Beans or ground: Which is right for me?

We often get asked this question, so we thought we'd share our thoughts on this important matter 🤓🤓🤓

While ground coffee can save you a few precious moments of time we think beans are always worth it - and we’ll tell you why!

Also take a look at:

▻ Should I order beans or ground?

▻ Using non dairy

▻ Health benefits

Freshness 

Once the beans are ground, the flavours begin to lose their intensity. This is because of oxidation, where the coffee meets O2! Leagues above heat and moisture (which coffee also doesn't like), oxidation is the most significant factor contributing to stale coffee. Keeping the time short and snappy between the grind and making your coffee will mean the most high impact flavour and the freshest taste. Although our coffees are roasted, ground and sent to you within a week, beans win on freshness every time! 

P.s. the stronger aromas that linger with whole beans are an added bonus.

Flavour

Let's face it, grinding those beans up is part of the fun of making your own coffee at home. Not only is it incredibly satisfying, but the grinding process is a variable that you can play with to achieve the perfect drink for you. Finding the perfect grind size for your brew is known as ‘dialling in’ (and by the way, calling it that, makes you really sound like you know what you are doing!). With a finer grind, you have greater extraction and with a coarser grind you can control the bitterness of the flavours.

Flexibility  

At first glance, it seems like the grounds are the most practical. They are ready to go, and require no fuss before you can brew your cup of coffee. What's more, we believe that the roasters know their coffee best - so if you buy grinds from an independent roaster, like those you can choose with your RiSE subscription, they will already be ground to a size that works well for getting the most flavour out of that bean as possible. However, we think that a good grinder can boost the flavour and convenience of our coffees. That’s because you are more flexible with your brew method and you know they will always be at their best. You can grind your morning beans nice and fine for that espresso, and coarser in the evening for a french press when you’ve got your friends over. When you buy ground coffee, you are limiting yourself to one grind size and so you might not be as flexible with the brewing method. Of course you can buy different sizes of grinds, but we think that being able to make this choice flexibly and spontaneously at home, with your own grinder, is the best option.

So... all in all, we would say bank on the beans for flavour, flexibility and freshness. 

P.s. If you don’t have a grinder at home - just choose the “grind type” option from the drop down on our subscription page - and they will be almost as fresh as grinding them at home. We only sell 250g bags - so a smaller batch to keep them fresh - but once you have your RiSE box opened and at home, make sure the grounds are stored airtight and away from heat.