The last stage of the preparation consists in grinding the roasted coffee beans.
The size of the grind is essential to the quality of the beverage
It must be suited to the brewing method. The shorter the exposure to hot water, the finer the grind must be to rapidly release the flavours. If the contact with water is longer, the grind must be thicker to avoid producing coffee that is too steeped, with a strong and bitter taste. However, if the grind is really too coarse, you will get a weak and watery brew.
Ground coffee becomes flat and quickly loses its flavour because the surface that is in contact with air has been significantly increased. We recommend that you grind your beans at the last minute to enjoy a perfect coffee. If not, you can store the ground coffee in the fridge for a few days to prevent it from losing too much of its flavour.
Coffee beans used to ground in a stone mill or pounded with a pestle.
The invention and manufacture of the coffee mill, inspired from pepper mills, came with the spread of coffee in the West, and as from the 17th century, iron coffee mills were manufactured under the reign of Louis XIV.
However, it was only after the 19th century that coffee mills really became a fixture in homes, especially the ones made by the company Peugeot frères, the first one of which was designed in 1832.
Electricity soon replaced the handle.
Today, there are three types of coffee mills on the market:
- The manual mill, still manufactured by Peugeot, but now in Brazil, makes it possible to adjust the grind size. It releases a lot of flavours but requires a lot of elbow grease
- The burr grinder is not very expensive, but has the disadvantage of heating the bean causing it to lose some flavour. The grind size cannot be adjusted.
- The coffee grinder is more elaborate but more expensive. It grinds the beans quickly and the grind size may be adjusted up to the "flour" used in preparing Turkish coffee. It does not heat the beans and lets the flavours be released during the operation.