After what seems like a lifetime of working with coffee, I have met aficionados, nerds, geeks and crazies all on the quest for the perfect cup.
Often, an exploration of the finer details is where the magic lies.
Enter the realm of particle size distribution and coffee grinders. It's not merely about grinding beans; it's about the precision of the cut (from the burrs) or what we call the size of the grind and quality of those particles.
Above: DiFluid OMNI - Coffee Roast and Particle Analysis
Imagine a cup, its sweet, sweet for sure, it really resonates on the tip of the tongue, but there's more, an elegant sensation of uplifting acidity, yet the nature of the brew is velvety in texture, is it velvet or cream, lets call it velvety cream. Could this be the perfect cup…. That’s the type of language we are chasing, that's the experience of coffee that changes lives.
When we say particle size distribution, we are referring to the size of the individual pieces of coffee as they come out of the grinder. We know that when we have smaller particles of coffee, i.e., a finer grind, we get a more intensely flavoured brew due to more surface contact between the coffee and the water. When we have larger particles of coffee, (Called a coarse grind), the flavour is less intense.
So what happens if you have some particles that are very small, and some that are very large in the same brew? This is typical of most grinders.
Well, you get a result that isn't ideal at all.
Think of it just like an up and coming elite sports team, you may have some A players, these are our ideal grind sizes, but we may have some B players, these grinds are actually a little bit out of where we want to be, what's even worse are those C players, the players that just drag the chain, these are what we would refer to as our fines and boulders in coffee grinds. More about that later. But the point is in this scenario is that we have some ideal grind that is hamstrung by not so ideal grind in coffee brewing, and it has been this way for a millennia.
Not what we're going for in our pursuit of excellence. It's about the consistency of the “good/ideal” grinds, and unlocking the full spectrum of flavours locked within those tiny beans.
Understanding particle size distribution is like deciphering the code to coffee nirvana. Whether it's the delicate balance of espresso or the smooth richness of a French press, the right grinder can make all the difference, ensuring uniformity in grind size and ultimately elevating the brew to a sensory experience worth savouring.
Recently we have been inspired by this concept and the many, many blogs and courses we have been to on the subject of uniformity of grind and the pursuit of giving our customers the best cup of White Horse coffee.
A great cup of coffee is good, but what we really want is consistency, and for us that means consistency amongst stores, factories and outlets.
We recently purchased the DiFluid OMNI and have found it to be a great little tool. Apart from doubling as a moisture meter, and an Agtron spectrometer, it is able to read ground coffee particle size distribution.
After getting this tool, I spent several hours driving between our family stores collecting samples of each grind size from each grinder! The real task was meticulously logging the samples followed by more arduous processes of testing and more data logging. This has resulted in an even more noble task, which is getting all of our grinders in all of our locations grinding the same average particle size.
What this means for you is a guarantee that no matter where you buy your White Horse coffee, if it's ground at one of our flagship stores you can guarantee that it is ground perfectly.
The path is set, the challenge is there, all we need to do now is execute.
This is a hill worth dying on. A hill of ground coffee.
By Domtron
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