How is it possible to make a perfect cup of cold brew coffee without knowing the way how to grind coffee for cold brew properly? You may ask, is it essential to know whether to grind coffee beans for cold brew or does the cold brew require special grinding?
Yes, it does. Many of us, unfortunately, don’t know about it and fail to make it authentically. If you are from one of the failures or want to improve your cold brew experience, we are here for you to teach you the best way to grind coffee for cold brew.
Choose the grind size indicator from your grinder (either manual or automatic) from medium to high. After filling the coffee bean hopper with coffee, start grinding and wait for 8-10 seconds to finish the process. That’s it, you have completed the process.
By the end of this content, you will perfectly learn coffee bean grinding for cold brew. It’s our promise you will learn the best methods. Just be with us, and you won’t regret it.
Should you grind coffee for a cold brew of your own?
When you grind coffee beans, their flavor and aroma get mixed with the oxygen of the air and spread out widely. After some time, you can feel less aroma and flavor since the flavor and aroma have decreased.
If you make coffee using powders from the market, you won’t get the amount of original flavor. You need newly ground coffee particles, which have lost minimal flavor and fragrance.
You can have a cold brew with older coffee particles; you can not compare it with the new ground-made cold brew.
Is grind coarseness necessary for cold brew?
Yes, the coarseness of coffee grounds is crucial for cold brew. Cold water takes longer for coffee taste, flavor, and oil extraction. Moreover, coarse grounds take less heat during conversion from coffee beans to grounds. That less heat touch makes the grounds suitable for cold brew.
When you make your cold brew with fine grounds, it will reduce the taste. So, the thickness of coffee grounds is essential. That’s why you also need to know how coarse you should grind coffee for cold brew.
What is the actual size of coarse or coarser beans?
People are often confused about what size of grinds they need for cold brew. But it’s a must-realize critical fact. The terms coarse and coarser mean 1 mm and 1.5 mm in size measurement.
What will happen with ultra-coarse grinds in cold brewing?
Unlike hot coffee, cold brew takes a fixed grind size. If you use wrong size (smaller or bigger), it will cause taste variation. For ultra coarse grind size, the extraction will be weak, and thus, it will affect the coffee.
Using fine grounds for cold brew
Many people think that if one uses fine grounds for cold brew. What will happen then? You may make cold brew coffee using smooth or fine grinders, but it will be a poor cold brew.
Finely ground beans make jam in the grinder’s coffee bean container surface. When you run water through the steepy surface, the fine grounds create a barrier to the water. That means the water gets in touch with water more times, and the extraction process continues for a long time.
This ultimately hampers the outcome of the cold brew and makes it bitter to taste.
How to grind coffee perfectly for cold brew?
Our above discussion and focus points indicate that you just need some perfect bean size. Here we will cover all direct and indirect steps on how to grind coffee for cold brew.
Choosing the grinder type
Analyzing the characteristics of grinders, we can divide them into two major categories –
- burr grinder and
- blade grinder
Choose a grinder that is easy for you to use, collect and buy.
Burr grinders
Burr grinders are more suitable than others. They can ground coffee beans with great consistency and the same size. The burrs are essential in making bean powders, as you command.
Adjusting grind size requires fewer efforts with a burr grinder. Moreover, it produces less heat while grinding coffee beans. That means the coffee beans get a lesser amount of heat as they get in touch shorter time with the burrs.
Burr grinders are the latest types and modern facility-riched. Additionally, they produce low noise.
Blade grinders
The blade grinders contain the blades in their container’s lower part. The blades run circularly in the grinder and make grinds from beans. This grinding process is not satisfactorily consistent.
This uneven bean particle size is unsuitable for a cold brew extraction process. You won’t get the proper flavor or taste of cold brew coffee from the blade grinder-made particles.
Both the burr and blade grinders are capable of grinding for cold brew. But the burr grinder is the clear-cut winner.
If we do not mention the other two main categories of the grinder at least, it will be an injustice to them. They are
- manual and
- automatic
You can easily identify these two categories by marking their name. The manual grinder needs your effort and close attention to operate, and the automatic also demands these but at a low level. Press the button on automatic grinders and set a few things.
Precaution before starting grinding
You need to get all elements in your hand before starting the grinding process. Put the grinder on a table that won’t shake. Keep your children away from the grinding area. Make sure the coffee bean pots and ground coffee particle pots are in your touch. Don’t pour over the coffee bean amount in the hopper; consider the ground holding pot size.
Final grinding process
You have selected your grinder, and beans are at hand. Pour the beans into the hopper as you want and grind. If you have an automatic grinder, choose the necessary settings and wait for the completion of the task. A mechanical grinder may take 10 sec +/- duration.
If you have a manual grinder, complete 1 – 1.5 turns to make your bean particles medium and 1.5 – 2 turns for coarse. This turn count may vary on the grinder company and models. Read your grinder user manual to get the appropriate instructions.
It’s a good suggestion when you have more beans to grind an average amount at a time. You can make two or three installments of the total bean amount.
Making cold brew
Have your grinds in a pot with cold water and a pot for keeping the particles in it. Mix the particles and cold water and keep them in a fridge for 16 -24 hours.
Some get confused about what should be the ratio of water and coffee. Yes, there is the solution, 4:1 is the perfect ration of water and coffee bean particles for a tasteful shot of cold brew.
If you have the hurry to get cold brew earlier than at least 14-16 hours, you need to sacrifice the taste of it. You can enjoy the fast cold brew coffee methods also.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How coarse Should I grind coffee for cold brew?
Generally, it’s a common suggestion from the experts to have your grind size indicator settings on levels 9-10 from a total 10-level indicator. From grinder to grinder, the settings may vary. You have selected the maximum of one or a couple of levels earlier.
Can you use regular coffee grinds for cold brew?
Though a shot of cold brew needs coarser coffee grinds, you can use regular grinds, also. Regular grinds mixed with cold brew will not give you the full flavor or taste. It will be acceptable at a level. So, the experts suggest using coarser grounds for a perfect cold brew.
How long do you grind coffee for cold brew?
The answer is variable. Every brand and model of a grinder takes a different time to grind coffee beans for cold coffee. Generally, it may take 8-10 seconds. Find your grinder user manual to know the perfect grinding time.
Do you have to grind coffee beans for cold brew?
Grinding coffee beans for a cold brew is not mandatory. You may have a pre-grinded pack from the market. But, experts say the miniature difference between grinding and coffee making results in excellent coffee. So, the experts suggest freshly ground coarse coffee powders.
Conclusion
We hope every piece of information in our presentation has helped you understand how to grind coffee for cold brew. Actually, making cold brew coffee takes more attention and arrangement. So you must be very cautious and look at every step we’ve mentioned.
Our advice and request that you decide wisely to select your grinder. You must add effort or compromise flavor when the grinder price is less. So, we suggest you take the better one if possible.
Enjoy the freshest cold brew whenever you want, and be with us for more exclusive coffee suggestions.