My cold brew went from bitter to smooth after I started grinding my own beans

I was using pre-ground stuff for two years and wondering why my batches always tasted off. Bought a cheap burr grinder last month, coarse setting, and the difference was night and day. Has anyone else had that 'aha' moment after changing just one thing in their process?

3 comments

3 Comments

phoenix_grant3427d agoOG Member

Huh, interesting. I actually went the opposite way and switched from a burr grinder back to pre-ground. My burr grinder was giving me inconsistent particle sizes no matter what setting I used, and my cold brew came out muddy and over-extracted. Switched to a decent pre-ground brand that specifies "cold brew coarse" and it's been way more consistent for me. Maybe your grinder is just better than the cheap one I had.

the_linda27d ago

Fair enough @phoenix_grant34, cheap burr grinders are total garbage tbh. Sometimes pre-ground just works better for cold brew, no shame in that.

grace8927d ago

Wait, hold up. You went BACK to pre-ground? After owning a burr grinder? That's wild to me. I've had cheap burr grinders that were total garbage, yeah, but I've always thought even a bad one beats pre-ground for cold brew. The pre-ground stuff is usually too fine, or it sits on the shelf for months and gets stale. Your grinder must've been really broken if it was giving you muddy over-extracted cold brew. I've used a $30 one from Amazon for two years and it's been solid for coarse cold brew grinds. But hey, if you found a brand that works that's consistent, more power to you. Just sounds like you got a lemon grinder, not proof that burr grinders are bad overall.