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Ground Coffee Or Whole Bean Coffee?

Wednesday, June 6th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed

You don’t need to be a coffee connoisseur to know the difference between ground and whole bean coffee. From their labels you can tell the most basic difference between the two types of beans: one is whole beans and the other is ground beans. However, what you may not know is that there are several marked differences between ground beans and whole beans, aside from their obviously different structures.

Which Is Better?

Both coffees come from the same bottom line: a bean. These are seeds taken from the almost cherry like fruits of the coffee plants. Coffee beans are found naturally in pairs where the flat surface touches each other. Fresh beans are whole while broken or splintered beans show that the bean is old and not useable. If these beans are to be stored, they must be stored whole.

In order to use coffee beans to brew coffee, you must grind the beans. Ground beans have more surface area for the water to be exposed to, and therefore the water can soak up the most flavor this way. Grinding the beans allows for the natural oils in the beans to seep out and into the water completely. If you use whole beans while brewing your coffee this can’t happen.

As you can see, the best way to brew coffee is to use ground beans. However, this does not necessarily mean that you should purchase ground beans at the store. There are still differences between using store bought ground beans and purchasing whole beans and grinding them at home.

Ground coffee that you purchase at the store has many disadvantages that whole beans don’tt. First, ground beans last for ages so the coffee you are purchasing is usually not fresh. Second, these beans can, in fact, be over ground. If you use over ground beans, your coffee will have a distinctive burnt taste. In addition, ground beans can last for a long time but that does not mean that the quality or flavor of the beans stays intact. Every exposure to air, moisture, heat, or light affects the ground beans. Because heat and light only affect the surface of the bean, if you have beans that are exposed, the inside that is not being exposed will still create a quality brew.

Whole beans are great for storage, unlike ground beans. When you purchase whole beans and grind them at home, you know exactly how fresh it is and exactly what type of coffee you are getting. These are some things that can’t be guaranteed when you purchase pre ground beans.

As you can see, there are many differences between whole and ground beans.