# To buy whole bean or pre-ground from roaster?



## messier0101 (Aug 14, 2015)

I'm looking to put an order in with Coffee Compass, but not sure whether to get the beans pre-ground or not.

I've not bought a grinder yet, so looking to get the local Starbucks to grind my beans for me.

I'm looking to get the start pack which consists of 3*500g of coffee beans.

What the best option?


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

How are you intending to brew the coffee?


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## Koffee (Feb 11, 2016)

Pre-ground is the easier option obviously. I think you'll find it a pain to have to run to your local Starbucks every time you want a batch of ground coffee. Or just get a grinder and do it at home but then you have to clean the grinder after each use. Really depends what you're willing to do each morning for a fresh cup of coffee


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## messier0101 (Aug 14, 2015)

MWJB I'm going to use a Sage Duo Temp Pro machine.

Koffee, I though pre-ground would be easier, but I was not too sure how much of the 1.5kg I would use in good time. There's a starbucks about 10min drive away, and I was thinking of grinding 250g at a time?

How long would the pre-ground stuff be good for?

Thank you,


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Beans ground for espresso will degrade very quickly - minutes not hours or days. Recommend getting your own grinder asap.


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## Jon (Dec 3, 2010)

If budgets an issue a hand grinder would be better than pre ground.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

The Systemic Kid said:


> Beans ground for espresso will degrade very quickly - minutes not hours or days. Recommend getting your own grinder asap.


+1

If you're going to buy preground, stick it in a French press, in the meantime save for an espresso grinder, if you're really keen you might try a Lido E or Feldgrind in the meantime but hand grinding can be a real chore for espresso.


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## messier0101 (Aug 14, 2015)

Thanks guys. I'll be pairing the DTP with a Mignon MK2 as soon as one becomes available.


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

Would Starbucks grind your non Starbucks beans for you? I'd think they might not want to from a commercial point of view, and there might be some issues around it as well just in case the grinder got damaged or so.

Do they even have separate grinders, or do their fully auto machines just do it as part of the process?

The bigger issue you face is there isnt a universal espresso grind, it changes by bean and by day. You can compensate a bit by adding more or less coffee to the basket to try and get a decent shot.

Id also be worried about any residue or leftover grounds from their dark roast beans tainting your beans.

Id probably buy preground if I were you, but as others say it isnt ideal.


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## owain (Dec 26, 2015)

As a newbie one thing a learnt pretty quickly was once you've ground your own beans you will not go back to pre-ground the flavour goes down hill very quickly, I've got a hand grinder which are very cheap and produce good results.


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## messier0101 (Aug 14, 2015)

Right then chaps, until the Mignon arrives (could be a little while), what is the best option? Opt for a cheap but decent hand grinder that can handle espresso grind?

Thanks all for the input, aaronb, thanks for your reply....food for thought indeed.


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## jtldurnall (Mar 16, 2015)

Where are you based? I know I've got a rhino hand grinder you could borrow if you are near brum?


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## Luc_ cI_I (Jan 25, 2016)

The best is always to grind your own beans. Some convenience on this case having the pre-ground coffee comes with a price, and that depends on how sharp is your tongue for coffee like, if you are fine with Starbucks coffee taste then you would be fine with pre-ground coffee, it will be much better than a starbucks though... still much inferior than beans ground by yourself.


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## risky (May 11, 2015)

messier0101 said:


> Opt for a cheap but decent hand grinder that can handle espresso grind?.


This doesn't exist. Cheap hand grinder (rhino, porlex) won't do espresso.

If yo were looking at a mignon, you're probably unlikely to buy a £100 hand grinder (feldgrind) that will do espresso As some sort of stop gap.

Personally I'd forget about espresso until you have the mignon. Grab a French press. I'd take a good brew over bad espresso any day.

Not sure I'd French press coffee compass but that's my personal taste.


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## AL1968 (May 3, 2015)

I bought pre ground Tesco initially and brewed it in a China coffee pot. Thought it tasted really good! Then went for a hand grinder and whole Tesco beans really hard work but massive improvement in the taste of the brewed coffee, even with stale beans.

Then watched Food and Drink on the BBC, they featured Extract coffee sent for some of their beans, Wow!!

Found this site after much research bought a Eureka Mignon from BB together with an R58. The Mignon looked best value for me and the height allowed it to sit under the kitchen cupboards.

Now very happy, so be warned you're looking over the edge of the rabbit hole!!


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## Kyle T (Jan 6, 2016)

risky said:


> This doesn't exist. Cheap hand grinder (rhino, porlex) won't do espresso.
> 
> If yo were looking at a mignon, you're probably unlikely to buy a £100 hand grinder (feldgrind) that will do espresso As some sort of stop gap.
> 
> ...


Can a porlex definitely not produce espresso grind? I have just bought a Gaggia Classic and was hoping my porlex would tide me over until I can afford a decent grinder.


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## risky (May 11, 2015)

Kyle T said:


> Can a porlex definitely not produce espresso grind? I have just bought a Gaggia Classic and was hoping my porlex would tide me over until I can afford a decent grinder.


The issue isn't really that it can't grind fine enough, the problem is that there is no real adjustment available as you'll probably find you have to grind on the finest setting possible.


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## jimbocz (Jun 5, 2015)

I bought a Sage DTP as well and can share a bit of my experience.

I think you'll need twice as much ground coffee as you think since you'll be playing around and making coffee for all the neighbors and the postman. This will make hand grinding impractical. You already know in your heart going to Starbucks to ask them to grind for you is silly.

Buy a grinder as soon as you can, in the meantime buy supermarket pre ground and don't sweat it. Allow your self to think it tastes good. When your grinder comes, it will taste better.


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## messier0101 (Aug 14, 2015)

Thanks for all the input chaps. I'm contemplating between the Mignon and the Smart grinder pro...

Jimbocz, that what I'm planning to do now, but some standard Illy/Lavazza etc and play around until the grinder comes. What are your initial thoughts on the DTP?


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## Jason1wood (Jun 1, 2012)

@messier0101, have you not seen the Rr55 grinder in the classifieds? I would seriously consider it as its a phenomenal grinder and would keep upgraditus at bay for a long long time


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## messier0101 (Aug 14, 2015)

jtldurnall said:


> Where are you based? I know I've got a rhino hand grinder you could borrow if you are near brum?


Thank you! Really appreciate the offer, however I think I'll pass: a) I don't want to break it lol, b) in going to test some pre ground stuff and get a feel for the machine before I get a grinder.

Thank you again though for the offer!


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## messier0101 (Aug 14, 2015)

Jason1wood said:


> @messier0101, have you not seen the Rr55 grinder in the classifieds? I would seriously consider it as its a phenomenal grinder and would keep upgraditus at bay for a long long time


It's a bit of a beast that one! Lol.

I need a smaller grinder for now, and I'll probably get something like the RR55 or SJ when I next upgrade to a duel boiler. Thank you though.


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## Jason1wood (Jun 1, 2012)

I actually did the same thing, upgrade in stages and looking back, wish I'd just purchased the best I could've afforded at the time.

Buy wisely and you shouldn't lose too much when upgrade time hits hard haha


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