You don't have a coffee grinder and you want to buy ground coffee . You also want, and above all, to drink very good coffee! 😋 That's good, because this guide aims to answer (among other things) frequently asked questions when buying ground coffee:
- What criteria to choose your coffee?
- Where to buy your coffee?
- How to store ground coffee?
So first of all, let's take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of buying ground coffee.
Should you buy ground or whole bean coffee?
I have already written an entire article dedicated to the differences between ground coffee and coffee beans . You can go read it if you are interested. Here I am focusing on ground coffee and together we will see that there are advantages to buying ground coffee, but some disadvantages to consider.
Benefits of ground coffee
The main advantage of ground coffee is that it is ready to use . No question to ask, just take a few spoonfuls of ground coffee and place it in your coffee maker. It couldn't be simpler .
In addition to being simple to use, it is also very fast . It only takes a few seconds to start brewing your coffee. Unlike coffee beans that you would have to grind beforehand.
Besides, with your ground coffee , you don't need to buy a coffee grinder.
Then the grind will normally be at a perfect size for extracting your coffee. Indeed, if you buy, for example, ground coffee for a filter coffee maker, it will have been studied to be perfectly suitable for the flow of water for a filter coffee maker.
Disadvantages of coffee bought already ground
There are limits to this, however, especially for making espresso, since there, depending on your machine, you will need a more or less fine grind. If the size of the grind is not perfect for your machine, then you will have to play on other aspects of the preparation, such as tamping the ground coffee in the filter holder.
After stopping on the size of the grind, it is also important to mention the freshness of the coffee. And yes, ground coffee is considered less "fresh" than coffee beans. We are not talking about the freshness of the roasting, but about the grind. Indeed, freshly ground coffee will always be better than coffee that has been ground hours, days, or even weeks before your coffee was prepared.
The main disadvantage of ground coffee is that it quickly loses its taste qualities , compared to coffee beans that are ground at the last moment.
Some coffee lovers will tell you that it is a sacrilege not to grind your coffee just before tasting it. For my part, I am more measured since not everyone has the desire or the patience to prepare their coffee from A to Z. A simple and quick coffee to make , without the fuss, is suitable for the majority of people. . You just have to be aware that a coffee bought already ground can never be as good as if you bought it in beans.
How to choose your ground coffee?
The right grind size
There are dozens of ways to extract coffee (to prepare coffee). You are most likely familiar with the bean or capsule espresso machine, or even the filter coffee maker or the Italian coffee maker… All these methods of preparing coffee require coffee grinds of different sizes. It is therefore important to know what grind size you should use for the method(s) you use on a daily basis.
And yes, an unsuitable grind does not allow you to extract all the aromas and flavors of the coffee in the best conditions. You risk missing out on many taste aspects…
So, which ground coffee for which coffee maker?
Ground coffee for filter coffee maker
Ground coffee for filter coffee makers, it is possible to find it everywhere! It's really not rocket science, if you go to any food store, you will find it. Be careful though, the big brands do not necessarily offer fresh coffees or high quality coffees. We will see a little later how and where to choose your coffee.
Drip coffee ground coffee is a medium grind. The grind is not as fine as for making an espresso, but finer than for making a coffee with a French press, for example.
Ground coffee for espresso machine
Here, and as with the following extraction methods, it is not so easy to find the right grind in stores. In fact, most of the time you will need to buy directly from a roaster or from specialized shops (physical or online) who can grind the coffee to the right size .
The espresso grind should be really fine so that the water has time to absorb the oils from the ground coffee. Indeed, as its name suggests, the espresso is made quickly. The water passes very quickly through. So if the grind used was coarse, the water would not soak up the coffee well and would not really taste.
Grind for Italian coffee maker
The Italian coffee maker is another great classic for making coffee. Just like making an espresso, pressure is used here, by heating water which will rise to the surface of the coffee maker through the grind. Again, the coffee should not be too thick at the risk of obtaining a tasteless coffee.
The grind size is close to espresso coffee, but (very) slightly coarser.
Grind suitable for French press coffee maker
The French press coffee maker is one of the only coffee makers to offer free infusion of coffee in water , just like for infusions or tea. We just put the ground coffee in the bottom of the coffee maker, then we add the hot water and let everything steep for several minutes.
Since the water is in constant contact and for several minutes with the ground coffee , it must be rather coarse to avoid over-extraction (and therefore a coffee that is far too strong and bitter). In addition, the stainless steel filter must not let anything through (or almost), so it is for this reason that you cannot use a finer coffee at the risk of finding grinds in your cup.
Choose freshly ground coffee
As I briefly mentioned above, fresh coffee will always taste better. Of course, by buying your coffee already ground, the freshness of the grind will not be optimal. If you still want to enjoy good coffee, then you will have to be careful to get freshly ground coffee .
This is obviously hardly possible in large areas. It is therefore ideal to choose specialty stores that can grind coffee on demand . This way, you can also choose the right grind size and the coffee will be freshly ground.
Be careful though, once the coffee is ground, it oxidizes much faster and therefore loses its taste qualities. This is why, we will have to pay attention to its conservation, as we will see later.
Optimal conservation at the seller's
Speaking of preservation, I invite you to pay attention to how the ground coffee you buy is preserved. If when you buy it it is already ground, it will be even more important.
If you can't access ground coffee on demand, you have no other option but to buy pre-ground coffee (or turn to online stores). If you buy a coffee that has been ground in advance, be careful that it is in a box or a suitable bag, which avoids contact with the air.
The coffee should also be protected from light, in a dry and cool environment. If the café is in the open air, in full light, flee! 😅
I will explain to you a little further on the optimal storage conditions for your coffee, whether in the shop or at home: one of the keys to enjoying good coffee!
Pay attention to the roasting date
As for the roast date, it is generally advisable to consume coffee that has been roasted between 10 days and 6 weeks after roasting .
If you consumed roasted coffee yesterday, you may unfortunately not be satisfied with the coffee since it will not have had time to evacuate all the gas created during cooking.
If, on the contrary (and this is unfortunately the case with many coffees found on the market), the ground coffee you buy was roasted several months ago, there again you risk being disappointed. ).
Indeed, a coffee whose roasting was carried out months earlier will inevitably have lost many of its aromatic and taste qualities...
Of course, the way the ground coffee is stored will have an impact on the result in the cup, but even if the coffee is perfectly stored, there will be a loss of flavors if the roast is too old.
Your preferences
Finally, I can only recommend that you turn to varieties of coffee that you appreciate, which have aromatic notes that you like.
If you don't yet know your tastes in coffee, because you've only consumed coffee from supermarkets, over-roasted and very often bitter and without any real aromatic notes… I invite you to explore! Go to the local roaster and ask him to serve you small quantities of very different coffee: very fruity, spicy, chocolate, with citrus notes... In short, explore and train your palate in new flavors!
Where can I buy good ground coffee?
If you have never bought your ground coffee anywhere other than in food stores (large distribution in particular), you will see that a new world is open to you! I present to you 3 solutions to buy quality ground coffee .
Specialty shops
There are a few major brands specializing in the sale of tea and coffee, sometimes only coffee, such as the Coffea brand. Otherwise, whatever your city, you will necessarily find a small shop that sells coffee beans or ground .
These shops will be able to advise you and offer you different coffees. However, pay attention to the way the coffees are kept there. Very often and in order to satisfy the eyes of curious customers, the coffee is displayed in large transparent jars and sometimes worse, in open bins!
We therefore think of buying very good coffee, better than what we can find in supermarkets. Sometimes we even pay the price when it comes to rarer vintages. However, this will only have been a waste of time and money since a coffee, however exceptional it may be, will not be able to deploy all its riches in the cup if it has not been properly stored.
Ground coffee at roasters
Overall, roasters are normally caring about their products and will therefore keep each coffee in the best possible condition. If you want to supply yourself at the source, and especially if you have the opportunity, go for it! 😃
In addition to taking care of their coffees, the roasters will also be able to give you the best advice and you will talk about their different blends for hours…!
Online shops
Finally, you have another solution that may be more comfortable for people living far from specialized shops or roasters. These are online stores. In addition to being very practical, buying your coffee online allows you to have access to an almost infinite range of coffees, both "single origins" (a single origin of coffee), and "blends". (mixtures).
Do not hesitate to do research on the net!
How to store ground coffee?
Even more important than the storage of coffee beans, the storage of ground coffee must follow very strict rules to try to retain the most aromas and flavors. As we have seen, coffee beans keep a little better, they oxidize less quickly than when ground. The storage conditions are the same for coffee beans as for ground coffee. But you're going to have to pay a lot more attention to it from the moment you choose ground coffee ...
Here are the rules to follow to keep your coffee in good condition for as long as possible. Be careful though, you won't be able to keep it for months, your coffee will go stale too quickly.
Keep your ground coffee dry
We sometimes hear some people recommend putting your coffee in the fridge to keep it cool. However, a fridge is far from the best place for a bag of coffee, both in beans and ground. Not to mention the many smells that coffee could enjoy, a refrigerator is a particularly humid environment. Too wet for coffee!
Indeed, the coffee needs to be dry, otherwise it risks losing its flavors or even worse, mold! Instead, I advise you to put your coffee in a cupboard that is not too close to cooking systems (to avoid steam). Be careful, however, not to store it with your spices or any other food or condiment with strong odors that the coffee could soak up.
avoid light
To preserve all the organoleptic properties of your coffee, I also invite you to avoid any exposure to light. The ideal is an opaque bag or box, which does not let the sun's rays pass through.
Have the appropriate bag or box
This box can be interesting for ground coffee . For coffee beans that have just been roasted, it is advisable to have a bag with a freshness valve that lets the gases of the just-cooked coffee escape.
If you buy your coffee from a roaster or a specialty store, the bag with a freshness valve is essential, even for ground coffee. It's a quality index 😉 Nothing prevents you from putting your coffee in a suitable box if you have one.
Avoid temperature changes
Finally, it is important to avoid extreme heat or excessively cold temperatures as much as possible. Overall, the coffee will keep better and will thank you (by keeping its aromas!) if you avoid any thermal shock.
In the event of a heat wave, try to keep your ground coffee in the coolest room of your home.
Recycle used coffee grounds?
Now that you know how to buy good ground coffee and how to store it in the best possible condition, I wanted to end this article by giving you some cool ideas for reusing your coffee grounds.
Indeed, coffee generates a lot of waste both during its production and after its tasting. That's why I thought it might be a good idea to share some original uses for your used ground coffee .
An eco-friendly coffee grounds scrub
There are many beauty products on the market that allow us to remove dead skin from our face or from other parts of the body. However, it is often difficult to understand all the ingredients of these products as the words are so complicated and often lead us to elements that are not really natural...
Here, I suggest you reuse your coffee grounds and add a single other ingredient to it to make a scrub that is both effective and gentle on your skin.
I suggest you use a fine grind. If you drink your coffee with a French press, perhaps you should ask those around you for more finely ground coffee grounds, it will be much more pleasant for your skin.
Take a tablespoon of coffee grounds and add 2 or 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil (eg olive oil). Mix well until you get a paste. All you have to do is massage your skin with the mixture and rinse well afterwards!
Do you have a green thumb?
If you have plants, you have probably encountered small creatures such as gnats. If so, know that the coffee grounds would keep these insects away.
By placing a little used ground coffee on the soil of your plants, you could well save their lives! Be careful, however, that the marc is dry before placing it on the soil of your plants.
It is also possible to throw your coffee grounds directly into compost in order to then feed your soil. Coffee grounds are indeed a very good natural fertilizer.
I hope this article has helped you and that you have found the information(s) you were looking for. Feel free to join me on PINTEREST and TIKTOK or KO-FI if you love coffee as much as I do! 😍