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Have you ever held a cup of coffee in your hand and wondered the many processes it has to go through before metamorphosing into what you’re about to sip and enjoy? Well, I guess you’ve done this before.
Coffee bean comes in different forms, and this article discusses the major difference between whole bean vs ground coffee.
Whether you’re a casual coffee drinker, instant drinker, or a connoisseur, deciding between whole bean and ground coffee is a critical part of your coffee experience.
Let’s get started!
Whole Bean Vs Ground Coffee: Key Differences
The difference lies in their physical outlook; while the grounded coffee is one that has been beat down hence the name ‘ground,’ whole bean on the other hand, is the exact opposite, it is whole and still has the coffee bean shape and form.
What does this mean? The above just goes on to imply that getting the whole bean means being prepared to go the extra mile in getting it beat down and grounded yourself before brewing.
To get this done, you will need a strong coffee grinder or any other thing you think might suffice to have it grounded.
Let’s delve more into the notable differences between whole bean and ground coffee. We will be using key yardsticks such as flavor, expiration, accessibility, ease, price and grind size.
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Flavor
With the whole beans, the flavor stays intact. Ground coffee on the other hand is not as strongly flavored as whole beans.
Expiration
This isn’t even up for an argument. It is common knowledge that the whole bean stay fresh for way much longer. You can have it preserved for almost an eternity if you have it stored right.
This is not exactly so with the ground coffee as they go bad within a shorter timeframe. They easily lose their aroma and develop a somewhat stale taste.
Ease
Whole beans needs a lot of getting used to. It is a manual and physically exerting process. Whereas, with the ground coffee, you get to save precious time and energy as they can be easily prepared.
Accessibility
Whole beans are usually not easily seen to purchase unlike the ground coffee. With the ground coffee, buying is just as easy as brewing it.
Grind size
Having the whole bean grinded yourself allows you enjoy flexibility to a large extent. It gives you the power to grind it to whatever size that would be perfect for a wide range of your prefered drinks.
When it comes to ground coffee, there really isn’t much you can do about the grind size since they are already pre-ground.
All the same, you will at least take consolation in the fact that they are of a uniform grind size.
Price
Whole beans are naturally more pricey than ground coffee due to the thorough examination the beans has to go through to be sure they are of good quality. Ground coffee on the other hand, can be found at a more affordable price.
Advantages Of Ground Coffee
1. Convenience
Like earlier stated, the ground coffee is one that has actually been beat down & grounded after roasting.
From the paragraph above, one can easily deduce the exact edge ground coffee has over the whole bean which is convenience.
Yes. The ground coffee is definitely more convenient as consumers can just go right ahead to brew as they so desire and enjoy a cup of their delicious coffee in no time.
What this means is that the ground coffee helps you save the time that must have been spent to grind before brewing, energy that must have been expended while having the coffee grounded and what even happens if you do not have a coffee grinder at home? The ground coffee saves you the stress of using your resources to get one.
2. Wide Range Of Varieties
An additional benefit of the ground coffee is that you get to buy and enjoy a wide range of varieties to choose from. This means that consumers are afforded the chance to explore and experiment with the different blends made available to them.
This, however, comes at a cost as it means that you have to buy several others to enjoy different flavors. But with the whole bean, you have the privilege of switching up the flavor just with the ground size and the type of brew you choose.
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3. It Is More Affordable
Whether we like it or not, a lot of people do factor in cost when weighing one option against another.
When it comes to cost, the whole bean is more expensive than the grounded one. Why, you may ask? Especially since a lot more work has been done on the latter in having it grinded.
Hang on for there’s a good explanation for it. For the whole been, a lot of time and effort is expended on the part of the makers into ensuring that only the best quality coffee bean are packaged for sale.
First, just before they are roasted, they go through a sieving process that separates ill grown coffee beans from the well grown and healthy ones. This goes on to guarantee that every single bean set out to be roasted and subsequently packaged, are of very high quality which in turn, would have a direct impact on the coffee’s flavor.
This explains why the whole bean coffee is so rich in flavor because of the careful and thorough selection of healthy high quality bean.
But as you all know, nothing really goes for nothing as consumers have to pay for the extra cost added in order to enjoy this luxury.
The ground coffee on the other hand, is a lot less cheaper as the beans are usually grounded without being thoroughly examined or selected.
4. Availability
The ground coffee can be readily found to purchase as, the producers find it more convenient to export.
Advantage Of Whole Bean Coffee
1. Rich flavor
The foremost reason why whole bean is preferred by both sellers and buyers alike is because it’s flavor and quality remains intact even at the point of not just purchase, but usage too.
This does not in anyway pass off the ground beans as flavorless, of course not. They are equally great tasting but, the fact that the whole bean has a more pleasing flavor is really not debatable.
2. Preferred Grind Size And Texture
Getting the whole bean gives you the ability to grind bean to your preferred size and texture. With the ground coffee, you really do not have a say as to how it’s grounded – fine or rough, you make do with what you find
But, with the whole bean, you can grind just as you like/want it.
You also get to enjoy a wide range of varieties with the whole bean as there is the freedom to choose from different blends and flavors before grinding.
3. It lasts longer
It is imperative to state that your unused coffee lasting long is largely dependent on the kind of storage you put in place.
But, on the whole though, whole beans lasts way longer than the ground coffee. If a proper storage is put in place, they can even outlast their expiration date.
Whereas you have the ground beans that can go just a few months past its expiration date.
4. Freshness
A cup of whole bean coffee is a cup of the freshest coffee ever, non stale, highly flavored and very refreshing.
5. Free from contamination
Like it’s flavor and freshness that is kept intact, the whole bean stays secured from contamination too. We can’t say the same for the ground beans as the bean oil is highly susceptible to contamination that end up tampering with the overall flavor.
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Conclusion
Quite an interesting ride wasn’t it? When it comes to the whole and grounded bean debacle, It’s really not a competition rather, it is all about being more knowledgeable about the coffee you so cherish.
Deciding which one to go for is entirely up to you. Hence, our writing this article to give you a heads up on what to expect with each one of them. With the whole bean, it’s pure flexibility while the grounded bean offers comfort.
