3 ms·
> You don't need a grinder, you can buy grounded coffee at the right size for espresso in supermarkets. That's so not true and "snobbery" has nothing to do wi
by Lio 6y ago
> You don't need a grinder, you can buy grounded coffee at the right size for espresso in supermarkets.
That's so not true and "snobbery" has nothing to do with it.
The grind size is one of the ways you have for controlling extraction pressure.
You can only tamp so hard on the coffee. If the grind is too large there's no way for you to get the pressure up to 9 bars that's usually given as the espresso range.
Your coffee will taste sour, like a low pressure moka pot would make. Such a low pressure won't be able to extract the oils that make the creme, so it will also look "flat".
Equally if your store pre-ground coffee is ground too small you won't be able to lower the pressure and you'll end up with a bitter tasting, over extracted shot because you're pulling stuff out of the beans you don't want.
Different beans will have different amounts of oil in them, even for the same brand. That oil affects water pressure too.
So there isn't one "perfect" grind size. Every bag of beans is different and needs to be adjusted to keep in the pressure range.
It's not a particularly complex process. Grind size is just a pressure control and pressure affects taste. The grinder has a setting for grind size and a setting for the amount it produces. You just dial them up or down until you get the result you want.
That's before you even consider how freshness affects taste...
- kcmastrpc 6y agoThis is exactly why I prefer the Nespresso, there are so many variables to control with pulling my own espresso shots and I really don't want to be bothered with any of it. I just want a consistent, fresh, and marginally professional espresso without having to become an expert at all the above. It also goes without saying that getting all these variables dialed in, for the most part, doesn't even happen at local coffee shops. There are a few in my area, but they're all at least a 10-15 min bike ride away.
- Waterfall 6y agoDon't listen to him. You can probably get a reusable pod that works if you want. I have perfectly fine shots, don't let someone make a mountain out of a molehill and did discourage you from ever trying.
- Waterfall 6y agoSounds just like over thinking. I just tamp preground espresso and have the espresso shot.
- blaser-waffle 6y agoAye, same, overthinking it a bit. At least, overthinking it for something made at home. I used to run a coffee shop for a little over a year, and the factors that the parent mentioned are true, but it's mostly a function of using freshly ground beans and making sure they're ground to the right consistency. We had an auto-grinder, but if we had to do it by hand it was about 20 seconds of holding down the button for a darker roast, a little longer (~25?) for the lighter roast. The home user won't notice the difference too much, and the commercial customer won't notice it at all if you start frothing some milk, adding a little cocoa powder to the top, and putting in a ton of sugar -- which was the bulk of the drinks we sold (sugary lattes and stuff).