but the moment you grind them this timeline is halved.

You can expect your coffee to taste much less refined after only two weeks.

Read Also: Is Coffee Bad For Kidney Stones

Grinding Your Own Coffee Beans Vs Pre

From a pure price perspective, the difference between grinding your coffee beans and pre ground coffee is not that much.

You might end up getting the same amount of coffee both ways. It makes us wonder why to make all this fuss when this is the case.

For example, Starbucks sells a 12-oz pack of pre ground coffee for $8. Whats the price of a 12-oz pack of coffee beans from Starbucks? The same $8. There is no difference.

Even La Colombe is pricing a 12-oz pack of pre-ground coffee as well as a 12-oz pack of coffee beans at the same price of $13.

While there is not much of a difference when it comes to price, there are many factors that come into play when you grind your coffee bean at home. These factors ensure that you are getting a much better coffee experience .

Coffee Roasting And Types Of Roasts

Besides coffee type and origin, another critical aspect to understand when choosing the best coffee beans on Amazon is the type of roast. One coffee bean brand may have Light Roast on its package, while another one claims to be a medium or dark roast. What does this terminology mean, and should you care?

The word roast is derived from roasting. Coffee roasting is the process of heating green coffee cherry seeds while swirling them. This process is what gives the coffee you brew at home its characteristic flavor and taste.

Green, unroasted coffee cherries have a similar make-up to roasted coffee beans in terms of sugar content, acidity, and caffeine. However, unroasted coffee beans dont have the taste of coffee until they are roasted.

Worth noting, there is more to simply adding coffee cherries in a heating basket. This process is an art and a science that requires a perfect balance of the right temperature and perfect heating duration.

Don’t Miss: Snapple Peach Tea Caffeine Content

Does Grinding Your Own Coffee Taste Better

Most serious coffee drinkers answer this question with an emphatic yes! As we mentioned above, each of your favorite brewing methods requires a different grind size for optimal flavor and caffeine extraction. And of course, grinding the coffee yourself gives you total control of the size of your grounds.

You might also find the size of your ground coffee affects the overall taste of your morning cup. But dont worry with a bit of practice, experimentation, and a good burr grinder, youll perfect the process in no time.

Helpful grind tip: you may be grinding your beans a bit too coarsely if the contents of your cup are more acidic than normal, and if your java is on the bitter side, your grounds are likely too fine.

Is It Cheaper To Grind Your Own Coffee Beans Or Should You Buy Ground Coffee

Improving your cup of coffee is a journey that never ends. Somewhere down the line, you will want to save some bucks. Thats when you ask this classic question.

Is it cheaper to grind your own coffee beans? Yes, grinding your own coffee beans is cheaper. Though pre-ground coffee might come at the same price, you will get sub-par coffee that has a stale flavor. Even though you pay the same money when grinding your coffee beans, you will get a far superior coffee that has a rich aroma and taste.

Also Check: How Much Caffeine In Starbucks K Cup

Understanding Coffee Bean Origin

Youll hear the term single-origin attached to most craft coffees. That means that all of the beans are from the same region rather than a blend of different beans from different regions.

Theres nothing inherently wrong with a blend. The main advantage of choosing single-origin coffee is that it lets you choose the specific flavor notes youre looking for.

Even within regions, there are plenty of flavor variations. Generally speaking, though, African coffee has the most pronounced fruity and floral notes. American coffee tends to be smoother and has chocolatey and nutty notes. Coffee from Indonesia and Papua New Guinea can be sour, earthy, fruity, or smoky, depending on how it was grown and processed.

Elevation is the biggest piece of this puzzle. Higher altitude means a cooler growing environment, and that slows the maturation of the coffee cherries. This results in a denser bean with more complex flavors. The best coffee tends to come from growing regions 4,000 feet above sea level or higher.