Manual coffee grinder - an essential kitchen attribute

Despite the large variety of electrical devices for grinding coffee beans, the manual coffee grinder still remains in demand among lovers of a strong, invigorating, aromatic drink. Mechanical devices will suit real gourmets, who enjoy not only the coffee itself, but also the cooking process: from grinding the beans to their brewing.

A bit of history

Before people realized that the drink from crushed coffee beans was much richer, they first soaked whole beans, and over time they began to boil them. We couldn’t say if this drink was tasty, but it was only remotely like coffee.

The nomadic Arabs were the first to break up coffee beans. They managed to achieve coarse grinding thanks to a device that resembled traditional stupa. Fried beans were crushed into containers using pestle. Only specially trained men were allowed to this activity. Women could not cope with hard grains.

To achieve the fine grinding of coffee beans, a special device was required. This is how the manual coffee grinder originated.. There were five types of such a device. Only two species have survived. The rest can be seen in museums.

Species

There are two types of the manual coffee grinder: European and east. Consider how each type works.

European

This coffee grinder is mini mill. It looks like a square box with a handle on top. For ground coffee beans, there is a small box in the bottom of the device that extends. Roasted grains are loaded into a special funnel. It can be closed and open type. It is preferable to use a closed funnel, as coffee beans do not oxidize. The result is a fragrant high quality drink. The handle, and sometimes the whole wheel, drives the millstones.

Manual coffee grinders have two grinding discs, changing the location of which, you can adjust the degree of grinding of the grains.

By bringing the millstones closer to each other by twisting the screw, we get fine-grained grains, and when they are far away - coarsely ground coffee. Millstones are metal, ceramic and cast iron. The metal ones are distinguished by high strength, but the ceramic ones are considered to be the best: during the grinding of grains, ceramics do not heat up, do not cause chemical reactions, and the taste of coffee still remains excellent.

Cast iron millstones are durable, but blows should be avoided. After a long use of their coffee begins to give metal, as cast iron grinds down over time. There are also stone durable millstones, but they are very expensive.

East

Oriental coffee grinder has some differences. The shape of the metal device - cylindrical. The handle of the device is removed or folded. The removable handle can be stored in the middle of the case. Due to the possibility of adjusting the distance between the millstones, you can get ground coffee of different fractions. Eastern coffee grinder allows you to grind at a time up to 25 grams of beans.

Turkish coffee grinder grinds grain to dust, which is suitable only for cooking coffee in the Turk.

Advantages and disadvantages

Manual grinding of coffee beans requires some effort, however, this device has its advantages:

1. Coffee is ground, not crushed.
2. In the process of grinding the grain does not heat up, which preserves their flavor.
3. Gives you the opportunity to fully enjoy the process of preparing an invigorating drink.
4. It does not depend on electricity, which makes it possible to use the grinder away from home or during a power outage.
5. After receiving the grinding of different sizes, you can prepare different types of coffee. Rough grinding is perfect for brewing in a french press: medium - for preparing an invigorating drink in a filter coffee maker; fine grinding is used in espresso coffee makers and geyser-type devices; grains, ground into powder, suitable for cooking Turkish coffee in the Turk.

Negative sides:

1. Grinding grains in small portions.
2. Unable to adjust the amount of grinding.
3. The grinding process lasts a long time - up to 10 minutes.
4. Requires some effort.

For true connoisseurs of coffee, a manual coffee grinder is an essential attribute of the kitchen.A wide variety of mechanical devices allows you to choose the device for the soul.