You don't have a coffee grinder and you want to buy ground coffee. You also want, and above all, to drink very good coffee! That's good because this guide aims to answer (among other things) frequently asked questions when buying ground coffee:

• What criteria to choose your coffee?
• Where to buy your coffee?
• How to store ground coffee?

So first of all, let's take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of buying ground coffee.

Benefits of ground coffee

The main advantage of ground coffee is that it is ready to use. No question to ask, just take a few spoonfuls of ground coffee and place them in your coffee maker. It couldn't be simpler. In addition to being simple to use, it is also very fast. It only takes a few seconds to start brewing your coffee. Unlike coffee beans that you would have to grind beforehand.

Besides, with your ground coffee, you don't need to buy a coffee grinder. Then the grind will normally be at a perfect size for extracting your coffee. Indeed, if you buy, for example, ground coffee for a filter coffee maker, it will have been studied to be perfectly suitable for the flow of water for a filter coffee maker.

Disadvantages of coffee bought already ground

There are limits to this, however, especially for making espresso, since, depending on your machine, you will need a more or less fine grind. If the size of the grind is not perfect for your machine, then you will have to play on other aspects of the preparation, such as tamping the ground coffee in the filter holder.

After stopping at the size of the grind, it is also important to mention the freshness of the coffee. And yes, ground coffee is considered less "fresh" than coffee beans. We are not talking about the freshness of the roasting, but about the grind. Indeed, freshly ground coffee will always be better than coffee that has been ground for hours, days, or even weeks before your coffee was prepared.

The main disadvantage of ground coffee is that it quickly loses its taste qualities, compared to whole coffee beans that are ground at the last moment.

Some coffee lovers will tell you that it is sacrilege not to grind your coffee just before tasting it. For my part, I am more measured since not everyone has the desire or the patience to prepare their coffee from A to Z. A simple and quick coffee to make, without the fuss, is suitable for the majority of people. You just have to be aware that a coffee bought already ground can never be as good as if you bought it in beans.

How to choose your ground coffee?

The right grind size

There are dozens of ways to extract coffee (to prepare coffee). You are most likely familiar with the bean or capsule espresso machine, or even the filter coffee maker or the Italian coffee maker. All these methods of preparing coffee require coffee grinds of different sizes. It is therefore important to know what grind size you should use for the method(s) you use on a daily basis.

And yes, an unsuitable grind does not allow you to extract all the aromas and flavours of the coffee in the best conditions. You risk missing out on many taste aspects.

So, which is ground coffee for which coffee maker?

Ground coffee for filter coffee maker

Ground coffee for filter coffee makers, it is possible to find it everywhere! It's really not rocket science, if you go to any food store, you will find it. Be careful though, the big brands do not necessarily offer fresh coffees or high-quality coffees. We will see a little later how and where to choose your coffee.

Drip coffee ground coffee is a medium grind. The grind is not as fine as for making an espresso, but finer than for making a coffee with a French press, for example.

Ground coffee for an espresso machine

Here, and as with the following extraction methods, it is not so easy to find the right grind in stores. In fact, most of the time you will need to buy directly from a roaster or from specialized shops (physical or online) that can grind the coffee to the right size.

The espresso grind should be really fine so that the water has time to absorb the oils from the ground coffee. Indeed, as its name suggests, the espresso is made quickly. The water passes very quickly through. So if the grind used was coarse, the water would not soak up the coffee well and would not really taste.

Grind for Italian coffee maker

The Italian coffee maker is another great classic for making coffee. Just like making an espresso, pressure is used here, by heating water which will rise to the surface of the coffee maker through the grind. Again, the coffee should not be too thick at the risk of obtaining a tasteless coffee.

The grind size is close to espresso coffee, but (very) slightly coarser.

Grind suitable for French press coffee maker

The French press coffee maker is one of the only coffee makers to offer a free infusion of coffee in water, just like for infusions or tea. We just put the ground coffee in the bottom of the coffee maker, then we add the hot water and let everything steep for several minutes.

Since the water is in constant contact and for several minutes with the ground coffee, it must be rather coarse to avoid over-extraction (and therefore a coffee that is far too strong and bitter). In addition, the stainless steel filter must not let anything through (or almost), so it is for this reason that you cannot use a finer coffee at the risk of finding grinds in your cup.

Choose freshly ground coffee

As I briefly mentioned above, fresh coffee will always taste better. Of course, by buying your coffee already ground, the freshness of the grind will not be optimal. If you still want to enjoy good coffee, then you will have to be careful to get freshly ground coffee.

This is obviously hardly possible in large areas. It is therefore ideal to choose speciality stores that can grind coffee on demand. This way, you can also choose the right grind size and the coffee will be freshly ground.

Be careful though, once the coffee is ground, it oxidizes much faster and therefore loses its taste qualities. This is why, we will have to pay attention to its conservation, as we will see later.

Optimal conservation at the seller's

Speaking of preservation, I invite you to pay attention to how the ground coffee you buy is preserved. If when you buy it it is already ground, it will be even more important.

If you can't access ground coffee on demand, you have no other option but to buy pre-ground coffee (or turn to online stores). If you buy a coffee that has been ground in advance, be careful that it is in a box or a suitable bag, which avoids contact with the air.

The coffee should also be protected from light, in a dry and cool environment. If the café is in the open air, in full light, flee! 

I will explain to you a little further on the optimal storage conditions for your coffee, whether in the shop or at home: one of the keys to enjoying good coffee!

Pay attention to the roasting date

As for the roast date, it is generally advisable to consume coffee that has been roasted between 10 days and 6 weeks after roasting.

The roasting date is always indicated on packets containing quality coffee.

If you consumed roasted coffee yesterday, you may unfortunately not be satisfied with the coffee since it will not have had time to evacuate all the gas created during cooking.

If, on the contrary (and this is, unfortunately, the case with many coffees found on the market), the ground coffee you buy was roasted several months ago, there again you risk being disappointed. ).

Indeed, a coffee whose roasting was carried out months earlier will inevitably have lost many of its aromatic and taste qualities...

Of course, the way the ground coffee is stored will have an impact on the result in the cup, but even if the coffee is perfectly stored, there will be a loss of flavours if the roast is too old.

Your preferences

Finally, I can only recommend that you turn to varieties of coffee that you appreciate, which have aromatic notes that you like.

If you don't yet know your tastes in coffee, because you've only consumed coffee from supermarkets, over-roasted and very often bitter and without any real aromatic notes. I invite you to explore! Go to the local roaster and ask him to serve you small quantities of very different coffee: very fruity, spicy, chocolate, with citrus notes. In short, explore and train your palate in new flavours!