# Best Pre Ground Espresso Coffee.......



## Mistermoleymole (May 10, 2015)

I know I know, but just for one second, imagine that you were totally addicted to coffee (imagine, hahahaha) and it was needed to keep you alive, you have no access to fresh beans, you only have pre ground espresso to choose from...... What would you go for?

I've just tried a few, as i don't have a grinder yet, and so far the best i've found as far as pulling a nice slow shot, is costa's espresso coffee. The other two ive tried have been too course and the water has just run through them too quick.

Any suggestions?

It's against the law to answer, "I'd rather die"









PS sorry if this has been asked before, i did do a search but didn't see a thread that stood out.

Cheers

MMM


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

There isn't a best preground coffee.

Espresso needs constant tweaks to the grinder to achieve a drinkable shot, for a home user this could be every day or 2 and in a commercial setting this can be several times a day. A little too fast or slow and the drink is horrible, as you have realised. This is further compounded by the coffee loosing its taste rapidly after is ground, within 24 hours its useless.

If you must use preground you are better off buying an aeropress or v60 dripper, which will produce a more drinkable cup.

You can get a cheap hand grinder like a Porlex or Hario that would compliment the aeropress and v60 nicely, but isnt really good enough for espresso.

Id also recommend switching to speciality coffee rather than commodity coffee like the Costa beans you are currently drinking. Check out the beans subforum, and forum favourites like rave, foundry, hasbean, smokey barn etc and get some freshly roasted good quality coffee.


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## CamV6 (Feb 7, 2012)

just buy any of your favourite coffee pre ground from any of the roasters. Simples


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Where do you live?


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Certainly not costa's espresso coffee.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Tell people where you live. you may be lucky enough to be near a forum member who I am sure, would help out every now and then and grind you some. ground coffee, as soon as it is ground, looses its flavour and stales very quickly. In just a couple of hours it will be useless. yes, I know you can go to the supermarket and see loads of ground coffee with a shelf life of 2 years....who would you rather believe?


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Or you may have a decent roaster near you who can grind for you.


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## Mistermoleymole (May 10, 2015)

froggystyle said:


> Where do you live?


Northwich, Cheshire


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## Mistermoleymole (May 10, 2015)

garydyke1 said:


> Certainly not costa's espresso coffee.


As stated its the best so far as far as ground consistency. I've only tried 3. I take it i am gonna be blown away once i get a grinder and fresh beans, by the sounds of things.


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## Mistermoleymole (May 10, 2015)

CamV6 said:


> just buy any of your favourite coffee pre ground from any of the roasters. Simples


If as stated by people that pre ground coffee is useless after its ground, why would this be any different? And why would these specialist coffee houses ruin their reputation by selling a useless product?

Cheers

MMM


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Good question!


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## Mistermoleymole (May 10, 2015)

Ok what grinder should I be working towards. I could do with something compact as possible, as there isn't much worktop space left in my coffee corner. I am the only coffee drinker in my household, so don't need something churning out loads.


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

I think the short answer and it may not be true, but i think that maybe the roaster is just offering a service that some require, now does the customer know they are buying coffee that will be stale within a few hours thats the question, they either do accept this as they have no grinder or have no desire to have a grinder, or they are not aware.

I feel if you bought ground coffee and it was packed in a one way release valve bag, and you kept it closed all the time, and when opened for getting coffee out you ensured you closed it and got as much air out as possible, then it's not to bad.

But we lot are a bunch of snobs when it comes to coffee, plus we like spending money on grinders, lots of them!


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## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

Mistermoleymole said:


> Ok what grinder should I be working towards. I could do with something compact as possible, as there isn't much worktop space left in my coffee corner. I am the only coffee drinker in my household, so don't need something churning out loads.


Depends on your budget. Do you have a comfort zone price-wise?

Also do you want to load your beans into a hopper and have the machine give you a specific amount on demand - or would you rather weight the beans and put them in one shot at a time?


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## Mistermoleymole (May 10, 2015)

jonc said:


> Depends on your budget. Do you have a comfort zone price-wise?
> 
> Also do you want to load your beans into a hopper and have the machine give you a specific amount on demand - or would you rather weight the beans and put them in one shot at a time?


Around the £100 mark? Too cheap? I'm not bothered about weighing beans if that gets me a cheaper grinder. The size is pretty important though.

Cheers


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Mistermoleymole said:


> Ok what grinder should I be working towards. I could do with something compact as possible, as there isn't much worktop space left in my coffee corner. I am the only coffee drinker in my household, so don't need something churning out loads.


How are you drinking your coffee, espresso machine, brewing ?


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## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

froggystyle said:


> How are you drinking your coffee, espresso machine, brewing ?


It's Espresso I think - he says 'water runs through shot too quick' in post #1


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## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

Mistermoleymole said:


> Around the £100 mark? Too cheap? I'm not bothered about weighing beans if that gets me a cheaper grinder. The size is pretty important though.
> 
> Cheers


New or used?

Used will get you more for your money. (although 'more' may well also mean 'bigger')


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## Mistermoleymole (May 10, 2015)

froggystyle said:


> How are you drinking your coffee, espresso machine, brewing ?


Espresso, gaggia classic.



jonc said:


> It's Espresso I think - he says 'water runs through shot too quick' in post #1


Detective jonc












jonc said:


> New or used?
> 
> Used will get you more for your money. (although 'more' may well also mean 'bigger')


Either... not opposed to a used grinder.


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## 4515 (Jan 30, 2013)

Mistermoleymole said:


> And why would these specialist coffee houses ruin their reputation by selling a useless product?


This is more coffee roasters reputation than a coffee house. If we are talking the high street names, their reputation is more in their brand than their products. Roasters wont be ruining their reputation and will be providing a far better product than the supermarket pre-ground. This will be a step up from the Lavazza / costa / satbucks type pre-ground that they have previously bought from toscos.

Then, should the time come when they decide to buy a grinder, they already have a list in their heads of favourite roasters.

Interesting thought though. Anyone have any info on the percentage of whole beans to ground beans sold by a roaster ?


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## Mistermoleymole (May 10, 2015)

working dog said:


> This will be a step up from the Lavazza / costa / satbucks type pre-ground


Way! Someone almost sticking to the "game"









So there are better pre ground coffees than others


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## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

A few options, but not an exhaustive list:

Easy to find options:

- Used Iberital MC2

- New Graef from Amazon.de

Patience-laden options

- Used Mazzer that rarely, but sometimes pop up on ebay ~£100

- Used Brasilia RR45 that occasionally pop up on here ~£100


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## Mistermoleymole (May 10, 2015)

jonc said:


> A few options, but not an exhaustive list:
> 
> Easy to find options:
> 
> ...


Thanks for this... i think the MC2 was the one i had a quick search for last night on ebay. Seemed to be a well regarded grinder. Looked big though. Are they all this kind of size?

Cheers


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## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

No it's small - in grinder terms - a Mazzer Royal is big! (720mm high vs 375mm!)

It's well regarded for it's price. Many will come on here and tell you it's terrible and will ruin your life. I think bought well they're a good way of stepping to your next one - I had one for a year or so when I started out.


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

How many shots a day are you pulling?


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## Mistermoleymole (May 10, 2015)

jonc said:


> - New Graef from Amazon.de


This one? http://www.amazon.de/Graef-CM800-Kaffeem%C3%BChle-CM-800/dp/B00CS2DAEG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1435230631&sr=8-2&keywords=Graef

Seems reasonable







Given the talk about freshness and coffee going off, is it ok to keep your beans in these big plastic containers on top of grinders, or is there a better way to store your nice freshly roasted beans?


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## Mistermoleymole (May 10, 2015)

froggystyle said:


> How many shots a day are you pulling?


When its just myself drinking, in the week, only probably one in the morning and one when i get home(sometimes 2), but weekend probably 4ish a day for me.


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## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

Yeah £83 delivered from Germany - or £145 if you buy it here


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## Mistermoleymole (May 10, 2015)

jonc said:


> No it's small - in grinder terms - a Mazzer Royal is big! (720mm high vs 375mm!)
> 
> It's well regarded for it's price. Many will come on here and tell you it's terrible and will ruin your life. I think bought well they're a good way of stepping to your next one - I had one for a year or so when I started out.


Its the massive containers full of beans on top. I'd be quite happy with a grinder without storage, that a dose of beans go into every time i want to grind, I'm sure that will probably change though


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## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

OH. Big caveat - I'm not a grinder expert - I have limited experience! Hopefully @coffeechap or someone else knowledgeable will show up and impart his advice - although there are plenty threads on folk with £100 or less to spend - and a good 'what grinder?' guide somewhere too.


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

That graef is a good buy, similar quality to the MC2 but cheaper. Its also much better looking.

I believe not so long ago it had been recommended here as a rightful replacement for the MC2 as a go-to entry-level grinder.


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

Also, and this is important: no sodding worm drive.


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## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

I felt the build quality, weight, feel of the Graef was much better - personal opinion.

The burr carrier thing felt a bit limp and weird but for that money I think they're surprisingly good.


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Mc2 sucks, grab the graef!

Keep your hopper full, out the sun and the lid on, no worries.


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## Mistermoleymole (May 10, 2015)

does it give measured doses too?


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

No, you will need some scales and weigh out.


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## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

Think it doesn't but the cm900 does - not sure: http://household.graef.de/program/coffee-grinder/Coffee-grinder-CM-800

cm900: Automatic portioning at the push of a button, freely programmable


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## CamV6 (Feb 7, 2012)

If your budget for a grinder is £100 or less and you are in the second hand market I'd advocate a brasilia every time. Excellent grinders for the money especially for espresso. You just can't go wrong


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

working dog said:


> Anyone have any info on the percentage of whole beans to ground beans sold by a roaster ?


@garydyke1 ?


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## 4515 (Jan 30, 2013)

Mistermoleymole said:


> Way! Someone almost sticking to the "game"
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Taste is always subjective but youre going to find that you have different leagues :

Premier league :

Fresh roast beans, high end grinder and machine

Championship :

Fresh roast beans, mid range grinder, entry level machine

League one :

supermarket beans, low end grinder, entry level machine

fresh roast beans (preground), entry level machine

League two :

old / supermarket preground, entry level machine

Northern premier league :

Lavazza (although branding will have some make you believe that this is the Man U of coffee)

There are other permutations and Ive steered clear of roast and machine type, apart from the dig at the L word) but, for example, you wouldnt expect to see pre-ground used in a high end machine in normal circumstances.

Its all about choice and where you are happy with your coffee or where your finances will allow you to progress with your coffee. If preground starbucks ash roast does it for someone, happy days !


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## Mistermoleymole (May 10, 2015)

Dylan said:


> Also, and this is important: no sodding worm drive.


What's a worm drive?


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

A worm car?


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## Mistermoleymole (May 10, 2015)

froggystyle said:


> A worm car?


Woooah there! Hold back on the jokes. This is a serious discussion!


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

You're on the wrong forum for that!

Worm drive is shown in this thread on the MC2.

http://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?8371-Iberital-MC2-Grind-Adjustment-Mod-In-progress


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## Dallah (Jan 31, 2015)

Mistermoleymole said:


> Northwich, Cheshire


ManCoCo are a very good roaster from Manchester. Stuart and Darren are top blokes. They are at the Northwich market which is the second Saturday of each month. Below is a link to their market schedule. I started of buying preground for my Aeropress from them. By the way be careful, as I started with just an Aeropress in Novemebr of last year. As you will see from my signature block it quickly became a bit of an obsession.

http://mancoco.co.uk/epages/950003025.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/950003025/Categories/Events__Markets


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## Dallah (Jan 31, 2015)

working dog said:


> Taste is always subjective but youre going to find that you have different leagues :
> 
> Premier league :
> 
> ...


Lavazza is the Man U of coffee. By which I mean, overbranded [email protected] that you are never going to find being consumed in my house.


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

I think, plenty of roasters will grind coffee - I'm sure they don't encourage it a lot but it's something of a necessity for them. It definitely degrades more quickly, regardless of what you do once it's ground, but saying that before I had more options I used a vac pot thing at work (which has a pump to remove the air) and that did definitely keep it fresher than just leaving it in a bag. Grinding the coffee opens more of it up to oxygen etc. which (just as it does with many other things) means it goes off more quickly. You can eat apple that's been sliced earlier but it'll go off much more quickly etc.


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## 4515 (Jan 30, 2013)

ridland said:


> Lavazza is the Man U of coffee. By which I mean, overbranded [email protected] that you are never going to find being consumed in my house.


you forgot about the bit that it will never be consumed in its country of origin


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

as far as pre ground coffee goes I would say the LAVAZZA Crema E Gusto is quite good. Im sure some will be horrified because its A. Lavazza and B. contains robusta.

Grinder wise for your budget I would say the Greaf CM800 new


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## foundrycoffeeroasters.com (Jun 19, 2014)

working dog said:


> This is more coffee roasters reputation than a coffee house. If we are talking the high street names, their reputation is more in their brand than their products. Roasters wont be ruining their reputation and will be providing a far better product than the supermarket pre-ground. This will be a step up from the Lavazza / costa / satbucks type pre-ground that they have previously bought from toscos.
> 
> Then, should the time come when they decide to buy a grinder, they already have a list in their heads of favourite roasters.
> 
> Interesting thought though. Anyone have any info on the percentage of whole beans to ground beans sold by a roaster ?


I've sold two bags of ground coffee in the last 4 months.


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## risky (May 11, 2015)

foundrycoffeeroasters.com said:


> I've sold two bags of ground coffee in the last 4 months.


Well that sums it up. Although I'm not sure the type of person who buys pre-ground from a reputable roaster and not a supermarket. Surely if someone is enthusiastic enough about coffee to know good Roasters, they would know to buy whole bean?


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## Sk8-bizarre (Jan 22, 2015)

Mole dude I use a Classic got it the end of Jan.

Started with the preground very quickly moved to a Porlex hand grinder and fresh beans, onto an MC2 and just recently onto a Mazzer SJ.

Thats practically straight onto to fresh beans then three advances in grinder in six months. I am NOT experienced like many on here but will say all the grinders were paired with the same Classic and the change in what I am getting in the cup has been more than noticeable to say the least, the last step being the biggest. Pretty huge infact and if I hadn't got carried away spraying it all up the Mazzer would have been easily less than twice the price of the MC2 but is way more than twice as good and some. However if size is an issue probably not for you.

As I say I am of little experience and or skill barista wise and my tasting of cup probably isn't the best but even with all that said I have noticed the improvements firstly from preground to bean and fresh ground and then from grinder to grinder as I have moved along.

What you decide to do is up to you and I wouldn't push you into anything but you will get more from a bean and definitely a more from your choice of grinder depending on how far you are prepared to go with size and cash.

If you want to stick with preground all the decent places, roasters will do it for you even the good cafes when you buy a bag of beans. I was taken aback by that first of all when they would ask and think why are they asking that surely they must just sell it as bean and reply with a 'oh no, just as is please' but feel uncomfortable like some sort of coffee ding dong hahaha. I think they mostly do it out of politeness and don't like to assume.

However if you want a bit of advice from a totally inexperienced new comer with a lack of skills but willingness to learn and asker of many questions to the point of being a pest who despite all those inadequacies has definitely noticed the improvements in the changes of equipment I have made while keeping the same coffee machine then do yourself and your tastebuds a favour. Get yourself a grinder you won't regret it, honestly.

In the meantime get some ground fresh and run home with it fast

..


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Jumbo Ratty said:


> as far as pre ground coffee goes I would say the LAVAZZA Crema E Gusto is quite good. Im sure some will be horrified because its A. Lavazza and B. contains robusta.


Each to their own

http://www.freemanharding.co.uk/img/p/2-5-large.jpg


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## Jumbo Ratty (Jan 12, 2015)

urbanbumpkin said:


> Each to their own


Precisely.

The OP asked a straightforward question. I chose to answer it.

I didn't procrastinate about the merits of grinding fresh beans over pre ground. I prefer grinding my own beans. I rarely use pre ground, but I have in the past, and on that basis offered my preference.


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## Mistermoleymole (May 10, 2015)

Cheers all.... Food for thought!


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## Mistermoleymole (May 10, 2015)

ridland said:


> ManCoCo are a very good roaster from Manchester. Stuart and Darren are top blokes. They are at the Northwich market which is the second Saturday of each month. Below is a link to their market schedule. I started of buying preground for my Aeropress from them. By the way be careful, as I started with just an Aeropress in Novemebr of last year. As you will see from my signature block it quickly became a bit of an obsession.
> 
> http://mancoco.co.uk/epages/950003025.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/950003025/Categories/Events__Markets


I'll get myself to ensure to the artisan market next month I think!

Cheers!


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## oursus (Jun 5, 2015)

Mistermoleymole said:


> I know I know, but just for one second, imagine that you were totally addicted to coffee (imagine, hahahaha) and it was needed to keep you alive, you have no access to fresh beans, you only have pre ground espresso to choose from...... What would you go for?
> 
> I've just tried a few, as i don't have a grinder yet, and so far the best i've found as far as pulling a nice slow shot, is costa's espresso coffee. The other two ive tried have been too course and the water has just run through them too quick.
> 
> ...


There are quite a lot who will grind for you, pact coffee will post it to you, last time I was without a grinder, I got the owner of my local speciality cafe to put me 250g of beans through his shop grinder, not as nice as grinding on demand, but certainly better than what you've had from Costa.


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## Mistermoleymole (May 10, 2015)

oursus said:


> There are quite a lot who will grind for you, pact coffee will post it to you, last time I was without a grinder, I got the owner of my local speciality cafe to put me 250g of beans through his shop grinder, not as nice as grinding on demand, but certainly better than what you've had from Costa.


Cheers









Gonna give these guys a go that sell at my local market. (mentioned earlier in thread)

Can't wait to give some decent beans a go.


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## oursus (Jun 5, 2015)

Mistermoleymole said:


> Cheers
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Vote with your wallet! Only upsides to supporting a local market stall!


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