Rise and Grind

Wow, we’ve reached a new low, huh? We’re selling coffee… that’s not even ready to brew yet! Ridiculous, right?

But wait a minute… perhaps whole bean coffee is better… maybe?

Ugh. If only we could find between three and six thousand articles outlining which is preferred!

The pre-ground versus fresh-ground debate, it seems, is a fertile topic for the freelance writers/AI agents tasked with maintaining the oft-ignored ‘blog’ tab at the top of your favorite local coffee roaster’s website.

Basically, once you grind beans, you expose the inside to oxygen, causing the grounds to go stale at a much quicker rate than whole beans. Or, to quote Raina Roberts of Partners Coffee, from my favorite 32-minute Epicurious coffee-tasting video:

Think of it similar to if you cut an apple and leave it on your table for a very long time. Is it as enjoyable? No.

It all makes sense, right?

But here’s the thing: You know what tastes worse than pre-ground coffee? No coffee. Because you bought whole beans without having a grinder at home.

Luckily, they make really cheap ones. Like this one. The upside? It costs less than 20 bucks and can be used to process spices as well. The downside? You have almost no control over it. You just put the beans in and let it rip. Need a finer grind? Shake it a bit and hope for the best.

That’s why I personally recommend this one. It’s what we use at my house, and while it’s almost ten times as expensive, mine has lasted nearly a decade and shows no signs of failing. Additionally, you can adjust the grind size easily, which means you can brew it in your basic coffee pot or your espresso machine.

(This last bit is honestly something I didn’t realize for a while. Any roast level, espresso or otherwise, can be brewed as espresso. And honestly, I like some of the lighter roast coffees in espresso preparation better than the dark, bitter options.)

Welp, it’s happened again. We’ve offered something coffee-related, and I’ve taken it way too seriously. Anyway, we got beans here. Meanwhile, if you don’t want to deal with any of that, Elle pods are available on SideDeal.

It’s up to you.