Use a grinder. That's my tip. Grind fresh.
I'm not saying you need an expensive one. I plodded along with this little manual number for a long time, and I loved it. I think people thought it was kinda nerdy or quaint or ridiculously painstaking. I loved it.
As for what type of grinder... well, you're looking for consistency on two fronts. You want it to be the same from cup-to-cup. And you want the grind itself to be even (i.e. not boulders and dust all at once). For me, I'd rather use elbow grease on a conical burr grinder than get frustrated by inconsistent blades.
What's the big deal? Stick your nose in a bag of pre-ground coffee several days after you opened it, and then stick your nose in some freshly-ground beans. That's why.
2 comments:
What kind of grade of grind are you after?
Hey Michael,
Kinda tricky to pin-down hey!?
I guess I gauge it from the end-results. If I'm grinding for a plunger I do want there to be much sludge in the cups poured from it. If there is, then either I've ground it all too fine, or my grinder's being inconsistent (i.e. making dust and boulders).
For espresso I guess I gauge it by how consistent the pour is. If shot-after-shot is taking the same time to extract, and it's not channeling, then I'm happy. (By 'same time', I look for 15-20secs before the flow turns to a light colour - I think aiming for any longer with such small baskets is unrealistic).
To be honest, channeling is my biggest problem on my machine. My hunch is it's just inevitable with the hardware I'm using. I grind really fine, and tamp consistently, but the machine still manages to punch holes through the puck.
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