Fresh Ground Coffee

If you are looking for information on how to grind coffee, then this is the page for you!

The first step is to start off with Fresh Roasted Coffee. We recommend buying your coffee whole bean, and then grinding your coffee prior to each time you decide to brew your Cup of Joe! That brings us to our next question. What type of grinder if suited best for you? We recommend finding a good quality, yet affordable coffee grinder. There are a lot of different types of grinders out there on the market today, but we recommend our handy dandy Bodum Electric Grinder. We recommend it because it is extremely dependable, easy to use, and best of all it's affordable. If you are looking to buy the Bodum Electric Grinder, the link below will take you the appropriate page..

http://stores.lakotacoffee.com/-strse-120/Bodum-Electric-Grinder/Detail.bok?category=Retail%20Merchandise

The most common types of coffee grinders on the market today are Burr Grinders and Blade Grinders.

Burr Grinders:

Steel Burrs rotate effectively to grind the coffee beans to a uniform size. Usually you will choose a certain setting such as, "Drip," "Cone Filter," "French Press," "Percolator/Toddy Cold Brew," "Espresso," etc. A good Burr Grinder can generally run you $75-$150.

Blade Grinders:

Blade Grinders "chop" the coffee up as the blades rotate at a very high speed generally around 20,000-30,000 rpm. There are no settings such as "Drip" or "French Press." You simply look through the glass or plastic top, and when you feel the coffee has been ground up to perfection for you desired type of brewing, simply turn off the grinder. It does not have the capabilities to do as many grinds like a Burr Grinder. It is next to impossible to grind coffee to an "Espresso" or "Turkish" grind using a blade grinder. However, it is perfect for most coffee consumers looking for a "Drip" or "French Press" for example. A good Blade Grinder can run $25-$50.

Different Types of Coffee Grinds:

Drip Coffee

Drip Coffee is the most consumed coffee in the United States. Drip coffee is the process of brewing coffee by pouring hot water over coffee grounds. The coffee is then collected in a container such as a Coffee Pot, Airpot, or coffee cup. Whether you are at your house, or whether you are in a coffee shop getting a cup of coffee, you are drinking "Drip Coffee." The coffee grind is coarse enough for the water to seep through the coffee, while absorbing the coffee oils and flavors. We recommend about 2 Tablespoons per 8 oz of boiling hot water. A drip coffee grind is a medium grind or commonly known as #6 grind. A Cone Filter Drip is a #5, and produces a bit stronger tasting coffee since it takes a longer for the water to run through the coffee.

French Press Coffee

French Press Coffee is a coarser grind that remains in the French Press (a.k.a Press Pot) throughout the entire brewing process. A French Press Grind is a very coarse ground coffee that is put into the bottom of the French Press, and then boiling hot water is added on top of the grinds. After an extended period of time (3-5 Minutes), you push the plunger down and it forces all of the coffee grinds to the bottom of the press pot. This leaves you with a very strong cup of coffee. We recommend 2 oz of coarsely ground coffee per 25 oz of boiling hot water. If the grind is too fine, the plunger will become ineffective, and it will leave coffee grinds in your cup. You need to make sure you ask your local barista for a coarse ground coffee for a French Press Coffee Maker. This is commonly known to most coffee shops as a #10.

Toddy Cold Brew

Cold Brew Coffee is by far the best process to make Iced Coffee. Essentially you soak coarse ground coffee in a container filled with water for 8-12 Hours. This results in a very strong coffee concentrate that can then be mixed with milk and ice. You can use water if you are lactose intolerant, but we recommend soy milk. Here at Lakota Coffee Co. we use a Toddy Cold Brew Coffee System, which is one of the best cold brew coffee systems on the market. You want to set your grinder to pretty much the coarsest grind "Percolator," also known in a lot of coffee shops as #13. We use 1 LB of coffee per 72 oz of water. Let it stand for 8-12 Hours, and then allow all of the coffee to filter through into a container. Next, add milk and ice. 3-4 oz of Coffee Concentrate + 8 oz of Milk + 4 oz of Ice = the best Iced Coffee money can buy!

Espresso

An Espresso Grind is an extremely fine coffee ground down to a fine powder substance - it should only have a little grit to it. Any respectable coffee house has an art to pouring a good shot of espresso. In Italy a Barista is not considered a master of their domain for at least 4 years. Baristas don't make coffee, they create coffee. A shot of espresso should have a thick layer of dark caramel color crema on top. A shot of espresso should pour for 18-22 seconds. The finer the grind, the longer it takes to pour a shot of espresso. A longer pour will result in a stronger tasting espresso. The coarser the grind, the quicker the shot of espresso will pour. This will result in a weaker, more watered down tasting shot of espresso. Most coffee shops will grind espresso on a #2-3 setting.

Turkish Coffee

Turkish Coffee, also known as Arabic Coffee or Greek Coffee, is the process grinding coffee down to a fine powder. Then, you boil the coffee with sugar in water long enough for the grinds to somewhat dissolve. Once the coffee has been boiled long enough, simply pour and enjoy. Any remaining coffee sediments will for the most part settle at the bottom of your cup. Turkish Coffee is ground to the finest point possible, known simply as Turkish Grind or #1 for most coffee shops. Generally speaking it is very hard for most coffee grinders for home use to be able to get the coffee ground fine enough for Turkish. It is possible for you to reach a Turkish Grind, it just takes some trial and error.

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